The Kanwar Yatra, which takes place during the auspicious Hindu month of ‘Shravan’ or ‘Saavan’, is a crucial pilgrimage for Hindus who worship the deity Shiva. However, the arduous yatra undertaken by these devotees, symbolising reverence, restraint and penance, has been marred by incidents of violence and vandalism over the past few years.
During this pilgrimage, ‘Kanwariyas’ or devotees carry water from the Ganges on a pole (called Kanwar) and offer it to the Shiva deity. They often fast and undertake the journey barefoot. The Kanwar these pilgrims carry is a bamboo or wooden stick decorated with fabric, threads and flowers. At both ends are urns filled with water from the holy river, which Kanwariyas carry for several kilometres on foot. Their yatra or pilgrimage is deemed complete after they offer this water to the Shiva deity. The Kanwar is considered sacred and the urns must be kept off the ground and away from anything deemed impure. If the Kanwar touches the ground, the water is no longer sacred and the whole yatra turns futile. Kanwariyas then have to fetch water and walk barefoot all over again. This is one reason why devotees lose their temper when something inadvertently touches the Kanwar.
However, this year, numerous videos from across the country, such as Mirzapur, Ghaziabad, Delhi, Rishikesh, Haridwar and Muzaffarnagar, have surfaced wherein Kanwariyas were seen beating people up, vandalising public property and causing a ruckus over seemingly insignificant issues. In one instance, they blocked an entire highway over a minor collision and vandalised bikes, cars, and buses. Elsewhere, they attacked security forces or damaged police vehicles. Surprisingly, many such incidents took place despite police presence; local administration and security forces seemed to have little control over things. Such incidents exposed a rather aggressive side of Kanwariyas, overshadowing notions of piety associated with them and the pilgrimage. In this report, Alt News will try to document some of these instances from this year’s yatra.
Haridwar: Dispute Takes Communal Turn
A few days before Saavan, an alleged incident of communal violence by Kanwariyas came to light from the Manglaur area of Haridwar. A car carrying a Muslim family, including women and children, accidentally collided with Kanwariyas walking on the road. According to reports, the incident, which started as a minor dispute, took a violent turn after Kanwariyas found that the car was being driven by a Muslim. Some Kanwariyas reportedly also misbehaved with the Muslim woman in the car and beat up another individual.
Mirzapur: A CRPF Jawan Attacked
Even Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were not spared. On July 18, a group of Kanwariyas brutally beat up a CRPF personnel at the Mirzapur railway station. The CRPF personnel, Gautam, was travelling from Mirzapur to Manipur with his son and a companion and was waiting for the Brahmaputra train. At the station platform, he got into an argument with some Kanwariyas, who soon threw him on the ground and beat him up. A video of the incident went viral on social media. While the fight ensued, many looked on, but no one came to help or save him. In the video, the CRPF jawan’s son was seen handling his father. After the matter escalated, a case was filed at the RPF post Mirzapur and seven Kanwariyas were arrested. A search was launched for others. Four of those arrested were minors.
In UP’s Mirzapur, a CRPF personnel was brutally assaulted by the Kanwariyas at the railway station. pic.twitter.com/t5R19OvNfL
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) July 19, 2025
Kanpur: Police Station Attacked
On July 14, a group of more than three dozen Kanwariyas from Auraiya in Kanpur were headed to Shivrajpur Khereshwar (the site of a Shiv temple) from Bithoor on bikes carrying water from the Ganges. The group was crossing the Shivrajpur police station when one of the youths slipped and fell on the ground. A scout guide, Vishwajeet, and a home guard, Umashankar, from the police station standing nearby, helped him get him. However, suddenly, there was a ruckus and the youths clashed with the duo, accusing them of charging with sticks. The home guard was beaten up and his uniform torn. There was a lot of ruckus at the Shivrajpur police station but police personnel seemed helpless.
According to reports, Kanwariyas broke the glass of the women’s help desk and the windows of the police response vehicle, besides damaging other vehicles parked in the police station premises. CCTV cameras at the police station and nearby roads captured the whole incident. Based on the footage, police identified 20 suspects involved in the violence and registered an FIR against them. Five of those accused were arrested and sent to jail.
