'Not A Request, A Warning': Posters Barring Non-Hindus From Visiting Ghats Of Ganga In Varanasi Appear

In yet another attempt to uphold the principles of Hindutva, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal members have been putting up posters clearly giving a warning to non-Hindus that they will not be allowed to visit the holy ghats of Ganga in Varanasi. There are some posts circulating the social media in which the members of these radical groups are shown putting up posters on the walls and pictures where they are sitting holding them.

"This is a warning, not request," posters read.

After hundreds of posters were put up in different ghats, they are also planning to put up more posters in temples of Varanasi as well.

"These posters are not an appeal but a warning to those who are not followers of the Sanatana Dharma" VHP's Varanasi wing secretary, Ranjan Gupta has said.

Bajrang Dal Varanasi coordinator, Nikhil Tripathi said, "River Ganga is our mother it is not a picnic spot. Those who consider the Ganga a picnic spot should stay away from it, if they do not, Bajrang Dal will make sure they do."

Meanwhile, the police have also not taken any action so far against the ones who had put up these posters, despite the photographs being available, that shows the face of the people involved in the act. A staff member at the Varanasi DIG's office stated that information about these controversial posters was provided to top officials. The police had also taken note of the matter, the staff member added, and action will be taken if required after a probe, reported The Wire.

Who Does Holy Ganga Belong To?

The 2500 km long river Ganga is no doubt considered the holy river in Sanatana Dharma and has a special significance in Hindu texts. But even those texts have not declared that this river belongs to only those who believe in Sanatan Dharma only. This is an act of disregard and disrespect to holy texts of Sanatana Dharma and even the Ganga. Ganga is the source of water to a major part of the Hindi belt in Northern India. Maybe tomorrow these groups would stand up and prohibit the distribution of Ganga water to non-Hindus. This is an act of great concern.

Apart from this, Article 15 of the Indian Constitution states, No citizen shall, on grounds only of race, religion, caste, place of birth, sex or any of them, be subject to any liability, restriction, condition or disability with regard to-

(a) access to shops, public restaurants, places and hotels of public entertainment; or

(b) the use of tanks, wells, roads, bathing ghats, and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public.

The question that arises now is how in India, the violation of the constitution has become so normalized that no authority dares to take action against such crimes. A certain section of majority ghettoizing and terrorizing the minority and the State and the Judiciary turns a blind eye to all such incidents.

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