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In the past two weeks alone, numerous incidents of violence by Kanwariyas have been recorded in several parts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. While this reflects failure of state administration to maintain law and order, the question that seems to be on a lot of people's minds is: Why are we seeing more controversies around Kanwar Yatra every year?
The Quint spoke to a Kanwariya, Lala Fauji at Lohia Pull-Agra Canal road in Kalindi Kunj.
He said, "Check their uniforms, they must not be Kanwariyas but others masquerading a 'bhole' to malign us."
But incidents on the ground tell a different story. If we look at the recent recorded spate in violence, there is a worrying trend.
In another, a group of men dressed as Kanwariyas allegedly attacked a school bus in Haryana's Fatehabad district, among those who 'provoked' Kanwariyas to attack the bus in the district were earlier booked for ruckus at a Gurdwara.
Amid all of this, Muslim vendors, shop owners and others from marginalised groups barely dodged a bullet. The Supreme Court extended the stay on the controversial Kanwar Yatra rule demanding eateries along the pilgrim route to display the names of the owners and staff. The stay order will continue till 5 August, the next hearing date.
UP government in this matter, has defended its directive in a response filed in the top court asserting that it was issued to ensure “peaceful completion” of the yatra.
Before the stay, there were reports of Muslim shop owners being let go from their jobs and facing discrimination. The stay order was due to a petition filed by TMC's Mahua Moitra, Professor Apoorvanand and author Aakar Patel.
Such diktats and rules are not new. In 2016, all meat shops on the Kanwar Yatra route in Ghaziabad were ordered to be shut down.
Lala Fauji, the Kanwariya justified the order stating, "For Hindus, they should do it and it was said in support of Hindus. We get the Kanwars with so much effort and Muslims disturb and hit them."
Vidagar added that though he "buys things from Muslims and has no problem with them" his alleged that "Muslims don't give them a way through when they pass by their neighbourhoods." His friend and another Kanwariya, Deepak also chimed in to validate this point. We haven't been able to verify any of these claims.
On the other hand, this is the sixth Kanwar Yatra for Laxman.
Calling out the violent incidents around the yatra, he said:
However, he was quick to add that the situation has become better than before, ever since Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came to power.
He alleged that in the past, Muslims reportedly "threw in cow meat or drops of blood and damage the Kanwar". But he admitted that he hadn't personally witnessed these incidents and had only "heard" about them.
Swami Yashveer Maharaj is a key player in the politics and polarisation of Kanwar Yatra.
Hailing from Sisauli in Muzaffarnagar, Swami Yashveer has been reportedly running a ‘yoga’ ashram for over two decades.
It is his claim that the directive for street vendors and shops to display their names was issued in response to a "promise" made to him by the police, though the police has not made any such statement so far.
The antecedents behind the discriminatory Kanwar Yatra rule were laid down by him.
He had also circulated a letter in this regard last year and claimed that Muslims could "spit, urinate and mix cow meat into their food items." This year, he again circulated the letter and now he has decided to fight the SC's stay.
Recently, violence took place in Hapur during which the Kanwariyas were seen purportedly throwing stones at a Madarsa in the presence of police. They claimed that someone spat on their Kanwariyas. Even in the Meerut case, Kanwariyas were seen standing on the damaged vehicle and shouting 'Jai Shri Ram.'
And just like last year, government and police officials showered petals on Kanwariyas this time as well.
In Moradabad, the DM, SSP, and other officials inaugurated a police assistance centre for Kanwariyas and performed an aarti for the same.
However, in one case, police refuted Kanwariyas' claims.
Kanwariyas had vandalised a car in Muzaffarnagar and thrashed its driver on the alleged pretext that his car had brushed against the ‘Kanwar’ carried by one of them during their yatra on 21 July and so had become 'impure.'
But here’s the catch.
But Manoj, a Kanwariya in Kalindi Kunj who is on his nineth yatra, justified the action to react aggressively if their Kanwar is touched.
While this raises questions about ensuring safety of both the Kanwars and the locals, it must be noted that the polarisation has been building up over the years.
Amid all of this, one should also remember this lesser-known fact that the many of the Kanwar-makers are Muslims who have been making them for generations in Uttarakhand.
Few Kanwariyas also agreed that there should not be any untoward incident or violence which negates the yatra the pilgrims undertake. And some added details about how Muslims have also helped them during the yatra.
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