Garba Cancelled, But Dance Continues! MP's Ujjain Gen-Z Performs Outside HJM Leader's House, Claims ₹20 Lakh Loss

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): Hundreds of young men and women staged an unusual protest outside Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) leader Arjun Singh Bhadoria's residence on Sunday evening, performing 'Garba' and thanking him over the cancellation of permission for a paid 'Garba' event. The organisers claimed that the cancellation had caused financial losses of Rs 18 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

Instead of staging a sit-in or conventional demonstration, the participants organised what they called a 'thank-you march' to Bhadoria's residence. They performed 'Garba', conducted an 'aarti' of a young woman dressed as a manifestation of the Goddess and honoured Bhadoria by presenting him with a scarf.

The organisers, who have been conducting paid 'Garba' events in the city for several years, alleged that Bhadoria had led a protest outside a police station, resulting in the cancellation of permission for their event.

Dozens of young men and women carrying the Goddess's 'chunari' set off from Kshirsagar, chanting 'Jai Mata Di'. The procession reached Bhadoria's residence, where participants performed 'Garba'. Young girls dressed as manifestations of the Goddess were seated, and an 'aarti' was performed before 'prasad' was distributed.

When Bhadoria came out of his house, the participants placed a scarf around his shoulders and thanked him for the cancellation of permission. The gesture was intended to express their displeasure over the decision.

On receiving information about the demonstration, police from Central Kotwali police station reached the spot, counselled both sides and appealed for peace.

Aniket Verma, who led the demonstration, said their intention was not to protest but to do something different to connect young people with religion. He said the group had been organising 'Garba' events for the past five years after obtaining the necessary permissions.

Verma said the organisers had planned to showcase the history of the nine forms of the Goddess during this year's event. Security arrangements included checks at the entrance and application of 'tilak'. Despite these measures, permission was cancelled, leaving the organisers disappointed.

Harshvardhan Rana, an organiser of the paid 'Garba' event, said large-scale events required advance arrangements for security personnel, bouncers, sound systems, stages, tents and hotels, with payments made beforehand.

Rana claimed that the sudden cancellation had resulted in losses of Rs 18 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. He said there was little possibility of recovering the advance payments made for tents, sound systems and other arrangements.