When politics overshadows festive fervour

MUMBAI: This is one of the rare occasions when a religious festival will be in the spotlight for reasons other than piety and devotion. Around 5 lakh migrants from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh are expected to celebrate Chhat puja on November 4 and the organisers are going all out to make it a huge success. The celebrations have acquired a political hue after MNS leader Raj Thackeray declared that he would not allow anyone to politicise the festival.
Chhat is one of the holiest Hindu festivals of Bihar and usually begins a week after Diwali.The word Chhat denotes the number 6. According to the Hindu calender, the festival falls on the sixth day in the month of Kartik. Like most Hindu festivals, Chaat has its roots in agriculture. Farmers in Central India paid obeisance to the sun god after reaping their first crop. "This is one festival where all the Hindu caste denominations in Bihar come together and pay obeisance to the setting and the rising sun. In Bihar, the festival is observed on the banks of rivers. Since there are no rivers in Mumbai, we congregate at the Juhu beach, Banganga and other smaller ghats in the suburbs,'' said U K Singh, secretary of Bihar Association, which was set up 56 years ago.
Many migrants from Bihar took exception to MNS leader Raj Thackeray's view on the politicisation of Chhat Pooja and said most of the festivals in the city have been already politicised. "It is not unusual to find posters of political leaders during Gokulashtami and Ganeshotosav all over Mumbai. This shows the politicisation of religion,'' said former MP and Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam.
Mohan Mishra, who started Chhat Pooja at Juhu beach in 1993, said Nirupam had first used the Shiv Sena and is now using the Congress to mobilise people. "As a Bihari, I feel hurt when such an important festival is exploited by leaders for political gains,'' said Mishra.
However, Nirupum flatly denied Mishra's charges. "I have never used Chhat as a political platform. In fact, in keeping with the Supreme Court order which has banned all forms of entertainment during the festival, I have not even called celebrities,'' said Nirupam.
BJP leader and actor Shatrughan Sinha, who hails from Bihar, admitted that most of the festivals have already been politicised. "But some politicians with vested interest are trying to exploit the popularity of this religious festival,'' Sinha said. "We do not have to take permission from any political leader to celebrate Chhat pooja in Maharashtra. We have been doing it for over 50 years now and will continue to do so,'' he added.
However, organisers like Mishra confess that politicians were allowed to come into the picture due to shortage of funds. "We started with 50 families in 1993. By 1998, nearly 50,000 people were attending the festival.
It became difficult for us to manage it. We were thrilled when Nirupam offered to help us out. Little did we know that politics would follow soon. People like us, who started the festival, were totally sidelined,'' Mishra said.