Concerned about religious tensions, Indian authorities have covered mosques with plastic sheets and tarpaulins ahead of processions on the occasion of the Hindu festival of Holi.
On Monday, the ‘Festival of Colors’ will be celebrated across India, with people throwing dry colored powders, playing with water guns, and enjoying music and sweets.
Holi also marks the arrival of spring in the Hindu calendar and celebrates fertility, color, love and the triumph of good over evil.
But officials in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh fear the celebrations, including a procession, could lead to communal unrest in the two districts of Bareilly and Lat Sahib.
Police officials said the annual Ram Barat procession of the idol of the Hindu god Lord Rama was scheduled to begin from the Narsingh temple on Sunday and they feared that mosques along the procession route would be painted with Holi colours.
According to new data from a US-based research group, an average of two incidents of hate speech against Muslims occurred in India every day in 2023.
About 104 hate speech programs were held in Uttar Pradesh alone, home to over 38 million Muslims, the report said.
According to Indian Express report, Bareilly Senior Superintendent of Police Ghole Sushil Chandrabhan has said that the authorities are working to avoid any incident of unrest.
“We held a meeting with the Ulama in the district on Friday and told them that the mosques will be properly covered so that no miscreants can do anything to disturb the communal harmony,” he said.
He further said that the clerics of the mosques were satisfied with the arrangements.
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“A team of policemen will also accompany the yatra, which will return to the Narsingh temple after passing through several areas of the city,” he told the Indian newspaper.
Another event will take place in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, where locals traditionally throw shoes at a buffalo cart and an ‘unlucky’ person in the procession. This person is a character who has been portrayed as a British colonial ruler since India’s independence.
Tight security arrangements have also been made in Shahjahanpur, where mosques adjacent to the procession route have been covered with plastic sheets. Police said they will be on high alert on Sunday and Monday during the festival.
Holi is one of the biggest festivals in the Hindu calendar, and celebrations are held in communities across the country, with foreign tourists also traveling to India to enjoy the spectacle.
In the days leading up to the festival, the streets are lined with vendors selling dyes – mostly organic – and water guns. This festival is also celebrated in neighboring Nepal.
Holi begins with the Holika Dahan, a pyre burning ritual that takes place the night before. Wood and other materials are burnt in a fire, which is collected several days in advance, while a Holika effigy is also usually placed on top of the pyre.
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2024-05-03 19:52:26