Flag march in day, cricket match at night: In run-up to Rath Yatra, how communal harmony events are taking centrestage in Ahmedabad
Even as parts of the 16-km route of the upcoming Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra are seeing heightened vigilance with flag marches and intensive vehicle checking during the day, nightfall is witnessing games, sports and street plays in the walled city area – home to a mixed population of Hindu and Muslim residents.
The communal harmony initiatives, entering their fourth edition this year, have become an annual feature ahead of the Rath Yatra.
One such event was Ekta (unity) Cricket Cup, which saw the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) winning the inaugural match against the Ahmedabad City Police at the Bombay Housing Ground in Saraspur. While the 16-team cricket tournament, under the aegis of Zone-3 of the City Police, was being inaugurated by Commissioner of Police GS Malik with Mahant Dilipdas Maharaj of Jagannath Temple and Maulana Nurjamil Shaikh of Hussaini Masjid in attendance on Tuesday night, in another part of the old city, a 10-team volleyball tournament kicked off under the aegis of Zone-2 of the city police.
On Wednesday night, as the cricket and volleyball tournaments were underway, Zone-3 DCP Vishakha Dabral, speaking to The Indian Express while waiting for a Nukkad Natak to begin on the Jagannath temple premises, said that a local artiste group was performing a play. 'Apart from the street plays, the cricket tournament will go on till June 14. On 15th, we have a blood donation camp at the temple, which will be attended by the Governor of Gujarat. We are also constantly holding shanti samiti (peace committee) meetings to make sure the yatra is a huge success,' she added.
Meanwhile, Zone-2 DCP Bharatkumar Rathod, who is hosting the volleyball tournament, said, 'Our tournament was also inaugurated on Tuesday night. We have organised a shooting tournament as well as a passing tournament. A number of personnel of our police stations like Karanj and Madhavpura are also part of the teams participating at the tournament besides mixed teams of locals from various areas. Further, we have a religious harmony function with Gujarati film celebrities Yash Soni and Arjav Trivedi.'
In the coming days, street plays and a musical night have been planned in Jamalpur and Teen Darwaza areas. DCP Rathod said the police will conduct a bike rally over the weekend, along with a blood donation drive at the Police Rifle Club.
In addition, Zone-4 of the City Police will hold a tug-of-war competition.
Inspector MD Chandravadiya of Shaherkotda police station, who has been organising the cricket tournament for the third consecutive year, said that 16 mixed teams are playing in the tournament with local religious and community leaders remaining present and locals participating in the sports. 'There are two teams from Saraspur, one each from Karanj and Khadiya, and others from Gomtipur, Amraiwadi and Rakhiyal. We also had the inaugural match between the City Police and ATS. The final will be played on June 14.'
When asked about the purpose of these initiatives, PI Chandravadiya said, 'While the Rath Yatra itself is limited to the eastern part of the city, we want to tell the entire Ahmedabad that Hindus and Muslims celebrate this festival together and there are no bad feelings or conflict between the communities. This will only be further reinforced when the Rath Yatra is carried out without any problems or incident later this month.'
On community participation during the Rath Yatra, in its 148th edition this year, the inspector said, 'Volunteers from Hindu and Muslim communities have been standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the areas the yatra is going to cover. The work on organising the yatra begins a month earlier, in May, and does not stop till the end of the yatra. We have no doubt that the Rath Yatra will be conducted without a glitch this year as well.'
While Jagannath Temple Trustee Mahendra Jha could not be reached for comment, Maulana Shaikh told the Indian Express, 'The programmes being held before the Rath Yatra are beautiful. In these times of hatred, the message of love is very important. Like every year, the cricket tournament held by the Ahmedabad City Police is an example of maintaining communal harmony. Before being Hindus and Muslims, we are Hindustanis. Muslims will always stand up for our Hindu brethren. We congratulate the Ahmedabad City Police on its initiative.'
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