Tension in Saharanpur over Mihir Bhoj Yatra; Internet shut down

Tension prevailed in Saharanpur where two communities -- Gurjar and Rajput -- confronted each other over Samrat Mihir Bhoj Yatra.

The Gurjar Samaj had announced that it would take out Samrat Mihir Bhoj Yatra but the district administration declined permission for the same.

The Rajput community has also opposed the yatra.

Tension began in the area when hundreds of people from the Gurjar community gathered without permission from the morning itself and started the Gaurav Yatra while the district administration failed to stop it.

Prohibitory orders have been clamped in the district and Internet services have also been suspended.

SSP Vipin Tada said that 15 cases have been registered in Nakud, Deoband, Nagal and Gagalhedi police stations, identifying 20 people among those who took out the yatra and also those who opposed it on social media.

The unidentified people in the cases are being identified. The SSP said that even after this, action will be taken and NSA will be invoked against those who spoil the environment.

The district magistrate and SSP had spoken to people from both the communities and made it clear that no yatra would take place. They warned that action will be taken if someone violates the law.

On behalf of the Gurjar community, Manish Chauhan and former district panchayat president of Shamli, Virendra Gurjar, said that stopping the yatra could lead to a confrontation.

"There is no leader for this yatra and every member of the community is part of it. This matter should be settled in a peaceful manner," they said.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, the Kshatriya community staged a sit-in at the Ramlila Maidan in Hakikatnagar and protested against the yatra being taken out by the Gurjar community. They demanded strict action should be taken against those who defied the law.

Acharya Virendra Vikram, a member of Akhil Bhartiya Veer Gurjar Mahasabha, said that Gurjar Pratihara Samrat Mihir Bhoj was Raghuvanshi Samrat and Gurjar was the most glorious emperor of the Pratihara dynasty. The Arab traveller Sulaiman, who visited India in 851 AD, called him Gurjar Raja and his country Gurjar Desh.

At the same time, district president of All India Kshatriya Mahasabha, Kushalpal, said that people of a particular caste are presenting Kshatriya emperor Mihir Bhoj in a wrong way, which is wrong. Mihir Bhoj was a Kshatriya emperor and not a Gurjar.