Kumbh is the largest festival, taking place once every 12 years, with more than 50 million Hindu pilgrims gathering to pray and bathe in the near the Ganges river.
In the state of bulldozer government of Yogi Adityanath, where Urdu names of popular cities have been changed under the Hindutva-canopy, now the ‘non-Sanatani vendors’ and ‘Urdu terms for rituals’ would be ‘banned’ at the Kumbh, 2025.
Akhara parishad, a Hindu religious authority which directs the ‘internal religious management’ during Kumbh mela at Sangam in Prayagraj (Allahabad), has declared to pass an ‘official religious resolution’ to ban food stalls of non-Hindu businessmen after Diwali.
In an internal meeting of Niranjani Akhada, the Hindutva leaders have decided to replace the Urdu words for Hindu rituals with their Hindi or Sanskrit alternatives. Religious heads have informed the government about the Urdu names and non-Sanatani (Muslim) vendors who can allegedly disrupt their fascist-conformist cohesion.
They said that deployment of only Sanatani employees is important to maintain the alleged ‘integrity at the Kumbh’. Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad chief, Ravindra Puri is sure that CM will ‘soon make an announcement in this regard’ and Adityanath Yogi is about to accept their appeal and announce new imposed rules.
Anti-Muslim Conspiracy Theories At Hype
The ‘Sangam’, historically known for its ‘Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb’ is now a tight spot of saffron monopoly and right-wing hate. Taking inspiration from Madhya Pradesh where the term ‘Shahi Sawari’ was replaced with ‘Rajsi Sawari’ for the Mahakal procession, now the Akharas at Kumbh are willing to replace the Urdu words like ‘Shahi Snan’ and ‘Peshwai’ that are used to address bath festivity of saints and the internal procession between Akhara and Ashrams.
The wide-spread conspiracy theories are at full-fledged hype before the Mahakumbh that is all set to kick off in January, 2025. The ‘Tirupati Laddoo controversy’ has also played a big role in increasing the hate against the minorities in general and against the Muslim community in particular. Ravindra Puri said that allowing stalls from non-Sanatani communities can result in ‘adulteration of food’ and mixing of ‘urine in juice’ or ‘spitting in food’.
‘No Entry’ For Minorities
All the 13 Hindutva Akharaz of the ‘Akhara Parishad’ are rigid to ‘completely ban’ minority communities in any activity at the Kumbh, which is not only limited to the ‘food vendors’. Akhara Parishad intends to deploy ‘only Hindu policemen’ and ‘only Hindu officers and employees’ for internal management and security.
Responding to the religious authorities a senior police officer said that police personnel would be appointed ‘only after a background check’.
This story was originally published in theobserverpost.com. Read the full story here.