Don’t play politics with Dahi Handi issue

Don’t play politics with Dahi Handi issue

FPJ BureauUpdated: Thursday, May 30, 2019, 01:01 PM IST
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It is not unusual for the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena to cock a snook at the existing law as some of its functionaries are now doing on the Dahi Handi issue, especially when important civic elections are round the corner. That MNS activists defied the ceiling on the dahi handi height of 20 feet from the ground and are now bragging about breaking the law by a long shot is not being denied. In fact, there is a brazenness in their defiance that merits serious thought and action.

For far too long the Shiv Sena and its offshoot the MNS have revelled in breaking the law with impunity, playing to public sentiment on emotive issues. While it is not out of place for a political party to seek changes in the law, it is quite another to defy the law as it stands. The motivation behind the Supreme Court setting a limit to the height at which the handis are broken as part of Janmashtami celebrations was the safety of those who reach up to that level by forming human pyramids. That by defying the height norm the possibility of accidents occurring has increased as was seen in the case of two MNS activists — one in Thane’s Naupada where MNS’ Avinash Jadhav’s group built a 9-tier human pyramid and another in Chembur where MNS’ Karna Dunbale with an eight-tier human pyramid defied the height norm, should have sensitised the defaulters to its dangers.

Instead, their defiance has touched new limits. Wearing a white T-shirt which announced ‘Hoy, me Kayda modnar [Yes, I will break the law]’ in Marathi, Avinash Jadhav reportedly said his leader late Bal Thackeray had 92 cases against him and he would not be scared if one case was slapped against him too, daring the police to arrest him. Evidently, both the Shiv Sena and the MNS had an eye on the civic elections in Mumbai and Thane and were seeking to win plaudits from a section of the public on their defiant stand. Another provision of law that is being defied with impunity is the minimum age limit which was decreed as 18 years for taking part in the pyramidal human chain and is being routinely violated.

The apex court on its part could have avoided asking sarcastically whether the Dahi Handi festival had brought any medals in the Olympics while refusing to consider the attendant “acrobatics” performed by participants as “sport.” It is difficult to deny that the festivities are fun for some and evoke religious sentiments for others. While setting a limit to the height and restricting the handi breaking to those above 18 is in order for safety reasons and must be respected, the activity within legal bounds should not be frowned upon.

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