Young kanwariyas make their way back with water from the Ganga in Haridwar. Photo: Tapan Mitra
In recent years, BJP governments in states like UP and Uttarakhand have rolled out the red carpet for those on the annual Kanwar Yatra, which is currently ongoing. But as The Federal walked a short distance with young kanwariyas last week, it found concerns about education and employment weighing as heavily on their minds as the pots of holy water felt on their shoulders. Many say the recent students' agitation for reforms and accountability in education had been justified.
Eighteen-year-old Abhay Tomar, a resident of Atarauli village in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district, is a first time participant in Kanwar Yatra — an annual Hindu pilgrimage in which participants walk long distances carrying decorated pots, or kanwars, on their shoulders, to collect water from the Ganga, before walking back to offer it to the deity in their neighbourhood Shiva temples on the occasion of Shrawan Shivratri, which is being celebrated on August 11 this year. Tomar collected the water from the river in Haridwar on July 19 and was on his way back to Atarauli when The Federal caught up with him near Modinagar town in Ghaziabad, close to the Delhi-Meerut highway, last week.
The teenager claims to own no smartphone, or have interest in social media and says he was unaware of the recent students’ protest in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for accountability and reforms in education — following the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak scandal in May — which culminated in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of parliament (MP) Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as the Union education minister on July 25.
Yet, asked which issues would decide his vote in the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh next year, Abhay, a school student, says without hesitation, "While voting, I'll only think about whether children who are studying are getting all the facilities they need on time”.
Incidentally, as the Kanwar Yatra moved towards its last lap on Monday, August 10, another group of youth protestors in Ranchi, Jharkhand were reportedly facing water cannons, tear gas and laathi-charge, as they marched to the Jharkhand assembly as part of an ongoing protest against alleged irregularities in job recruitment examninations.
The recent years have seen states like Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand — both with BJP governments, a party which has come to be increasingly associated with Hindutva politics — roll out the red carpet for kanwariyas (as those on Kanwar Yatra are known). They have been showered with flower petals from helicopters, health and rest camps have been set up for them along the routes to popular Kanwar destinations like Haridwar and arrangements made for their food and drinking water. In parallel, in many places eateries along the routes have been directed to display owners’ names outside — a move which is being seen as an attempt to identify the owners’ faith — and restaurants told to desist from serving non-vegetarian food during the period of Kanwar yatra. Shops selling meat have also reportedly received directions from local administrations to remain closed, in deference to the kanwariyas' “religious sentiments”.
Retired bureaucrat and former Union finance and external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha sees the appeasement of the kanwariyas as proof that “Hindu Rashtra has arrived”.
In a separate interview to The Federal, Sinha also spoke about how the BJP government has turned the Kanwar Yatra “into a means of promoting Hindutva and increasing their vote bank”. “I have absolutely no hesitation in saying that in the northern region, especially from Haridwar towards Gurugram and wherever the other Yatras go, it has been completely politicised,” he added.
In an article published in the magazine Frontline last year, Delhi University professor and political commentator Apoorvanand, too, wrote of the “deliberate elevation of the Kanwar Yatra into a state-sponsored spectacle, wrapped in sacred symbolism and political messaging”. “Kanwariyas now move not as humble pilgrims, but as state-backed emissaries,” he stated.
Emboldened, there have been reports of unruly behaviour by kanwariyas, including attacks on people.
But perhaps, age is a bigger unifier than religion? The scale of aspirations may differ. But poised on the brink of a professional career, the Gen Z all want opportunities for a better future for themselves and their families.
Also read: Why online trolling of Gen Z women dissenters is yet another proof of growing digital misogyny
There is little visible commonality between the Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) kanwariyas The Federal caught up with and the student protestors at Jantar Mantar. Where Jantar Mantar had resonated with slogans of resistance, here conversations are punctuated with chants of “Har Mahadev”. One was unapologetically ‘modern’ in its ways; the other carried the weight of tradition on its shoulders. Quite literally. Where the Gen Z at Jantar Mantar made words like ‘delulu’ (delusional) and ‘kuchu puchu’ the new dialect of dissent, here many struggle to articulate their thoughts clearly. There is a wide gap in education and lived experiences.
