Kanwar Yatra: What's the Reason Behind the Violence and Controversies?

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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.

Kanwariyas vandalised a car on Delhi-Meerut Expressway and beat up Mohammad Parvez and his relative as his family managed to flee. Ghaziabad also saw two incidents — one where Kanwariyas damaged a police vehicle and in the other, they damaged a car and the driver was booked and arrested for alleged rash driving.

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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.

What Kanwariyas Have to Say

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."

Shyam Vidagar, a Kanwariya from Rajasthan said, "Now, imagine if there's a Rehman, if he's doing it under the guise of a pilgrim, then that's wrong. He should do it with his own name and shouldn't hide it."

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:

"This is all wrong. The road that we walked on, our Muslim brothers helped us along the way. Nowhere did we find anything wrong. It is wrong. Our brotherhood is getting ruined because of all these things."

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.

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Swami Yashveer — The One Who Laid The Antecedents

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.

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From Occasionally Busting Claims to Showering Petals: Police's Role

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 UP's Baghpat, DM and SP shower rose petals on Kanwariyas. pic.twitter.com/KbKpGyf4gj

— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) August 2, 2024

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.

In the FIR filed in this case, the sub-inspector Ashutosh Kumar Singh stated that when the Kanwariyas were asked about the Kanwar which was supposedly damaged, they didn’t give any answers. Even after doing an inspection the police “did not find the Kawar of any devotee being damaged.” The Quint has accessed the FIR too.

But Manoj, a Kanwariya in Kalindi Kunj who is on his nineth yatra, justified the action to react aggressively if their Kanwar is touched.

After the Hindon river, there was no facility, it was a single road for us to cross both ways. So my Kanwar is a heavy one which was kept on one side. Many vehicles went by carefully, and when we told them to stop but they didn't. There was no police either. Now if my Kanwar had been damaged, then I would have had to beat them.

Manoj, Kanwairya to The Quint

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.

"There were many camps by them, they gave us water to drink and even took care of Kanwariyas. There were doctors too. We saw it in Muzaffarnagar and other places too," remarked Laxman.

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