In various states, devotees of Shiva undertake the pilgrimage of consecrating the Shivlinga by bringing water from the River Ganga in a Kanwar (a pitcher). In Uttarakhand, an estimated 1 crore devotees known as Kanwarias carry water every year to perform Jalabhishek. This is called ‘Kanwar Yatra’. These devotees come to Haridwar by truckloads. Devotees carry Ganga water in pitchers, while some also carry Ganga water in plastic cans or other containers.
History of the Kanwar tradition
Since ancient times, people have been carrying water using Kanwars (pitchers that are tried to two ends of a bamboo stick). Balak Shravan took his parents on a pilgrimage by seating them on a Kanwar. Historical references are found that Saint Eknath Maharaj fed a thirsty donkey with Ganga water brought in a Kanwar. Eknath Maharaj also mentions a Kanwar Yatra in one of his Abhangs (devotional hymns). This tradition is so old. There was also an ancient tradition of consecrating the Rameshwar Shivling in the south by carrying the water of the Ganga river from the north. Punyashlok Ahilyabai Holkar also patronized the tradition of conveying the water of the Ganga to its desired destination. Even in Maharashtra, there is a tradition of consecrating the Shivpindi by bringing river water in places like Akola, Beed, Shikhar Shingnapur, or Rajapur in Konkan.
Attack on Hindu organizations
As of now, the fanatical hostilities that plagued Hindu processions, temples, etc. have now targeted Hindu pilgrimages like the Kanwar Yatra. This year the fanatics as usual have started harassing the pilgrims in this yatra in various ways. The black cloud of jihadi fanaticism that hung over the Amarnath pilgrimage has now spread to other parts of India as well. The Union Home Ministry itself has predicted the possibility of an attack by Jihadis on the Kanwar Yatra (which started in North India) and has ordered to increase the security of the pilgrims immediately. Due to the above threat, on July 21, the police arrested fanatics who were offering namaz on the Kanwar Yatra route in Haridwar. Police arrested a fanatical youth named Nazim who entered the crowd of pilgrims during Kanwar Yatra on July 24 in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut district. A fanatic who participated in the Kanwar Yatra followed Mahant Machendra Puri for a long time and spied on him while passing on his information to others. This shows that the fanatics have conspired to turn Hindu society into a headless chicken. Can any Hindu ever dare to walk into some Muslim procession? At Kankarkheda, two fanatics entered the Yatra and spat in the Ganga water, which angered the pilgrims and they thrashed one of them and staged a ‘rasta roko’ protest. In the Ibrahimpur village of Bilari in the Moradabad district, some bigoted Muslim women stopped the Kanwar Yatra. They said that ‘the procession of the Hindus should follow only the prescribed route’. Who fronted these women? As always, the fanatics’ attempt to spoil the atmosphere by using different excuses is seen in each of the above incidents.
Identifying fanatics in such a large crowd is also a huge challenge that the police face. The police may also declare at once that ‘who exactly is at the root of all these crimes and inciting the fanatics to commit these acts?’; but the police administration with the help of the government must take measures to completely eradicate this evil. Otherwise, these measures will be superficial as always. The ploy of the religious fanatics is simple, to constantly attack Hindus to demoralise them and prevent them from following their Dharma and protecting Dharma.
Hindus must learn a lesson!
At present, many malpractices have entered this Kanwar Yatra. Devotional songs are blasted from the trucks carrying pilgrims. There is very little or sometimes no devotion in this. Due to the lack of Dharma education and practice of Dharma, the original purpose of Kanwar Yatra which is that ‘the worship of God is in itself spiritual practice’ is being lost. As a result, Hindus are deprived of the Chaitanya (Divine Consciousness) that comes from it. An external effect of this is that fanatics are now daring to attack this Kanwar Yatra as well. The humungous gathering of Hindus at the pilgrimage site of Haridwar on the occasion of Kanwar Yatra should strike fear in the heart of fanatics. All the bridges of Haridwar over the River Ganga are completely packed with these pilgrims. Despite this, fanatics dare to attack this pilgrimage. Hindus need to show their strength of unity, and for the government to act stringently against the culprits by increasing security. Along with these measures, Hindus take out this yatra with great devotion and benefit from the Chaitanya. For this, it is necessary for the spiritual organizations of Uttar Pradesh and the government to jointly educate the Hindus to avoid the malpractices in this pilgrimage and to increase devotion. Therefore, the Hindu unity will get spiritual backing which will increase their strength while also showing the religious fanatics their place!