Speak up Delhi: Kanwar kand – An act of disgrace, a capital shame, say angry citizens

The auspicious month of 'Sharavan', known to bring divine grace on devotees, is also famous for the Kanwar Yatra, which is an annual pilgrimage by Shiva devotees who walk from their homes to Haridwar to fetch holy Ganga water.

But this has started turning into a menace in north India for both the police and the locals.

With hooliganism in the name of god, the Kanwar Yatra in recent times has started to see a kind of social disorder and violence on the roads, never witnessed earlier.

The recent such incident was when around a dozen saffron-clad kanwar pilgrims wrecked a car — driven by a CISF inspector's daughter — with rods and sticks and turned it turtle on a busy street in West Delhi's Moti Nagar area on Tuesday evening, as policemen and passersby looked on helplessly.

The video capturing the violence showed two policemen nonchalantly strolling nearby as the vandals went about wrecking the car.

"The vehicle hit one of the Kanwariyas after which an altercation began. One of the occupants slapped a Kanwariya after which the group turned violent and vandalised the car," said Vijay Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, West District.

After videos showcasing vehicles being vandalised by Kanwariyas across Northern states went viral on social media, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the police to take strict action against those responsible for erupting violence and breaching laws. A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, and comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, reiterated an earlier verdict, which stated that videography of every procession should have to be made.

While this year, the Mahashivratri of the Shravan month was celebrated on August 9, where travellers on city roads complained of traffic disruptions by kanwar processions, who went about running in the middle of the road or on two-wheelers without helmets and carrying hockey sticks, lathis, and national flags, one can still see bunches of kanwariyas returning to their homes from Haridwar and Gangotri.

RECENT INCIDENT

Recently, a dozen saffron-clad kanwar pilgrims wrecked a car — driven by a CISF inspector’s daughter — with rods and sticks and turned it turtle on a busy street in West Delhi’s Moti Nagar area on Tuesday evening, as policemen and passersby looked on helplessly.

VOICES

There should be a permanent solution to the chaos created by the kanwariyas every year. These tents should not be installed in the residential localities as it creates a lot of inconvenience for the residents. The police and the authorities should plan the security arrangements in advance to avoid any untoward incident during the Yatra.
— Sandeep Bali, RWA, Mehrauli

The mingling of the National flag with the saffron flag is a dangerous combination of politics. If we continue to ignore such criminalisation of nationalism on Hindu religious occasions, we can only do so at our own risk and be ready to suffer the consequences.
— Gaurav Batra, Businessman

The number of kanwariyas carrying the National flag has shot up in recent times. This year the tricolour was seen in the hands of every kanwariya on the road. It should be asked if the national flag shows their patriotism alongside their devotion to Shiva? They have no right to trouble
— Priti Grover, Housewife

The kanwariyas have become more like goons than devotees. The ruckus they create on the roads is dismal, to say the least. It is so apparent that even the police and the authorities cannot do anything to reign them in. They have no right to bully innocent people who go about their business and take law into their hands just because they worship some lord and are pursuing some religious cause.
— Dr Rajinder Kumar Singla, Educationist & RTI activist

The criminal behaviour of kanwariyas, violating traffic rules, three or four people riding a bike without wearing a helmet, moving around with hockey sticks and lathis, are all a sign of the violent nature they walk around with. What are we going to see next? Swords and trishuls?
— Amit Agarwal, Businessman

I was so scared to take my daughter to school after I saw that video. This could happen to any of us. With the kind of air and confidence these people walk with on the roads holding lathis, I am too scared to even send my child out.
— Ayushmann Chawla, IT professional

EXPERT SPEAK

We had to make sure that everything in order and for this, we implemented extra officers on duty to keep a watch on the kanwariya camps and also made sure that the food served did not have any alleged adulteration of 'bhaang'. We also made sure that there were no traffic jams caused by kanwariyas. This time of the year, we have to increase our surveillance of the area.
— AK Singh, SP City