Blurring the Boundary - To What End Will Local Traditions be Ignored

People visiting DC Office in Kullu to register their protest against eco village (courtesy: ETV Bharat)

In the cacophony of daily news, once again stories that we would be concerned about have been buried. Stories that should have gained attention and made you wonder if it is okay to test the boundaries and limits on bending traditions in the name of development rarely get discussed in the national media. Asking questions of late have become a matter of abuse and vilification of people of the region, with accusations of selfishness coming forth.

Protests have started in Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh against an upcoming tourist resort in Kasol. The bone of contention is the diversion of the water from the natural hot springs of Manikaran towards this “eco park”, a harebrained idea that only a typically deracinated system and its machinery can conceive. Ecological challenges are clearly not thought of, but what is worse is that the hot springs, believed to have associations with Shiva, Parvati and Sheshnag, are an important site for the local devi-devatas and their snans or ritual bathing. Ruining the site will also cause a major disruption in the local traditions, but clearly that is not important enough.

More fundamental questions arise – were the local deities consulted for such a major project? The last time a jagti puch was done was over a ski resort in 2006, and the result was a negative. The tradition of importance of Manikaran was clearly an old one – we have paintings from around 1764 which shows food being cooked for devotees using the heat from the hot springs, attributable to one of the masters of Pahari painting from Mandi named Fattu. Notice the presence of the Shiva mandir that is distinct in the painting.

People cooking food in Manikaran, Painting from 1764 by artist Fattu (from San Diego Museum of Art collection)

Disrespect of the local culture has been ongoing for a while now. Kasol has become the hub of the drug addicts from all over the world, and rave parties are conducted without any permissions of the local people in the middle of sacred woods. The administration of course has already been asking locals to respect tourists, however loutish their behaviour may be. Utter disrespect of the local culture and traditions is now being mainstreamed with more facilities like the eco park being proposed. A state that is already fighting a losing battle against the ever increasing drug menace is tacitly being pushed to the brink of defeat by its own administration and leadership. To make matters worse though, even the local deities and the customs associated with them are being  disregarded.

This is not the first of its kind protest across the Himalayan region, of course. And there are people who have been abused for “opposing” any development of the hill states. What is odd though is the absence of the chatterati when rituals are disrupted or tradition or essence of a religious site rendered meaningless. One such example in recent times has been the protests against the ropeway in Katra, the abode of Mata Vaishno Devi. While the protest was about the horse and mule owners and shopkeepers who lose livelihoods because of the ropeway, the real question to ask has been missing all the time. A yatra or a trek is rendered meaningless when people don’t have to undertake any physical strain or mental conditioning to seek the Devi’s darshana. Especially skipping the various important mini tirthas along the trek that are associated with Mata Vaishno Devi, as told in her mahatmya and the sthala purana, imply an incomplete darshana or, worse, an ineffective darshana.

Protests by Sangharsh Samiti in Katra in Dec 2024 (courtesy: The Tribune)

Of course, it is somewhat amusing to see people calling natives selfish and money minded, when all that they and their ancestors have done is related to the very pilgrimage that many of the abusers want to go to. If you want to go on a picnic, please do; pilgrimages cannot, however, be a ruse for your innate desires. No one questions the faith of the visitor, when of late it is increasingly clear that a big number of visitors are in the game for just reel likes and social media baiting. Chicanery of the worst kind when it comes to the question of true devotion is pretty much the norm, and it is evident when defending certain norms of decency, etiquette and local customs are openly questioned and flouted. Religion is my personal matter – this line has forced many of us to essentially assume that what is the norm in one’s personal home puja can be the norm for a kshetra, and any diversion from it is blasphemy.

This also brings us to the question of what constitutes development for the hills. Yes, connectivity is needed, and much can be done about it. But is it only about connectivity, more tourists, more trash and ignorance of unwarranted behaviour? Should there be a reaction, why is there a backlash? Your tourist spot is also someone’s home. Making value judgments of people based on utter falsehoods is common, and even minor personal scuffles are shown as an assault on tourists.

One such example came last year when a few religious performers from Ujjain were forbidden forcefully from performing in the vicinity of the Kedarnath Mandir in Uttarakhand. While some people advocated for a stricter stance given the sensitive geology of the ambient environs, a lot of people kept calling it wrong, even asking if the place was some kind of personal fiefdom of the people stopping it. The respect for local traditions, or rather the absolute lack of it, is evident when the ones abusing locals indulge in disrespectful behaviour around local temples. One such incident was reported earlier this year, when people were caught drinking outside Tungnath temple, one of the Panch Kedars located in Uttarakhand.

What is mainstream and what is kosher is not to be decided by the non practitioners - That has been the line of many when it comes to defending their faith and customs. However, why does this line start to fade away when it comes to putting this to practice? The real question one wishes to ask are all related to the utter lack of courtesy towards the local beliefs, which keep coming up. There are these days furious debates on pashubali and its importance in Hinduism without understanding many fundamental points, especially sampradaic differences. Much of it is of course driven by personal disdain and a sense of shame that has been mainstreamed by people of importance on the subject. Labels of superstition are loosely and lazily pasted on many a practice of people in the hills, when one has not even experienced these rituals firsthand. A deliberate blurring of boundaries is sought within the diversity of the Hindu umbrella, and obliteration of all that is not consistent with the supposed scientific nature of “my faith” is sought all the time.

Uprooting one’s identity by stripping him/her of their faith is a tried and tested tactic of those wanting to make you nothing more than sheep. However, it is sad to see similar practices being forced on those who continue to be a living tradition. Intangible heritage and its value has been a matter of much celebration globally; however, what is the point of such celebration when those who are supposed to accept this diversity seek to blur the boundary and make it fade away from memory. Assimilation is not standardization, and the sooner we understand this, the greater the sense of unity we can foster. Becoming another zombie faith just by standardizing ourselves will leave us with nothing to foster, and will deracinate us to the point of no return. Respect, and not the forced act of erasure, is key to a living civilization.