03/SEP/020- A BLACK MARK

    The situation that erupted yesterday on the 3rd of September 2020 can be regarded as a black mark in the peaceful Nepalese history as well as  the Newa history of Patan. Never before did such a situation occur during the festival of Machhinadranath Jatra. The situation was not only of violence but also became a basis of racism with people blaming the entire Newa community for the situation.

    The god Machhindranath also known as the lord Avalokiteshvara, Bungadeya, Padmapani, Lokeshvara  & also as "करुणामय" is one of the most respected deity in the Newa culture. The deity is the giver of rain & the god of harvest who according to the legends and beliefs was brought from Assam, India into the valley during the reign of King Narendra Malla when the valley suffered from drought. It is believed that back in the time, Gorakhnath had captured all the snakes in the valley and the rain could only come when his guru Machhindranath appeared before him. The king Narendradeva then sent Gubaju Bandhudatta Vajracharya from Kathmandu and a Jyapu (farmer) from Patan to bring the deity to the valley. This festival is one which holds the greatest significance among all the festivals celebrated in Patan. It has a great religious, cultural & emotional attachment with the Newa community of Patan. 

    As for the incident of Sep 03, 020, there was only supposed to be a protest to demand for the Jatra to be initiated & completed before Dashain by the youths & locals. The Guthi Sansthan which is generally responsible for organizing the Jatra had no connection with the incident what so ever. The Guthi Sansthan was infact discussing with the concerned authorities on how to conduct the jatra in a systematic manner. Also, the Police at first permitted the jatra & only stepped in when the crowd grew too large & refused to implement the safety measures such as the social distancing.

    So, who is to blame for the situation? Does the blame only lie in the people? Well, as far as I have understood, I believe that there are three major reasons that the tragedy occurred. This being:

1. The jatra was supposed to have been conducted in Baisakh when the cases of corona was negligible but was delayed due to the government orders. Likewise, the government which was continuously approached by the people many times to conduct the festival in a safe & systematic manner chose to ignore the appeals. Even though knowing the significance that this festival held for the people of Patan, they did not respond in time. So yes, this was the blunder from the side of the government. Neither the CDO nor the Mayor showed any interest in initiating this major festival.
2. The youths & locals of Patan are also to blame. It is understandable that they wish to conduct the festival as soon as possible as if it is not completed before Dashain, the god will be taken to Bhaktapur forever. This means loosing one of the key identities of Patan. In addition, not only will there not be a Jatra in Patan, the people of Bungamati will also not be able to celebrate any other jatras and not even Dashain. The people involved were too impatient with the government ignoring the appeals to conduct the program. However, their mistake was that they did not follow the safety guidelines and became out of control. Violence became their approach when the police was forced to step in. If they had though carefully about following safety measures and limiting the attendance to prevent large gathering, the situation may have never occurred. In addition, they of their own will began pulling the "rath" (chariot) without any permission nor management.
3. I believe that the Guthi Sansthan is also one of the parties that should share the blame for the tragedy of the day. The Guthi Sansthan is yet to present any official appeal till date due to which no formal appeal has been registered. The appeals till date are from the locals. 

    I am also a Newar and a local of the ancient city of Patan & love this Jatra a lot.I too believe that we need to protect and preserve our culture. I have always attended it every year as well. But I denounce theviolent acts of the people. I can understand their feeling but believe that they should have done it in a more systematic and safe manner. If the people were willing to limit the attendance and follow the safety measures, even the Police was cooperating and permitting the Jatra to be celebrated. The people involved should not have resorted to violence and followed the guideline. Having emotional attachment to the festival does not mean that you must attend it. Rather, let the selective people from either the Guthi Sasthan or related organization or toles (wards) go and complete the festival. One should consider the pandemic situation as well. Mass gatherings is not ideal when considering the current situation. There have been multiple proposals of adopting safety measures to complete the jatra such as theuse of heavy machineries like cranes, etc. Considering the current situation, symbolic completion of the Jatra can also be considered in my opinion.

 We are all responsible citizens of the nation and we need to understand and adapt to the situation; violence is not the way. 

    Overall, there were four parties involved in the tradegy of 03 Sep 020; the government, the locals, the Guthi Sansthan and the Police. Among all of these parties, the first three are definitely to blame for the situation getting out of sontrol. The Police who were just performing their duties I believe were the innocent victims of the system.

    Hence,to end my thoughts for the day, I would like to say that consider the situation before acting & always opt for peace. I hope that the locals involved in the act, the government and the Guthi Sansthan have learnt a valuable lesson from the situation of 03 SEP 020 and plan and quickly conclude the festival.

**The key stakeholders and major "jaatiya khala-s" have issued joint press release appealing all public to cooperate on their proposed symbolic functioning of Jatra this year.

- abhinavjoshi875@gmail.com