Videos of Kanwariyas going on a rampage, destroying cars, and abusing car owners over trivial incidents are nothing new. Every year, as the holy month of Sawan dawns, thousands of devotees undertake the arduous trip to holy sites to collect Ganga water and return on foot.
However, on the way, many of these kanwariyas are known to take the law into their own hands over trivial incidents, and this year is no different.
In the latest incident, a group of kanwariyas were filmed completely destroying a car, which allegedly brushed one of them while they were walking on the road. What’s even more appalling is that the entire incident occurred in front of policemen on duty in the area. The video showed the Kanwariyas climbing on top of the car and smashing the windshields and windows with sticks and stones in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad.
The car was a taxi from Haryana, which means that it was a means of earning for the driver.
In another incident on July 13, a bus driver was attacked by Kanwariyas in Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, because the bus touched the kanwad in the high-traffic area.
The Ghaziabad Police later enforced traffic restrictions and heightened security measures on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway following a similar incident where a car allegedly hit Kanwariyas walking on the road.
Why Do Kanwariyas Resort To Violence?
A Kanwad is a symbolic vessel carried by Kanwariyas during the annual penance pilgrimage during the month of Shravan. While it is illegal for public roads to be blocked for religious purposes, Kanwariyas walk on the roads, blocking a considerable part of the carriageway with impunity.
However, if any vehicle happens to touch them, they destroy it. It stems from the belief that the kanwad is sacred above all, and touching it would nullify the fruits of the penance undertaken by the devotee. Since Kanwariyas walk a really long way, emotions understandably run high.
However, that doesn’t give them the right to destroy property or assault an individual. Every year, administrations in the North impose traffic restrictions. But despite that, incidents like these keep occurring.
It is not always the kanwariyas who are at fault. Incidents of anti-social elements spitting on Kanwariyas or deliberately touching them to hurt their religious beliefs and provoke them have also been reported from many places.