Yet, not only do the Gen Z kanwariyas The Federal spoke to criticise “violence” by fellow pilgrims, but they also urged them to show restraint. More importantly, almost all of them were critical of the NEET paper leak and highlighted the importance of education and employment opportunities for the young.
Twenty-one-year-old Abhay Shukla, also from Atarauli, is a BA student and undertaking his third consecutive Kanwar Yatra. Speaking about the Jantar Mantar protest without hesitation, he said he was fully aware of what had happened over the NEET paper leak and that the students' demands were "100 per cent justified".
Twenty-two-year-old Vinay (identified by first name only), a resident of Bayana village in Ghaziabad, is taking part in the Kanwar Yatra for the second time. A school dropout, he says, "I was forced to take up work, first at a salon and now as a daily-wage labourer. If I were educated, I might have been in the police force or become a doctor. The youth who fought at Jantar Mantar were fighting for their future. If education itself becomes a joke in the country, then what is the point of working hard?” he questions. Carefully balancing 51 litres of water on his shoulder, he adds, “The way the police used batons against the students in Delhi [a reference to reports of laathi-charge and alleged use of teargas and pellet guns by security forces against the student protestors] was completely wrong.
Pilgrims Progress: Kanwariyas carry holy water to offer to the Hindu deity Shiva on Shrawan Shivratri
The sentiments are echoed by 18-year-old Sunny (identified by first name only), a resident of Niwari, Ghaziabad, another first-time kanwariya. “The NEET paper leak should never have happened. Many children have died by suicide because of this [unable to bear the prospect of having to repeat the exam and depressed over chances of failure]. What will the government do for these children?” he questions. The class 11 student adds, “My message to the government is that it should change the education system and create as many job vacancies as possible.”
Talking about Pradhan’s resignation, Sunny adds that it would have been “best if Pradhan had been removed”.
Most of the kanwariyas The Federal spoke to were from modest family backgrounds. Some were from agricultural families, others were themselves working in the unorganised sector to support their families.
The festering worry among these youth regarding their future is summed up by 36-year-old Pankaj (identified by first name only), a tailor in Punjab, who has been running a Kanwar camp in Gadana village for the past 14 years: "The government can pat itself on the back by distributing free rations, but that does not improve anyone's future. Poor parents spend their lifetime's savings educating their children and when a paper is leaked, all those dreams are shattered. The poor need proper daily wages and secure employment more than they need rations,” he says.
However, while the criticism of the NEET paper leak and the concern over education and employment was common to almost every young kanwariya The Federal spoke to, a handful hazarded the narrative of “opposition hand in the Jantar Mantar agitation”.
Mohit Chauhan, a 22-year-old resident of Kandola village near Pilkhuwa, Uttar Pradesh, has an Industrial Training Institute (training organisations set up by the Labour and Employment Ministry) diploma and works at a plant. “Paper leaks are wrong,” he says. “I have sat for police entrance tests and Staff Selection Commission exams for constables in the past and there were allegations of paper leaks”. He adds: “Children who work hard for examinations should not suffer because of paper leaks.” But talking of the Jantar Mantar protest, alleges, “I don't think there were many actual students there. There were more people from opposition parties who wanted to bring down the government.”
Even among those who support the students’ agitation, one senses a lingering faith in the BJP.
Deepanshu Saini, 21, a resident of Pikhuwa, Ghaziabad, has studied till class 12 and works as an AC mechanic. He agrees that issues of paper leaks and employment are genuine, something that the “Modi government should pay attention to”. But adds that the BJP government at the Centre has also done some “good work”. “The condition of roads has improved, security is better,” he claims, as he carries a 51-kg kanwar on his shoulder.
As Sinha pointed out, overall the Gen Z might have become a force to reckon with for the government. But among its traditional votebank, the sanatanis of which the kanwariyas are perceived to be a part, “while religious appeasement may not be enough” to keep them satisfied, even “if 60-70 per cent remain with them”, a small percentage of dissenters may not be a serious concern yet.
Among that small percentage is 20-year-old Delhi resident Sachin (identified by first name only), a second-time kanwariya, who claims to have himself prepared for NEET and thus felt the impact of the paper leak scandal. "Religion has its place, but education is the most important thing in a person's life,” he says.
Few among the other kanwariyas might have reached that clarity yet. But as they walk the path of faith, balancing their kanwars on their shoulders, it is thoughts of education and employment that weigh heavily on most minds.
