The Delhi roads have been painted orange with Kanwarias sweeping across the Delhi roads. As the ritual to offer holy water in Shiva temples starts across northern India from Saturday, the chaos on city roads which has been going on for the last so many days should hopefully end.
The recent destruction brought about hundreds of Kanwarias makes one believe that India is actually a country of fools who would do anything in the name of religion. Best is even that government machinery is a helpless spectator in this. Though I am not against anyone’s religious sentiments I beg to differ that the gods appreciate senseless waste of public money and time on this entire event then other constructive use of the same. In retrospect I think that many villages, civic amenities and value could have been created by constructive use of innumerable Kanwarias physical effort, which is spent in treading the path from the holy Ganges to the Shiva temples.
You see these people in their own frenzy completely forgetful of rules and general code of existence. Its their power in numbers and religion which makes them run amok across cities, roads etc. I was amused to see yesterday a traffic cop helping 3 helmet less guys on a motorcy
cle to stand up after they had skipped the red light and banged into a car. As it is, the administration in each part of the city are given orders to avoid any untoward incident even if it means pacifying the most unreasonable demands of hordes of Kanwarias in their region. The movement of Kanwarias keeps the administration and police officers on tenterhooks. With a history of generating violence, at times without any provocation have rendered the entire yatra a bad name.
While the Kanwarias had their leisurely walk to their destinations, the traffic along the Haridwar-Delhi highway came to a standstill. Heavy vehicles were stopped to p1y and major diversions were implemented on this route from August 4. The movement of light vehicles was also stopped from August 7 on the Ghaziabad-Meerut Road. Motorists as well as commuters had a difficult time, as there were traffic diversions and roadblocks everywhere in the city .To prevent students from inconvenience, the district administration announced holidays in scho
ols and educational institutions. What a waste of time and money.
According to a conservative estimate, more than 10 lakh Kanwarias passed through Ghaziabad on their way to Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The number of people originating from Haridwar was estimated at a staggering 50 lakhs. Imagine 50 lakh people using this time for betterment of roadblocks at grass root level could have been able to invest 50Lakh * 8 Hours * 5 working days = 20 crore man hours. And this with the same amount of affection and help provided by the local machinery and other local associations, which provide for
the stay, food, first aid etc at various nook and corner of towns. I know then Indians are Indians and certain things in the name of religion do not make sense to these devout followers. But my argument is not to say that this people are doing any wrong, as faith is ones discretion but be conscious to agree to the existence of other demons in their respective milieu and be ready with alternatives to solve them. Because without any generalizations it’s
a fact that most of the people who make a part of this orange revolution are from lower SEC’s many of whom just do this for the freebies and the kicks of being a part of the gang euphoria. This further bolsters the logic of poor becoming poorer even .So it is plain necessary for these Kanwarias to realize the fact that constructive solution exists to problems existing in their surroundings (regions/strata); solutions whose root lie in these countless Kanwarias who think they would gain amelioration and prosperity by mere chanting or other rituals. But it’s a vicious cycle as Politics is fuel to fire, which in India runs on sentiments then practicality. But I guess these thoughts and viewpoints are of very few and would not resonate with even my elders. But things would be different in the future. Atleast I hope they would…I
The recent destruction brought about hundreds of Kanwarias makes one believe that India is actually a country of fools who would do anything in the name of religion. Best is even that government machinery is a helpless spectator in this. Though I am not against anyone’s religious sentiments I beg to differ that the gods appreciate senseless waste of public money and time on this entire event then other constructive use of the same. In retrospect I think that many villages, civic amenities and value could have been created by constructive use of innumerable Kanwarias physical effort, which is spent in treading the path from the holy Ganges to the Shiva temples.
You see these people in their own frenzy completely forgetful of rules and general code of existence. Its their power in numbers and religion which makes them run amok across cities, roads etc. I was amused to see yesterday a traffic cop helping 3 helmet less guys on a motorcy
cle to stand up after they had skipped the red light and banged into a car. As it is, the administration in each part of the city are given orders to avoid any untoward incident even if it means pacifying the most unreasonable demands of hordes of Kanwarias in their region. The movement of Kanwarias keeps the administration and police officers on tenterhooks. With a history of generating violence, at times without any provocation have rendered the entire yatra a bad name.While the Kanwarias had their leisurely walk to their destinations, the traffic along the Haridwar-Delhi highway came to a standstill. Heavy vehicles were stopped to p1y and major diversions were implemented on this route from August 4. The movement of light vehicles was also stopped from August 7 on the Ghaziabad-Meerut Road. Motorists as well as commuters had a difficult time, as there were traffic diversions and roadblocks everywhere in the city .To prevent students from inconvenience, the district administration announced holidays in scho
ols and educational institutions. What a waste of time and money.According to a conservative estimate, more than 10 lakh Kanwarias passed through Ghaziabad on their way to Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The number of people originating from Haridwar was estimated at a staggering 50 lakhs. Imagine 50 lakh people using this time for betterment of roadblocks at grass root level could have been able to invest 50Lakh * 8 Hours * 5 working days = 20 crore man hours. And this with the same amount of affection and help provided by the local machinery and other local associations, which provide for
the stay, food, first aid etc at various nook and corner of towns. I know then Indians are Indians and certain things in the name of religion do not make sense to these devout followers. But my argument is not to say that this people are doing any wrong, as faith is ones discretion but be conscious to agree to the existence of other demons in their respective milieu and be ready with alternatives to solve them. Because without any generalizations it’s
a fact that most of the people who make a part of this orange revolution are from lower SEC’s many of whom just do this for the freebies and the kicks of being a part of the gang euphoria. This further bolsters the logic of poor becoming poorer even .So it is plain necessary for these Kanwarias to realize the fact that constructive solution exists to problems existing in their surroundings (regions/strata); solutions whose root lie in these countless Kanwarias who think they would gain amelioration and prosperity by mere chanting or other rituals. But it’s a vicious cycle as Politics is fuel to fire, which in India runs on sentiments then practicality. But I guess these thoughts and viewpoints are of very few and would not resonate with even my elders. But things would be different in the future. Atleast I hope they would…I 
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