It is not common to see people openly disobeying orders of the Supreme Court, while the police remain mute spectators. It happened in Thane, the neighbouring city of Mumbai on Thursday, and moreover, was shown live on multiple satellite channels.
The Supreme Court had set restrictions of 20 feet on the height of Dahi Handi pyramid and prescribed a minimum age of 18 years for the participants. Raj Thackeray not only openly announced he was going to flout it, he went ahead and did it.
Several organisers, who are local MNS leaders in Thane and Mumbai, publicly ridiculed the Supreme Court and its guidelines. While minor govindas were climbing up 7th and 8th layers of human pyramids, policemen were simply watching the mockery of the apex court.
The police officer on the spot told The Quint:
The court orders are clearly being broken. But we have been asked to record it on video. Action will be taken tomorrow. If we act now, then it can create a law and order issue.Gajanan Kabdule, Police Inspector, Naupada, Thane
By Thursday evening, FIRs were registered against 18 organisers under stringent sections like 308 (culpable homicide), 336 (endangering human life and safety of others), 188 (disobedience of an order by a public servant) and 149 (unlawful assembly). These can attract imprisonment of upto 3 years along with fine.
Silence Before The Storm
After their inaction on Thursday, the police chose not to arrest anyone on Friday as well. Police sources say they are waiting for things to cool down. However, considering the seriousness of the sections, arrests are likely to be made in a day or two.
The BJP-led Fadnavis government is walking a tight rope while dealing with the dahi handi issue. If it cracks down on the organisers (read MNS), it will give the party an issue for the upcoming local polls.
If the government acts against participants (govindas), it fears it will be called “anti-Hindu” or “anti-Marathi”. But if the government doesn’t act, the Supreme Court will come down heavily on it in the next hearing. A BJP leader said on the condition of anonymity:
To tell you the truth, we don’t want to act against anyone. Why hurt feelings of Marathi speakers ahead of polls? They have around 50 percent votes in Mumbai. But if we don’t act, what do we tell the Supreme Court on 18 October? Once the media attention goes, police will gradually start arresting Dahi Handi organisers.
The BJP-Shiv Sena government seemed to be confused about handling the issue from the beginning. On Wednesday morning, it had requested the Supreme Court to review its restrictions as Dahi Handi was “associated with religion and it would hurt the people’s sentiment if the restrictions on height continued”.
Within hours, on late Wednesday night, it issued a government resolution (GR) categorising the festival as “cultural event” while the formation of human pyramid as an “adventure sport”.
Some interpret it as a way to get around the Supreme Court order. If a group forms a tall human pyramid and simply gives a salaami (with no intention of breaking a matka), will it be breaking court orders?
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)