The Kanwar Yatra is a significant annual pilgrimage observed by devotees of Lord Shiva in India, primarily during the Hindu month of Shravan (July-August). The pilgrims, known as Kanwariyas, undertake a journey on foot to collect holy water from the Ganges River and carry it back to their local Shiva temples. This year Kanwar Yatra met with controversy after the Muzaffarnagar administration directed shopkeepers and cart owners to prominently display the names of the owners and workers.
During the Kanwar Yatra, the Kanwariyas are supposed to follow strict dietary practices. They cannot eat non-vegetarian food, onion or garlic. In short, they have consumed only pure vegetarian or ‘Satvik’ food. There have been several cases in past years where Muslims were found to be running eateries in Hindu Gods and Goddesses’ names. Their identity would only be revealed when someone pays them using a QR code. In such cases, the chances of altercations were high which could lead to law and order problems.
Keeping this in mind, Muzaffarnagar police issued a directive ordering all eatery owners and cart owners to display their names and their employee names prominently to prevent any confusion among Kanwariya.
The left-liberals and Islamists made a major hue and cry about this order calling it discriminatory.
Following the controversy, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, stepped in and issued orders to show the names of shopkeepers and cart owners across Kanwar Yatra Marg. Taking inspiration from UP, the Uttarakhand government also issued similar orders.
On 22nd July, the Supreme Court of India gave interim relief to petitioners against the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand directive asking shopkeepers, eateries, hotels, restaurants, dhabas etc to display their names and their workers’ names prominently outside the shop.
Now, for the last two days, this same bunch of Islamists and pseudo-liberals have been ranting and raving about a “Muslim” SDRF personnel saving a Kawariya from drowning. They have been insinuating, that Muslims, who are consistently discriminated against and stifled under the current ruling dispensation, are the ones who are selflessly saving Hindu devotees.
Without a doubt, on July 23rd, Ashiq Ali, the head constable of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), who is stationed at Kangra Ghat near Har Ki Pairi, saved the life of a Kanwariya who was drowning. He is a public servant who was doing his job. What is unsettling, though, is that these Islamists and pseudo-liberals highlighted only this incident to make the Muslim personnel appear heroic. In reality, a similar incident occurred on July 24th, in which some Hindu divers and SDRF personnel also saved the lives of some other Kanwariyas, which this particular cabal conveniently overlooked.
The truth is that Islamists and the entire liberal ecosystem have developed this penchant for selecting heroes based on religion, though they do so primarily to whitewash crimes committed by Jihadis rather than out of admiration for their valour. But before delving into this, first, let us understand what actually happened.
On July 23rd, the Uttarakhand police took to X to share how SDRF jawan HC Ashiq Ali saved a Kanwariya from drowning at the Kangra Ghat in Haridwar.
दिल्ली निवासी शिवभक्त हरिद्वार स्थित कांगड़ा घाट पर नहाने के दौरान गंगा के तेज बहाव में बहने लगा। जिस पर #UttarakhandPolice SDRF जवान HC आशिक अली ने गंगा में छलांग लगा कर युवक को सुरक्षित बाहर निकाला और जान बचायी। #KanwarYatra2024 @uksdrf pic.twitter.com/4jUs9aIGW4
— Uttarakhand Police (@uttarakhandcops) July 23, 2024
The very next day, on July 24th, the Uttarakhand police again took to X to post a similar news. This time they mentioned how SI Atul Singh, diver Sunny Kumar and Vikrant saved a Kanwariya, a resident of Farrukhabad, from drowning.
फरुर्खाबाद निवासी शिवभक्त हरिद्वार स्थित गंगा घाट पर नहाने के दौरान गंगा के तेज बहाव में बहने लगा। इसी दौरान वहां मौजूद #UttarakhandPolice के SI अतुल सिंह, गोताखोर सन्नी कुमार व विक्रांत ने कड़ी मशक्कत के बाद युवक को सकुशल बचा लिया।#KanwarYatra2024 pic.twitter.com/djqe0S4lId
— Uttarakhand Police (@uttarakhandcops) July 24, 2024
The regular bunch of Islamists and the so-called seculars descended on X and selectively picked up the incident from the 23rd, where SDRF jawan HC Ashiq Ali saved a Kanwariya from drowning. While Ashiq Ali was hailed a saviour and a hero, the posts made no mention of SI Atul Singh, diver Sunny Kumar, or Vikrant, who had shown comparable bravery by rescuing another Kanwariya from drowning.
“Good news story of hope: how head constable Ashiq Ali saved a Kanwar yatri from drowning in the swollen Ganga waters. This is REAL India! Jai ho,” posted ‘journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai.