Basti: Police Vehicle Pelted with Sticks
On July 21, at the Kaptanganj crossing in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district, Kanwariyas not only blocked the national highway, but also accused a youth from a different community of making objectionable comments about a temple. These Kanwariyas charged at police vehicles with sticks. They also destroyed police barricades and uprooted the hoardings, setting them on fire. Although the police force was present at the scene, they did little to curb the ruckus. At one point, Kanwariyas also targeted an ambulance and were seen entering it.
मौके पर उच्चाधिकारीगण मौजूद हैं, सभी कांवरियों को समझा बुझाकर शांत कराया गया, सभी कांवरिया शांतिपूर्वक अपने गंतव्य के लिए जा रहे हैं, शांति एवं कानून व्यवस्था कायम है।
— BASTI POLICE (@bastipolice) July 21, 2025
As the situation got out of hand, the superintendent of police (SP) took charge and appealed to Kanwariyas to remain calm. However, even as he was making this appeal, someone from the crowd threw a stone towards him. The stone hit a policeman who was with the SP, resulting in him bleeding profusely. Despite this, the SP tried reasoning with the Kanwariyas as fellow policemen also pleaded with folded hands.
Meerut: School Bus Windows Broken
On July 14, a group of Kanwariyas vandalised a school bus in Meerut’s Sadar Bazaar police station area and broke its windows. They alleged four to five Kanwariyas had been injured and their Kanwars broken as a result of a collision with the bus. Following this, some Kanwariyas quarrelled with the bus driver and abused him. They also threatened to kill him and vandalised the bus.
https://t.co/huvhu8yqgK
— MEERUT POLICE (@meerutpolice) July 14, 2025
Kasganj: Angry Kanwariyas Vandalise Bus
Similarly, another incident of violence at the hands of Kanwariyas came to light from Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh. On July 24, near Nadarai village on the Mathura-Bareilly highway in the Kasganj district, angry Kanwariyas created a ruckus and vandalised a bus after their Kanwar, kept on the roadside, allegedly broke due to the bus. The police tried to pacify Kanwariyas and took them to the Lahara Ganga ghat in a government vehicle to refill their pitchers and brought them back.
सूचना पर थाना प्रभारी कासगंज द्वारा तत्काल मौके पर पहुँचकर कावडियों से वार्ता कर पुनः जल की व्यवस्था कराते हुए उन्हें सकुशल गन्तव्य हेतु रवाना कर दिया गया है, थाना स्तर से अन्य आवश्यक कार्यवाही की जा रही है ।
— KASGANJ POLICE (@kasganjpolice) July 24, 2025
Bareilly: Vandalism in Presence of Police
Some videos also emerged from Bareilly in which a group of devotees attacked and vandalised a car in the presence of police after a vehicle allegedly hit a Kanwariya.
pic.twitter.com/gUnpxo4NU3
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) July 21, 2025
Ghaziabad: Driver Brutally Beaten
In Ghaziabad’s Modinagar, a vehicle allegedly hit a Kanwariya. Following this, the angry Kanwariyas vandalised the vehicle and beat the driver brutally, leaving him in a near-dead state.
Muzaffarnagar: Biker Beaten
On July 8, in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, a group of Kanwariyas started beating a local bike rider with sticks, accusing him of breaking a Kanwar. According to one report, the youth turned towards the group of Kanwariyas with his bike while crossing the road, resulting in the two brushing against each other. Despite the minor collision, Kanwariyas surrounded the apologetic youth and started beating him with sticks.
In the video, the youth is seen trying to save himself. However, the anger of the Kanwariyas reached a feverish pitch as the crowd kept attacking him and trying to burn his bike. Though police personnel arrived at the scene, they struggled to save the youth and his vehicle.
In Muzaffarnagar, Kanwariyas also created ruckus at an eatery over food and broke chairs and furniture. A video of this incident was viral on social media. On July 7, Kanwariyas had reached Shri Siddh Baba Balak Nath Dhaba on NH-58, within the Purkaji police station area of Haryana, to eat food, where they allegedly accused the Dhaba of serving food with onions and argued with the Dhaba owner and employees and vandalised the place. Kanwariyas do not consume meat, onion and garlic during this pilgrimage.
