CCommunal strife, violence, controversy, politics, beatings and sabotage campaigns – this year Navratri in Gujarat was no less than a battlefield. Garba, a dance of devotion, was filled with interruptions and decrees a few weeks later Nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Of Gujarat’khelayasi‘ (The dancers) had a whole new assortment of music, from songs on Ram Mandir to the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and promises of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. According to estimates, elections are going to be held in Gujarat soon. Comedian Munawwar Farooqui, who last year spent more than a month in jail following complaints filed by Hindu groups, was also seen dancing at a garba event
But it was unexpected how the discontent during the festivities was translated into violence and how vigilantes were openly indulging in threats. The matter did not end here. On Navami, the last day of Navratri, a video surfaced of some policemen in plain clothes thrashing Muslim youths for throwing stones at a Garba event. Images of these men tied to electric poles and brutally caneed by policemen at Undhela village square have cast a shadow over the vibrant Navratri in Gujarat.
And that is why Garba from Gujarat is ThePrint’s Newsmaker of the Week.
Past Threats, Today’s Violence
About 46 kms from Ahmedabad, Kheda still holds an uneasy calm. There were two incidents of communal clashes in the district in two consecutive days, one allegedly at BK Patel Arts and Commerce College and the other at Undhela on October 1. Violence was also reported in Vadodara, Anand and Porbandar during Garba events. And then, again there were alerts. Videos of Muslim men beating up for trying to enter the Garba venue by Bajrang Dal members in Ahmedabad were shared widely on social media.
But is this a first for Gujarat? Haven’t decrees, violence and threats been a part of the festival for years?
Since 2014, the VHP and/or Bajrang Dal have been coming out with their decrees almost every year – ‘Muslims should not be allowed’, ‘Check ID cards’, ‘Ban Muslim singers and artists’. But it didn’t change much on the ground. Yes, different incidents happened. Yes, the troublemakers did what they were best at. But that hasn’t deterred communities from being a part of a celebration that Gujarat is proud of. So what has changed this year?
,If the enemy comes to Garba Ramwa, welcome the paan, come to fight, don’t believe in Garba, Aye Che you Gujarat (If any enemy comes to our courtyard for garba, we welcome him. In garba, fights and enmity are forgotten, this is our Gujarat),” Indela village sarpanch Indervadan Patel told me. According to him, bitterness between Hindus and Muslims has been at its peak in the village, but no one expected Navratri to be “ruined”. “Stones were thrown at us, sticks and hockey sticks were used to attack us,” Patel alleged. The sarpanch said that while the miscreants “should not go without punishment”, the police “goed overboard” by publicly lashing the accused as hundreds of villagers gathered to watch the public being beaten up and the policemen one after the other. Laths were hurled at Muslim men. ,
The tremors of both incidents – the alleged disruption on 3 October and the mob punishment by the police a day later – were evident in the narrow streets of Undhela a few days later. The village’s primary school had zero attendance on 6 October, with villagers claiming that the Muslim men – who had been beaten up – have fled, and while an investigation is ongoing, no action has been taken against the policemen who He had beaten up a Muslim in public. Male.
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A political tool in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat
Police officers in neighboring Madhya Pradesh acted against Muslim youths and arrested them from Garba events in Indore at the behest of the Bajrang Dal. Identity cards were allegedly checked at some places in the state to prevent Muslims from entering.
Garba has become a political weapon in both Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
While the Madhya Pradesh government asked the garba organizers to check the ID cards of those who witnessed the entry inside the pandals, the state Home Minister Narottam Mishra Muslim men were accused of “hiding their identity” and asking “people of any religion” to organize a separate Garba event “if they want to worship Maa (Durga)”.
In Gujarat, the Congress is intensifying its attack on the BJP government led by Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel, demanding action against police officials involved in the thrashing of Kheda, even hinting at a political conspiracy ahead of the assembly elections. for which the dates are likely to be announced. later this month. It is no surprise that political parties try to use Navratri to send their messages. It was not limited to songs released by political parties. Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann – both members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) – were seen at an event in Rajkot, Kejriwal attended the Kodaldham Garba event, and Modi visited the Ambaji temple and the Maha temple at the Gabbar shrine. Aarti did. ,
Amidst politics and violence, Gujarat’s Navratri was celebrated two years after the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Muslims are still a part of ‘Garba Mandali’ in many villages. Singers and dancers from all communities participated in it. In the walled Ahmedabad city, everyone in the ‘Pol’, irrespective of caste and religion, was present in ‘Sherry Garba’. The most commonly heard phrase during the nine nights of Navratri would safely be ‘Ae Helo’ (Come, let’s play.. ‘Garba’), but it would be ‘Aye’ for the people of Gujarat, its officers, enforcement agencies and politicians. ‘ It’s time to say. Roko’ (let’s stop) anyone who defames the dance form.
Thoughts are personal.
(edited by Prashant)