Anwesha Dash, Pune
After the Uttar Pradesh government mandated that every eatery along the way of the yearly Kanwar Yatra display the owner’s name and identity in front of the shop, many staff members were asked to quit. At the same time, small vendors fear economic boycotts given their caste and religion.
This decision came after public outrage on the same rule implemented in Muzaffarnagar by the district police. Though the police said that it was voluntary, later on July 19th the state government expanded this order across U.P.
Opposition parties have called this order “divisive” and against the spirit of the Constitution. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been especially vocal on the issue and against the Yogi Adityanath-led state government. Ajay Rai, the Congress chief of U.P, has also echoed Vadra’s sentiments and asked for a withdrawal of the order citing that it damages social brotherhood.
In recent updates, after the mandate, both Hindu and Muslim owners have asked their staff to quit. In the case of the latter, the owners cite that they do not have enough customers during this peak season to afford the employees. Given this reason, both Muslim and lower-caste Hindu small vendors fear a hit to their income due to a potential boycott.
The month of ‘Shravan’ is an economically peak time of income for all the vendors along this route where Kanwariyas go through on their annual pilgrimage to Haridwar. But now with the nameplate order, Muslim and lower caste shop owners are anticipating an income hit. Taking this rule further, even small-time fruit and food cart hawkers have been asked to comply with this rule.
Apart from opposition, BJP allies have also expressed criticism over this order. Chirag Paswan, a key ally, has said that he does not support anything that divides people on the basis of caste and religion. Even the regional alliance, Rashtriya Lok Dal has stated that this rule is harming the daily wagers who are already poor.
Many political critics of the Yogi-led government have compared this order with the Nazi Germany mandate that forced Jewish business owners to put the sign of David in front of their shops for easy economic boycott. However, the U.P government has denied all allegations and has iterated that this order was implemented so that there is no confusion among the Kanwariyas.