Jasna Salim, a married Muslim girl from Kozhikode, has been in the news since the BJP national conference, which took place in Kozhikode in 2016. She had taken a stall on rent in the exhibition organised in Kozhikode in connection with the party conference. There, she exhibited and sold her paintings of Bhagwan Sri Krishna. This correspondent had penned about her and her artworks, in Organiser weekly’s cover story at the BJP conference in September 2016. At that time, she had made it clear that she would not paint anything or anyone other than little Sri Krishna. Jasna shot to the pinnacle of her fame in January 2024 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Guruvayoor to attend the wedding of Suresh Gopi’s daughter, and Jasna gifted him a painting of little Sri Krishna that she had created.
Earlier, in September 2021, Jasna presented her painting of Bhagwan Sri Krishna before the deity at the legendary Guruvayoor Mandir, which was described as a living symbol of secularism. However, she is now at the centre of controversy for cutting a cake in front of the Mandir. It remains unclear whether the cake was eggless. She brought the cake to the Mandir premises outside the Mandir and cut it just past midnight, around 00:09 hours on Janmashtami Day (August 26). She then shouted, “Happy birthday, Kanna” (Happy birthday, little Krishna). This situation is unusual for several reasons:
Non-Hindus are not permitted to enter Guruvayoor Mandir premises. It is clearly written on the board erected by Guruvayoor Devaswom.
Non-vegetarian items are not permitted in the Mandir complex. No one knows if the cake was eggless or not.
A cutting birthday ceremony in connection with the birthday of Hindu Gods and Goddesses is neither a Hindu practice nor a Mandir practice.
According to the Mandir practice, if non-vegetarian articles are brought to the Mandir premises, the complex loses its sanctity; in such cases, shudhi, the purification process, is to be carried out in conformity with the instructions of the Mandir thanthri. Thanthri is said to be the final authority of the deity as well as the temple affairs. But, it is not certain if shudhi was carried out after the cake-cutting ceremony. There were reports that a couple of men and some women were with her during the cake-cutting ceremony, and she had shared the cake with them. It is reported that she had shared the pictures on social media.
After the undesirable incident in Guruvayoor, several allegations are coming up against Jasna in the social media. It is alleged that the Sri Krishna pictures she gifts to VIPs are not free of cost, but, are sponsored by some others. When the people orders for her Sri Krishna paintings in connection with certain functions, like weddings, etc., she insists to hand over it during the function itself; it is to ensure the exposure she wants.
Well-known journalist Sreela Pillai said in a Facebook post that Jasna is a fraudulent Sri Krishna devotee. Pillai accused Jasna of initiating police cases against others and then changing her statements. She announced her intention to pursue legal action against Jasna for her inappropriate behaviour at the Mandir premises. Pillai asserted that Jasna should never be allowed to behave as she did on Janmashtami night. Additionally, Pillai rejected Jasna’s claim that Muslims threatened her over the Sri Krishna paintings, noting that no such incident has been reported. Pillai also mentioned that she had sent a complaint about Jasna’s conduct to the Central Intelligence Agency and had lodged a complaint with the State Police Chief. The Chief has forwarded the complaint to the Thrissur District Police Chief, as Guruvayoor falls within that district. The complaint has also been sent to the Guruvayoor Devaswom Commissioner.
There are people who suspect the presence of some anti-Hindu elements behind her. They believe that she misuses her paintings to infiltrate into Sangh-inspired organisations with some deliberate intentions.
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