Pilgrims are not exempt from the law of the land

The kanwar yatra, a journey demanding spiritual awareness and endurance, now has contingents of vehicles blasting music and blocking traffic on choked roads.

The kanwar yatra has, over the past few years, morphed from a stringent test of devotion to a free pass for all sorts of hooliganism, vandalism and cacophonous disruption of traffic. The yatra that passes through the national capital region (NCR) is supposed to be undertaken by the faithful on foot, demanding rigour and a high level of spiritual awareness, fitness and endurance, but it now features large contingents of two-wheelers and trucks loaded with boomboxes, blasting music (not necessarily of a pious nature), and blocking traffic on already choked roads. Then, the kanwar mayhem is not just about inconvenience to urban commuters. It has become one of rowdy conduct in the name of faith. Those urging the kanwar processions to maintain order and cooperate with the authorities are often met with intimidation. This aggression has seeped into almost all aspects of kanwariya conduct — CCTV footage from Mirzapur railway station showed a group of kanwariyas beating up a paramilitary personnel in uniform. The noise pollution from boomboxes is in blatant violation of the decibel limits set by the authorities. The lights and loud music that characterise these processions now, provoked a female elephant and her calf on the Doiwala-Dehradun highway that runs along the Rajaji National Park to attack vehicles.

The kanwar yatra is not just about inconvenience to urban commuters. It has become one of rowdy conduct in the name of faith. (ANI Photo)

It is time the administration got tough on enforcement of the rules set for kanwar processions. Instead of calling criticism of unruly kanwariyas as an attack on faith and talking of penalising such criticism, authorities must be brave and enforce the rules, encouraging (and forcing) kanwariyas to undertake their yatra in an orderly, non-disruptive manner.