Garhwal Post Bureau
Haridwar, 21 Jan: Haridwar witnessed protests today over the alleged prevention of Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati from performing the holy bath during the ongoing Magh Mela in Prayagraj and the reported misbehaviour with his disciples. Some members of the Brahmin community staged a protest at Chandracharya Chowk in Haridwar against the Prayagraj administration, accusing it of acting in an arbitrary and high-handed manner. During the demonstration, Ashok Sharma, husband of former mayor Anita Sharma and a known Congress worker, shaved his head as a mark of protest, while Ranveer Sharma and Mukesh Sharma also performed mundan, demanding that the Prayagraj administration personally apologise to Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati.
The protest was reportedly supported by some members of the Brahmin community, particularly owing political allegiance to Congress as well as several Congress workers. The BJP has claimed that that the majority of those participating in the demonstration and the symbolic mundan are either directly associated with or closely linked to the Congress party. The issue is being seen by many as another instance where the Congress has found an opportunity to turn a religious matter into a political one, apparently with the intention of appealing to Brahmin sentiments.
Addressing the gathering, Congress leader Ashok Sharma said the manner in which Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati was treated in Prayagraj under a BJP-led government was condemnable. He alleged that Brahmins were subjected to abuse, had their shikhas pulled and were beaten and claimed that such incidents clearly exposed what he described as the exploitation of Brahmins under the present dispensation. He further alleged that the administration continued to remain adamant, adding that neither had anyone from the administration approached Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati to tender an apology nor was there any concern for his decision to give up food and water in protest.
Ashok Sharma stated that Brahmins were being oppressed everywhere under the current BJP government and said the act of shaving heads was a symbol of protest against this alleged injustice. He demanded that the administration immediately apologise to Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and that officials responsible for the alleged misbehaviour be dismissed without delay. He also warned that the agitation would be intensified if the demands were not met.
Ranveer Sharma, who also shaved his head in support of Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, said the photographs and videos emerging from Prayagraj were heartbreaking. He claimed that he had never imagined such treatment of Brahmins under a BJP government and said the reported behaviour towards the Shankaracharya’s disciples and Vedic scholars had caused deep anguish, prompting him to resort to mundan as a form of protest.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, who is at the centre of the controversy, is regarded by many as a strong and vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the BJP–RSS, and is also considered to be close to Congress, a factor that has also been seen in the protests held in Haridwar and elsewhere in the country, leading to political reactions on the issue.
