Kanwar Yatra 2024: India court blocks order for eateries to display owners’ names

A contentious get that required restaurants along the way of an annual Hindu journey to show the names of their owners and operators has been put on hold by India’s Supreme Court.

Prior to the Kanwar Yatra, which started on Monday, the order was issued by Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, two states that are governed by the federally-controlled Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) ahead of the event.

It was criticized by opposition parties and also BJP allies, who claimed it targeted Muslim-owned businesses and could have an impact on lives.

State officials claimed that the buy was intended to uphold the law and order.

However, while hearing a number of requests challenging it, India’s Supreme Court temporarily halted the attempt on Monday. The judges argued that the owners of the eatery just needed to list the items they served.

The petitions, filed by civil society activists and opposition MP Mahua Moitra, argued that the orders were “discriminatory on grounds of religion and would further the cause of untouchability ]outlawed in India ]”.

Authorities in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur districts asked eateries along the pilgrimage route to display their owners ‘ names to avoid” confusion” among devotees, who avoid meat and alcohol during the pilgrimage.

The annual trip occurs during the Hindu quarter of Sawan. Shiva followers travel on foot to spiritual locations along the sacred Ganges river to acquire water and sell it at Shiva churches, sometimes for days or weeks.

The travellers are mostly young people, who pass through state such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan on their approach to and from church cities.

Customers restrictions are typically in place, and police are frequently called in to keep things purchase. However, in recent years, violent and vandalism have been reported as a result of frequent crossings between young men and young women who are often walking in the middle of active cities with much group control.

The Uttar Pradesh authorities, led by Hindu monkturnedchief minister Yogi Adityanath, expanded the scope of the attempt to include the whole position during the trip after receiving criticism from criticism parties.

In a sign of “respect” for followers, Mr. Adityanath earlier this year had prohibited the sale and purchase of foods in the open along the journey roads.

Additionally, the states of Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain area, Ujjain area, required restaurants to post their names on their board.

Uttarakhand’s chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami cited previous cases of criminal conduct “over some hotel and dhaba [eatery ] users hiding their true names” and said the order was intended to stop these incidents from occurring in the future.

Opposition parties accused the ruling BJP of facilitating an economic Muslim protest and called the attempt “divisive.” According to news reports, the matter was brought up at an all-party meeting on Sunday ahead of parliament’s finances session.

Yet BJP supporters have criticized the action.

” A Kanwar Yatra bigger than this]in Uttar Pradesh ] takes place in Bihar. No such order is in effect there”, KC Tyagi, spokesperson of BJP’s ally Janata Dal ( United ) said, urging the governing party to review the order.

Chirag Paswan, commander of Lok Janshakti Party, another BJP alliance, said:” Whenever there is for break in the name of caste or religion, I definitely do not possibly help it or promote it”.

BBC Hindi visited Muzaffarnagar, where dangerous Hindu-Muslim protests had left at least 60 persons dying in 2013. According to a number of local suppliers and business owners, the purchase appears to be an “assembly of an alienation” for Muslims.

The titles of the owners and employees were written in big, bold crimson letters along the bridge from Delhi to Uttar Pradesh. Some claimed that the officers had forced them into it.

However, the district’s restaurant owners allegedly freely complied with the order, according to authorities.

Vakeel Ahmad, the owner of Lover’s Tea Point, a favorite drink factory in Muzzafarnagar’s Khatauli place, said he renamed it Vakeel Sahab Chai after a policeman attend.

” But officers came back and claimed that the title does not clearly state that I am a Muslim. They made me put up another placard with the title Vakeel Ahmad.

Mr. Ahmad claimed it was troubling to have the shop’s ten-year-old identity changed.

The owner of a food stall claimed to have fired four of his Muslim people, including the restaurant manager. ” You need to understand our position. We do n’t want any controversy”, he said on condition of anonymity.

The Hindu owner of a different restaurant in the area claimed that the police had questioned him about hiring any Muslim workers when they had visited his place. I told them I did n’t have any jobs available to me right now. They advised me against employing any Muslims”, he alleged.

Senior police officer Abhishek Singh in Muzaffarnagar, Abhishek Singh, did not respond to the accusations, but instead directed the BBC to a statement released by the officers that claimed the shopkeepers had been asked to show the names freely.

One restaurant owner claimed a Muslim worker at his restaurant had “left on his own” because he did n’t want other employees to be in trouble because of him.

Restaurant users say they have been under stress since last year when a prominent Hindu spiritual leader in the area began requesting that Muslim-owned restaurant named after Hindu deities and gods be shut down.

Since then, many of these diners have closed, and some have been rented out to Hindus.

However, while the disagreement persists, some travelers who are making the journey claim that it was irrelevant to them whether or not they owned or worked in a store.

” It does n’t matter if the shop belongs to a Hindu or a Muslim. Everybody these respects a traveller. While buying anything, we always look for the name of the people selling it”, said Vishal Bhola.

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