Around 30 million Kanwariyas will undertake the journey to Haridwar from various parts of the country between July 22 and August 2.

The Uttar Pradesh police’s controversial directive for eateries along the Kanwar route in western UP to display owner names sparked massive outrage and criticism for potentially widening the communal divide.

After backlash from a senior BJP minority leader, the Samajwadi Party, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, and BJP ally Janata Dal (United), the police clarified that compliance was “voluntary”. Muzaffarnagar SSP Abhishek Singh stated the order was “just an appeal” for voluntary compliance.

However, UP Chief Minsiter Yogi Adityanath’s office said that nameplates will have to be put on the food shops on the Kanwar routes across UP. “The decision was taken to maintain the purity of the faith of Kanwar pilgrims. Action will also be taken against those selling products with Halal certification.”

Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi criticised the directive, urging a review of the order affecting the shopkeepers along the 240-km kanwar route from Haridwar to Delhi.

In a post on X in Hindi, Naqvi said: “The hasty orders of some over-zealous officials may give rise to the disease of untouchability… Faith must be respected, but untouchability must not be patronised… ‘Don’t ask about birth or caste, what is the caste and lineage. Raidas, all are sons of the Lord, none are of low caste’.”

Naqvi also posted a photograph of himself during a kanwar yatra.

The Janata Dal (United), the third-largest member of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), also flagged the order.

KC Tyagi, national spokesperson of the JDU, said the order should be reviewed.

“Kanwar yatra has been taking place for years and this region has a significant minority population. No incident of communal violence has been reported and people live in a cordial atmosphere. Such a decision will divide society,” Tyagi told news outlets.

“I come from the parts of Muzaffarnagar. I know the area well. The Muslims there have always taken active participation in extending their co-operation to kanwariyas. I feel police do have a duty to identify anti-socials. But any order should not create communal divide. The order should be reviewed,” Tyagi said.

Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan told a news agency that he believes society is divided into two classes: the rich and the poor, and that individuals of various castes and religions can be found in both groups.

“We need to bridge the gap between these two classes of people. It is every government’s responsibility to work for the poor, which includes all sections of society such as Dalits, backwards, upper castes and Muslims as well. All are there. We need to work for them,” Paswan said.

He added, “Whenever there is such divide in the name of caste or religion, I absolutely do not either support it or encourage it.”

Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), another BJP ally, also believes that the diktat of asking vendors to show nameplates is absolutely wrong.

“It is up to the customer, they can make purchases from wherever they want. These small shops are set up by the poor. So, you are pointing fingers at them,” RLD National General Secretary Trilok Tyagi said.

Police in the communally sensitive western UP districts of Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, and Saharanpur issued orders for eateries to display owner names on shops or carts. Although the order did not mention any religion, opposition leaders and activists claimed it was intended to highlight the faiths of food sellers.

“During the holy month of Shravan, many people, especially Kanwariyas, abstain from certain food items. In the past, instances have come to light where some shopkeepers, selling all types of food items, on Kanwar Marg named their shops in such a way that it created confusion among the Kanwariyas and led to a law and order situation,” the order said.

It added: “To prevent such recurrence and in view of the faith of the devotees, hotels, dhabas and shopkeepers selling food items on Kanwar Marg have been requested to voluntarily display the names of their owners and employees. The intention of this order is not to create any kind of religious discrimination but only to facilitate the devotees passing through Muzaffarnagar district, counter allegations and save the law and order situation. This system has been prevalent in the past also.”

Soon after, pictures of fruit sellers putting their names on carts and flex boards displaying the names of the owners of the eateries went viral on social media.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav called it a “social crime” and urged the courts to take suo motu cognisance.

“…And what if the name of the owner is Guddu, Munna, Chhotu or Fatte? What can you find out from these names?” Yadav posted on X.  “Such an order is a social crime aimed at spoiling the peaceful atmosphere and harmony,” he said.

“This was called apartheid in South Africa and Juden boycott in Hitler’s Germany,” AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said on X.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati warned that it could disturb the communal harmony.

In response, the BJP described the order as a preventive step. “There is no harm in displaying the identity of the person. There were several reports that posters of Hindu Gods are being used and illegal activity takes place in the guise of the same. The government has taken a preventive step,” Rakesh Tripathi, UP BJP spokesperson, said.

Around 30 million Kanwariyas will undertake the journey to Haridwar from various parts of the country between July 22 and August 2.