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6oct2011 - Connect With VAK
6oct2011 - Connect With VAK
T
trayed political leader till he he water level in a reservoir near
breathed his last. In spite of his leadership qualities, Kullu in Himachal Pradesh will
Nehru had put him behind bars for several years. For six be brought down this week for
decades religious fanatics and politicians used the emo- the "safe passage" of over 250 deities in
tionally charged-up atmosphere to fulfill their political a procession as part of the traditional
agenda; it was done at the cost of thousands of lives of Kullu Dussehra festival.
defenceless people of Kashmir. Different political and re- Over 250 gods and goddesses of the
ligious outfits like Azadis, those who demand independ- Kullu Valley brought in palanquins by
ence for Kashmir; pro-Pakistanis, the National devotees will start converging on this
Conference, the ruling party at present; the People’s historical town for the centuries-old
Democratic Party (PDP) led by Mehbooba Mufti, have no weeklong celebrations.
common minimum programme to find a solution to the "This time too on the request of the or-
vexed issue of the future of Kashmir. The dozens of ter- ganisation, Devi Devta Kardar Sangh,
rorist groups operating in the Valley take advantage of the waters of the Larji hydropower
this fluid and confused situation. project will be brought down by the
The present turmoil relates to the resolution moved in project authorities before the arrival of
the J&K Assembly for granting clemency to Afzal Guru, the deities for Dussehra," Kullu Deputy
the finding of a mass grave and the custodial death of a Commissioner B.M. Nanta told IANS.
National Conference worker, Yousuf. He had been de- He said making the waters recede
tained for questioning along with two other leaders of the would restore the traditional track
party. Yousuf had allegedly taken a bribe of Rs 1.18 crore used to help the gods and goddesses
promising one a minister’s post and the other a legisla- from the interiors of Ani, Banjar and
tor’s seat. The government insists Yousuf died in the Nirmand divisions reach Kullu.
local police hospital after a heart attack. The Opposition Organisers have sent a special Dassehra celebrations in Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh are as famous as those in
PDP has created a ruckus demanding Chief Minister 'invitation' to the deities to Mysore.
Omar Abdullah’s resignation. The Chief Minister said he participate in the Dussehra
was prepared to face a judicial probe and lamented that celebrations beginning a day before the arrival and ing over Rs.93 lakh so that the palan-
the president of the PDP had levelled allegations against Thursday, the day the fes- departure of the deities. quins of the deities and their followers
him and his father Farooq Abdullah. For Mehbooba tival comes to an end in Nanta said the deities move conveniently.
Mufti any stick will do to beat Omar with. The Chief other northern States. and their followers The Kullu Dussehra dates back to
Minister, who has to fight on different fronts like the sep- Devi Devta Kardar would start reaching 1637 when Raja Jagat Singh was the
aratists, the pro-Pakistanis and the terrorists, requires Sangh chief Narotam Kullu Wednesday. ruler of Kullu Valley. He invited all
moral support and sympathies from the people as well Negi said that after the "It takes more than the local deities to participate in the
as the Opposition to carry on with his unenviable task. commissioning of the two days for some of the festival. Since then, the assembly of
If he goes, who will take over? Larji hydropower project deities, mainly from deities from hundreds of villages
With the Omar government courting one controversy in 2006, the original Banjar and Nirmand, to across Kullu district has become a tra-
after another and questions being raised about his effi- track that over 100 reach Kullu. They come dition.
ciency and competence, the Congress has decided to hold deities had been using only on foot and no vehi- The assembled deities pay obeisance
a review of the coalition arrangement in the State. When were submerged in the cle is used for transporta- to Lord Raghunath (Lord Ram), the
he was given a full six-year term by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, dam waters. tion," he added. chief deity.
it was agreed that there would be an annual review of "Every year we request the He said, like last year, this Unlike other places, effigies of Ravan,
the coalition arrangement. But this practice was never dam authorities to lower the year again around 220 gods Meghnad and Kumbhakaran are not
followed. The rethinking comes in the wake of Rahul water level in the reservoir so that and goddesses would participate burnt here.
Gandhi’s visit to the State recently, during which he the submerged path can resurface," in the festival that would end Oct The Kullu Valley is also popularly
faced a concerted demand from party workers to review he said. 12. known as the "Devbhoomi - the land of
the current arrangement and go in for rotational chief "A newly built tunnel (at Aut) is now The administration has been inviting gods".
ministership when Omar completes three years next the only way to reach Kullu. This is not the deities ever since the rule of The conduit between the mortals and
January. No Congress government, not even the one led acceptable at all. We will take only the structed an alternate road that goes princely States came to an end. the deities are the "gur" - the tradi-
by Ghulam Nabi Azad, had done well in the State. It will original passage," he added. through the three-km-long tunnel. Local legislator Gobind Thakur, who tional shamans of Himachal, who form
be prudent for the Congress to allow the handsome Omar After the dam construction, a four- T.C. Negi, chief engineer of the state- is a member of the organising commit- the core of the communities' spiritual
and firebrand Mehbooba to get at each other’s throat. kilometre road between Aut and Larji run Larji hydropower project, said the tee, said the government is developing sustenance. The "gur" mediates be-
was submerged. The authorities con reservoir water level would be lowered a new path along the old one by spend- tween the people and the gods.