Kanwar Yatra: Social Media Outrage Over Muzaffarnagar Police's Directive (image: x.com/seriousfunnyguy/)
Muzaffarnagar Police’s new directive demanding eateries along the Kanwar Yatra pilgrimage route to display the names of their owners and operators has caused massive outrage in the social media. The Police issued the order on Wednesday.
As a justification, the Police states in the post that this order is not intended to generate religious discrimination but to enable the pilgrims passing through Muzaffarnagar district, “counter allegations and save the law and order situation”. This system has been in practice in the past as well, it added.
“During the holy month of Shravan, many people, especially Kanwariyas, abstain from certain food items in their diet. In the past, such 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 created a law and order situation. 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 order stated.
On Tuesday, in a widely circulated video a police officer state that orders have been given to the proprietor or people who work there on eateries, so that “Kanwars are not confused.”
This order evoked widespread criticism on the social media.
Fact-checker Mohammed Zubair wrote on X: “Wow justification by @muzafarnagarpol. If Kanwariyas abstains from certain food items in their diet, Then ask the shopkeepers to display if the food is Veg or Non-Veg. Why is it important to display the names of Owners and Employees of the shop? You may say this is not to create any kind of religious discrimination. But by asking to mention their names, You are indeed doing religious discrimination.”
Wow justification by @muzafarnagarpol. If Kanwariyas abstains from certain food items in their diet, Then ask the shopkeepers to display if the food is Veg or Non-Veg. Why is it important to display the names of Owners and Employees of the shop? You may say this is not to create… https://t.co/ZELofvQGrk pic.twitter.com/pnNjXERVJZ
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) July 17, 2024
Criticising the police move, journalist Rohini Singh wrote on X: “… they can simply not order the food they are abstaining from? What kind of puerile and ridiculous justification is this!”
“This is really shameful. The government should refrain from dividing people in the name of religion.
This is a way to divide and discrimination between people,” a user wrote on X.
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Another user remarked: “When the The Indian Constitution gives us right of “non disclosure of religion”, then how can Muzaffarnagar Police issue this type of order and force people to display their religion?”
The Kanvar Yatra, an annual pilgrimage of Shiva devotees, sees millions of Kanvarias traveling from various locations to sacred sites like Haridwar, Gaumukh, Gangotri, and Ajgaibinath to fetch holy water from the Ganges River. This year’s Yatra is set to commence on July 22, drawing significant attention and participation.
Earlier, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, and TMC MP Saket Gokhale has also criticised the directive.
