Welcome Decision To Call Off Ram Navami Mela In Ayodhya This Year
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-04-18 06:27:25
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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The district administration in Ayodhya needs to be commended for calling off the Ram Navami mela in Ayodhya scheduled on the auspicious day on Wednesday, the 21st of April. This followed fervent appeals from senior Ayodhya seers who petitioned the administration for the cancellation following a surge in Covid cases in UP.
Since lakhs of devotees gather at the Ram Janmabhoomi and on the banks of river Saryu on Ram Navami, the mela had the potential of turning into a super spreader like the Maha Kumbh at Haridwar. These devotees reach the town from all over India and the administration does not have the infrastructure to screen them. Hence, it has decided to seal the borders of the town and no one will be allowed to enter. This is an excellent move as even though the mela stands cancelled, many devotees would have still come to the town on the auspicious day.
It seems that the seers are veering around to the view that in time of public health emergency, religious customs should not remain rigid. Mahant Jugal Kishore Sharan Shastry, for one, was candid enough to admit that "holding the Haridwar Kumbh was a big mistake and we cannot afford a repeat in Ayodhya". Shastry is the head priest of the Saryu Kunj temple in the town.
Last year too, Ram Navami was not celebrated with pomp as there was a nation-wide lockdown in force due to the pandemic. This year, only one priest and on-duty policemen will remain where the Ram Lalla idols are placed, informed Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of Ram Janmabhoomi temple.
After the Kumbh fiasco that threatens to endanger the health and lives of millions of Indian by turning into a super spreader, it is good that the Ayodhya mahants have shown the way and the administration has responded with alacrity to call off the mela. Religion or religious customs must not be so inflexible as to threaten the health and well-being of citizens.
