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The Kanwar Yatra came to an end on 2 August. The Yatra, which lasted about two weeks, witnessed at least 20 documented cases of violence.
While in one case, the Kanwariyas were attacked by locals, the other 19 incidents are all of Kanwariyas indulging in violence - from the attack on a Sikh outfit's school bus in Haryana's Fatehabad, to the targeting of a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut and forced entry into a female bathing area at a religious place in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu.
Then there was the case of Mohit, an E-rickshaw driver who died five days after he was beaten up by Kanwariyas in UP's Muzaffarnagar. While the police says he died due to illness, Mohit's family claims he died due to the injuries he faced in the assault by Kanwariyas.
What are the 20 instances of violence that took place during the Kanwar Yatra?
Where did they take place?
What are the reasons behind this?
We'll try and answer these questions in this piece.
20 Incidents of Violence in 16 Days
Out of the 20 violent incidents connected to the Kanwar Yatra, 14 took place in West UP, two in Uttarakhand, two in Haryana, one in Rajasthan and one in East UP.
18 July - Bijnor: Locals beat up 3 Kanwariyas returning from Haridwar
19 July - Muzaffarnagar: Kanwariyas vandalised an eatery over the use of onions and garlic in food.
21 July - Muzaffarnagar: Kanwariyas vandalised a car, beat up driver and attacked an eatery.
23 July - Haridwar: Kanwariyas assaulted a truck driver after a minor collision.
23 July - Muzaffarnagar: Kanwariyas attacked an e-rickshaw driver named Mohit. He died 5 days later. Family claims he died due to the attack, police say he was ill.
23 July - Haridwar: Kanwariyas beat up e-rickshaw driver and damaged his vehicle
23 July - Saharanpur: Kanwariyas attacked two brothers after their bike accidentally touched their Kanwar
24 July - Muzaffarnagar: Kanwariyas assaulted petrol pump employees after being told not to smoke. One victim admitted to ICU.
25 July - Muzaffarnagar: Kanwariyas beat up a specially abled man for waving a stick in front of them.
25 July - Muradnagar: Kanwariyas beat up a contractual worker who asked them not to sit on a fence that he was erecting.
26 July - Meerut: Kanwariyas assaulted a man and vandalised his car as he was allegedly driving on the wrong side.
27 July - Muradnagar: Kanwariyas vandalised a car after it hit one of the pilgrims. They later blocked the road.
28 July - Jhunjhunu: Kanwariyas invaded women's bathing area at a religious place. Chased away by the police, they later vandalised local shops.
29 July - Ghaziabad: Kanwariyas overturned and vandalised a police vehicle after another vehicle hit one of the pilgrims
29 July - Ghaziabad: Kanwariyas beat up two transgenders who were trying to dance with them.
29 July - Sahibabad: Kanwariyas vandalised liquor shops and tried to shut them down.
30 July - Fatehabad: Kanwariyas attacked the bus of a school run by a Sikh group. Two local Hindutva activists booked for instigation.
1 August - Hapur: Kanwariyas attacked and try to enter a Madrassa after allegations that someone had spit at pilgrims.
1 August - Varanasi: Kanwariyas attacked a pick-up van and vandalised a car showroom after the van accidentally hit a pilgrim.
2 August - Gurugram: 6 injured after two groups of Kanwariyas clashed over a music system among other disputes.
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What are the Reasons Behind the Violence?
When The Quint spoke to pilgrims participating in the Yatra, they cited two main reasons for the violence.
According to Shyam Vidagar, a Kanwariya, "Only those Kanwariyas indulge in violence who aren't participating in the Yatra with sincerity and devotion".
Another reason the Kanwariyas cited is to do with the vulnerability of the Kanwar (pitchers attached to a bamboo pole) that the pilgrims carry.
"The Kanwar is very heavy and difficult to carry. It becomes particularly difficult when the road is narrow. Some drivers pass by carefully but some don't and our Kanwar gets damaged. When drivers don't listen, we have to beat them," Manoj, a Kanwariya, told The Quint.
Watch The Quint's full conversation with the Kanwariyas below.
However, there are political reasons behind the violence as well.
In at least one case, the violence was allegedly instigated by local Hindutva elements. This happened in Haryana's Fatehabad, where Kanwariyas attacked a bus belonging to a school run by a Sikh group. The police have booked two Hindutva activists for allegedly instigating the Kanwariyas. The two activists had targeted a Gurdwara in November 2023 as well.
The larger issue is that of impunity. The Kanwar Yatra is given a great deal of patronage by political parties, Hindutva organisations and the administration.
There have been cases in which the police took little or no action against Kanwariyas and instead told the victims of the violence to "settle the matter".
In the case of Mohit, the E-rickshaw driver who died in Muzaffarnagar five days after being beaten by Kanwariyas, there are questions being raised about the police.
According to Mohit's sister Neelam, "He (Mohit) was a healthy young man with no prior illnesses. The injuries from the beating, especially to his chest and kidneys, were severe. We were forced to write what the police dictated. I couldn’t read, and I just wanted to take my brother home."
The police has denied the allegations and said it was the family which refused a post-mortem and that Mohit died because he had a fall due to driving under the influence of alcohol.
Neelam, on the other hand, says "He died because the Kanwariyas beat him up badly. Everyone knows this".
While there is no doubt that a great deal of the patronage can be attributed to the fact that the states where most of the Kanwar Yatris come from - Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand - happen to be BJP ruled, the BJP isn't alone in giving support.
When the police in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu lathi-charged Kanwariyas who forcibly entered a women's bathing area, the Congress actually criticised the Rajasthan police. Speaking in the state Assembly, Rajasthan's Leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully slammed the police's lathi-charge on the Kanwariyas are reminded CM Bhajan Lal Sharma, "You (CM Bhajan Lal Sharma) are a bhakt of Giriraj (Lord Shiva) our leader (Rahul Gandhi) is also a bhakt of Lord Shiva".
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