According to reports, the Dhaba owner and workers repeatedly explained that the Kanwariyas were not served dishes with onion, but despite this, the devotees continued to knock things over. On receiving information about this, the police reached there and tried to pacify the Kanwariyas and send them to their destination. The eatery manager claimed the police was there, but did little to help and instead asked him to spare the Kanwariyas. “They are innocent and devotees. My request is that you understand… everyone makes mistakes.”
Roorkee: Car Driver Assaulted
Kanwariyas accused a car driver of breaking a Kanwar near the Belda village on the Haridwar-Roorkee highway in Uttarakhand and beat him up, smashing the car to pieces.
In Roorkee, again, some Kanwariyas alleged that their Kanwar was damaged by an e-rickshaw and then vandalised the vehicle in front of cops.
हरिद्वार – रूड़की में कांवड़ियों का देखने को मिला तांडव
➡ई रिक्शा चालक से टक्कर लगना बताया कारण
➡कांवड़ियों ने ई-रिक्शा में जमकर तोड़फोड़ की
➡पुलिस कर्मियों के सामने कांवड़िए करते रहे तोड़फोड़
➡लाचार पुलिसकर्मियों ने काफी रोकने की कोशिश
➡मंगलौर कोतवाली के लिब्बरहेड़ी मार्ग… pic.twitter.com/2lLdwBlOAf— भारत समाचार | Bharat Samachar (@bstvlive) July 23, 2024
Haridwar: Several Incidents as Kanwariyas Chaos
In Haridwar’s Bahadarabad, when a Kanwar was broken due to a collision with a car, Kanwariyas damaged the vehicle with sticks and stones. The Haridwar police registered a case and detained three miscreants.
Some Kanwariyas also vandalised a spectacle shop in Haridwar after a dispute with the shopkeeper. Later, police officials from the Kotwali police station arrested two Kanwariyas.
In another case in Haridwar, Kanwariyas blocked the road by placing water from the Ganges on the road and created a ruckus. The police wanted to send the Kanwariyas from Haridwar to UP, Delhi, Haryana via the Ganganahar route, but the Kanwariyas were adamant on going via the Delhi-Dehradun highway. Later, the police resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd forcefully.
When a Kanwar broke near rge Bahadrabad toll plaza in Haridwar, Kanwariyas pelted stones on a bus and a police vehicle and damaged public property.
आज बहादराबाद टोल प्लाज़ा पर कांवड़ खंडित होने पर कुछ असामाजिक तत्वों ने रोडवेज बस व पुलिस वाहन पर पथराव कर सार्वजनिक संपत्ति को क्षतिग्रस्त किया।
पुलिस ने तुरंत स्थिति नियंत्रित कर यातायात बहाल किया।
FIR दर्ज | 02 गिरफ्तार | वाहन सीज़
अन्य की पहचान जारी, सख़्त कार्यवाही होगी। pic.twitter.com/YnReTlMmmE
— Uttarakhand Police (@uttarakhandcops) July 12, 2025
Later, the Uttarakhand police took control of the situation and restored traffic. After registering an FIR, they seized the vehicle and arrested two people.
In Haridwar, the pilgrims played loud music with DJs on the road, causing traffic jams. When policemen tried to disperse them, Kanwariyas attacked them.
Taking Law Into Their Hands
The string of incidents outlined above demonstrates how Kanwariyas almost took the law into their hands, resorted to violence over minor issues and even ignored police presence at the scene. On several occasions, police appeared helpless as a rowdy crowd of devotees destroyed public property and vehicles.
All of this while uniformed police officers indulged in preparing a feast for the Kanwariyas and massaging their feet.
These incidents raise several questions. Does law and order take a back seat when it comes to devotion and faith? Why do such incidents happen despite police presence? Have we blurred the line differentiating between a devotee and a vandal? Why are such incidents increasing year after year?
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.
Donate Now
Related
www.altnews.in (Article Sourced Website)
#devotion #takes #violent #turn #Kanwar #Yatra #marred #cases #vandalism #assault #cops #Alt #News