Good news story of hope: how head constable Ashiq Ali saved a Kanwar yatri from drowning in the swollen Ganga waters. This is REAL India! Jai ho 🇮🇳 https://t.co/dRfngNxuq5
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) July 24, 2024
Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of Alt News and self-identified fact-checker, who has regularly whitewashed jihadi violence, was also quick to selectively pick up only the news of the Muslim personnel coming to the rescue of a drowning Kanwariya.
Notably, Mohammed Zubair shot to fame in 2022 when thousands of Islamists came out on the streets in different parts of the country baying for the blood of Nupur Sharma, former BJP spokesperson, who found herself at the centre of a raging storm after Mohammed Zubair shared an incomplete video of her, accusing her of blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.
Besides peddling propaganda and instigating Islamists, Zubair is also infamous for peddling fake news. There are countless incidents when Zubair was caught lying, an indicative list of which can be read here.
Last year, when Islamists pelted stones at a group of Kanwariyas near Shahnoori mosque in the Jogi Nawada locality in Bareilly city of Uttar Pradesh it was Zubair who had shared a cropped video of the incident to give the impression that it was not the Muslim mob that attacked the Kanwariyas.
Similarly, Barkha Dutt’s Mojo Story also selectively shared the news about the Muslim personnel saving a Hindu devotee.
A Kanwadiya on the banks of the Ganga in the Kangra ghat was swept away by the strong currents. Head Constable Ashiq Ali, who was nearby, jumped into the river and saved the Shiv Bhakt. @szaffariqbal brings you more on this… #kanwadiya #shivbhakt #heroicact pic.twitter.com/0Mr6clx6bK
— Mojo Story (@themojostory) July 24, 2024
Likewise, several Islamists and loyal members of this liberal ecosystem selectively picked up this news to pontificate over the importance of maintaining ‘Hindu-Muslim bhaichara’ (brotherhood) and ‘Ganga-Jamuni’ tehzeeb (the peaceful coexistence of two different communities – Hindus and Muslims) in India.
A SDRF jawan named “Ashiq Ali” saved the life of a Shiv Bhakt Kanwariya while he was Drowning in Ganga River.
— Jitesh (@Chaotic_mind99) July 23, 2024
BJP IT cell won’t show you this cuz it doesn’t suit their Propaganda.
RT Max and let them know that
Hindu-Muslim Bhaichara is still on Top 🔥
pic.twitter.com/66N21Y564a
Salute to the efforts 🙌🏻
— Sonal Goel IAS 🇮🇳 (@sonalgoelias) July 24, 2024
It’s rightly said – There’s a hero in all of us, and today, he saved a life 🙏🏻SDRF Jawan Ashiq Ali heroically rescues a Kanwar Yatra devotee from drowning in Haridwar ,
showcasing the true spirit of bravery and selflessness 💪🏽🚑
In a moment of crisis,… pic.twitter.com/YQTJvs0JYU
A Shiv Bhakt from Delhi began to be swept away by the strong currents of Ganga while bathing at Kangra Ghat in Haridwar, At that moment, "Ashiq Ali," a soldier from Uttarakhand Police, jumped in and saved the young man's life. pic.twitter.com/fujJMMyGhp
— هارون خان (@iamharunkhan) July 24, 2024
In all these posts, Ashiq Ali was turned into the hero, but Vikrant and Sunny did not even find a mention. The reality, however, is very different from what the unaided eye perceives. Given that these are the same Islamists and liberals who characterize such Muslim officers as “sarkari Muslims” for not toeing their radical line, the purpose of applauding this Muslim officer’s bravery was not about the man himself. In actuality, it is about using his heroism to whitewash the crimes committed by Jihadis.
Their hypocrisy is evident in the way they disregard Hindu heroes, hail Muslim police personnel, turn a blind eye to Hindu victims, and place the blame on Hindu victims even when the culprits are Muslims. They see caste in jawans and religion when someone saves a Kanwariya but conveniently look away when those who save others are Hindus.
Here, it is also important to remember that these Islamists who are, today, hailing a Muslim for saving Kanwariyas are the ones who have conveniently turned a blind eye to the gruesome attacks carried out at these Kanwariyas and other hindu devotees by their co-religionists.
Over the years, there have been several such heinous attacks carried out by radical Islamists on Hindus, their festivals and places of worship. Be it attacks carried out during Hindu festivals like Ram Navami, Hanuman Jayanti, Saraswati Puja, Navaratri and Kanwar Yatras, such acts of violence are driven by the intrinsic animosity Islamists harbour against Hindus.
