SC stay continues, but on UP Kanwar route, shops don’t take chances: ‘Who will pick a fight?’

At least some eateries have shut, choosing caution over confusion – the Uttar Pradesh government defended the directive before the Supreme Court Friday on grounds of “transparency” and “religious sentiments”.

Waseem Ahmad, 50, identifies with the apprehensions of the eatery owners. Till last year, he ran the bustling ‘Ganpati Tourist Dhaba’ on the bypass road to Haridwar. His co-owner was a Hindu – hence the name, he says – as were all his staff. For nine years, they faced no issue. But in 2023, a group of right-wing activists ransacked his eatery, accusing him of “misusing” the name of a Hindu god to serve “impure food” to Kanwariyas.

Ahmad, who hasn’t reopened his dhaba, believes the police order seeking display of names of owners on shops goes back to that incident. Pulling out videos on his phone to show the line of customer vehicles that once stood outside his dhaba, Ahmad says: “It all started with me. If the administration had acted then and sided with what was legal, we would not have seen this day… Today it has become a fashion that if you want to get famous, target the Muslim.”

But when such a blanket order comes, it hits all kinds, says Maanga Kumar, 30, from Charthawal in Muzaffarnagar, who has a small fruit cart at the intersection of the Muzaffarnagar bypass and Bajhedi Road. “I am a Dalit. If this continues, some will stop buying bananas and guavas from me. Iss sab ka koi ant hai kya (Is there any end to such things)?”

Standing beside his cart that carries his name, Kumar says he chose “safety”. “I have heard of the Supreme Court order, but you never know with the police. They can land with lathis any time.”

Pradeep Kumar, who sells shikanji (lemonade) on the road towards Bajhedi village, says that while the police visits are rarer since the Supreme Court order, the fear remains. “The customers also keep away fearing an untoward incident. So, many people have closed their shops. Is anyone talking about them?”

Around 10 km away, at the busy Meenakshi Chow, there are several such shut eateries, with black clothes even draping the hoardings of those serving non-vegetarian. These stand in stark contrast to the crowded dhabas serving Kanwariyas in their saffron clothes.

Farman Ali has kept his sheermal shop open, hoping Kanwariyas will look past his name. Till last year, many trooped into his shop that he has now run for 17 years, , looking especially for the sweet bread, he says. “They would call out, ‘Ai Bhole! Kya banaye ho (What have you made)’?”

However, sales have been one-tenth of what they used to be. “Earlier, I sold about a hundred sheermal a day during the Kanwar Yatra… Now I sell 10… Till last year, I also ran an eatery during Kanwar Yatra selling vegetarian food and breakfast. But now who will dare get into a fight?”

He hasn’t removed his name from his shop hoarding as no one has told him anything, Ali adds. Still, he hasn’t given up hope. “People don’t have any hatred, it is being spread among them. Obviously, they have the government and administration’s support.”

Hamid Akhtar, who runs a sweet shop, vouches for this too, saying there has been no drop in the Kanwariya customers he gets. “I have been watching Kanwar Yatra since childhood. Even when I have a skull cap on, they come to my shop… This is just politics.”

However, Akhtar too has not brought down his name plate, resigned to “the administration’s wish”.

Gulbahar, who runs a stall running chips and cold drinks, says he had removed the name plate after the Supreme Court’s July 22 order. “But the police came and asked me to put it back. When I questioned them, they warned me my shop would be closed.”

Asked whether the administration has issued any new orders in the wake of the Supreme Court stay, Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate Aravind Mallappa Bangari declines comment, saying the matter is sub-judice. Without giving any details, he adds: “We are following the order of the Supreme Court.”

So can shopowners remove their name plates now? Bangari says: “I cannot comment on this either.”

Satyanarayan Prajapat, the SP, City, says their order remains in place. “Shops on the Kanwar route have to keep the name plates on. Those not on the route can remove them.”

Asked about the Supreme Court order, Prajapat ends the conversation: “I cannot comment on this, I am in a meeting.”

Muzaffarnagar SSP Abhishek Singh could not be reached despite multiple attempts.

The Kanwariyas themselves are divided. Ravindra Kumar, a government employee who claims to be on his 28th Kanwar Yatra, agrees with the administration’s move.

But others say that not only is the move unnecessary but has resulted in fewer eateries and hence higher prices for them.

Neeraj Mahour, 27, who is on foot from Faridabad to Haridwar, says: “Bhole toh kahin bhi khaa lete hain (The Lord’s devotees eat anywhere). I have been doing Kanwar Yatra since 2012, and I have never seen any Muslim serving ‘impure’ food. Lord Shiva does not ask us to discriminate. This is a very wrong step.”

Satbir Gurjar, 22, who ekes out a living as a drum player with a band, is walking from Delhi’s Ramesh Nagar to Haridwar and back, hoping for his father’s recovery from illness. “I used to go to Kanwar with my father. Now he is very ill. If I am asking Bhole Baba for this, how can I think of any discrimination? Muslim owners anyway stop selling non-vegetarian food during Kanwar Yatra,” says Gurjar.