Before Universal Kinship Becomes a Relic of the Past

Together we need to deal with this monster as we did in the aftermath of Partition

- SHASHI SHEKHAR

was feeling jittery this Holi, as the fortnight prior had brought news of communal clashes in two states. Is Holi, a festival of love and universal kinship, fast becoming a relic?

I remember the 1980s, when I used to work in Varanasi and Allahabad (now Prayagraj). Those were my formative years as a journalist, and I used to attend meetings organized by the district administration at police stations ahead of Holi. These aman committee meetings (peace committee meetings) used to be attended by senior district officers, priests, sadhus, heads of mutts, muftis and maulvis, besides distinguished gentlemen of the city.

They would deliberate for hours and invariably conclude on celebrating Holi together. Officials at these meetings would also deliver stern warnings, though sugar-coated, that anyone who tried to act smart would pay a heavy price.

For the police, Holi was a strenuous time, especially if it fell on Fridays. It was when communal tensions could be sparked off easily, and some cities in North India were notorious for annual rioting in the festival season. During the riots, radical elements from both communities would pressure people to economically boycott the other community. But within days, such bitterness would vanish and people would regain their composure.