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‘Dhai Akhar Prem’ National Cultural Jatha started in Uttarakhand on 31st October 2023 from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial located at Muni Ki Reti, Tihri Garhwal. Renowned activist, Kamla Pant from Uttarakhand Insaniyat Manch (UIM) inaugurated the Uttarakhand Yatra of ‘Dhai Akhar Prem’ by offering flowers to the statue of Bhagat Singh. Starting from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial the procession reached Sheesham Jhaadi while singing folk songs. Here people welcomed the Yatra.
Inviting people to join the ‘Dhai Akhar Prem’ cultural Jatha, Kamla ji said that in recent years continuous efforts are being made to hurt the feelings of fraternity. Constitutional values are being ignored. Efforts are being made to divide the society on religions and caste lines for narrow political gains. Therefore, it is important that we unite against the forces that divide the society and stand firm in favor of love, fraternity, equality, justice and humanity. The Jatha started with a folk song and the members raised slogans of love and harmony.
Dr. V K Dobhal, President, IPTA Uttarakhand, shared the objectives of the Jatha. His words were inspiring and people pledged that they will stay away from hatred and will also spread the message of mutual respect and living with harmony, no matter what religion or caste they belong to! Dharmanand Lakheda, B D Pandey, Vikram Pundir, Hariom Paali and Kuldeep Madhwal sang folk songs. Dr V K Dobhal presented a Gamchha, a symbol of labour, to Kamla Pant. With this, the yatra moved forward and reached a crossroads near Sheesham Jhaadi, where the theatre artists of IPTA Saharanpur sang ‘Jogira Sa-ra-ra-ra’ and Satish Dhaulakhandi of Jan Samvad sang a folk song.
The yatra covered about four kilometers and reached Chandeshwar Public School, which was set up for poor children in a slum of Chandeshwar Nagar. The children and school staff were happy and excited to see the Jatha visiting them. Satish Dhaulakhandi and Trilochan Bhatt sang songs and children joined them with their voices.
A street play ‘Girgit’ was presented in front of the children. Sahiba, Kaif Ansari, Chhaya Singh, Nitin, Sachin, Atul Goyal and Asad Ali Khan performed brilliantly. This short play is based on the changing colors of a corrupt officer as per the situation. The children watched the play with great enjoyment. Their laughter made the entire drama even more lively. School manager, Pramod ji was felicitated by Hariom Paali by offering him with a handloom gamchha, a symbol of Kabir’s labour.
The march proceeded and wreaths were laid at the memorial of Swami Vivekananda located at Triveni Ghat. Swami Vivekananda spent six months in this temple during his stay in Rishikesh before leaving for Chicago. After this, the Jatha moved ahead and reached ‘Gandhi Stambh’, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi. After the martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi, his ashes were immersed here too. The Stambh (pillar) was built in his memory. Nandnandan Pandey, Jagnandan Shmaar, Asad Ahmed, Vikram Pundir, Harinarayan, BD Pandey, Hariom Paali etc. were part of the group that sang Gandhiji’s favorite hymn ‘Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye Re, Peer Parai Jaane Re’. The friends of IPTA Saharanpur presented a folk song. The cultural group took a break here to have lunch and to rest before proceeding further.
By late afternoon, the padyatra reached Shyampur singing folk songs, raising slogans and distributing pamphlets. Here, a street play was performed in a small village, Khadri. Kuldeep Madhwal of Drishti Sanstha recited a song by Jankavi Balli Singh Cheema.
Rai Singh of the village recited Kabir’s song ‘Jhini Jhini Bini Chadariya’ and extended good wishes to the Jatha. Kundan Singh, a village elder of over 90 years, performed Ragini (a folk song) on harmonium. Hariom Paali, Rai Singh and Kundan Singh were offered handloom gamchhas as a gesture of respect. Today’s padyatra ended with a street play. People were little tired and were looking for a good night sleep so that they can restart again with zeal and enthusiasm.
In this yatra, activist Mrs. Kamla Pant, IPTA State President, Dr. V K Dobhal, Vice President, Hariom Paali, Vice President, Dharmanand Lakheda, B D Pandey, IPTA Dehradun’s President, Jagnandan Sharma, General Secretary, Vikram Singh Pundir, IPTA State Executive Member Asad Ahmed, Kuldeep Madhwal, Sahiba, Kaif Ansari, Asad Ali Khan, Nitin, Chhaya Singh, Atul Goyal, Sachin, Satish Dholakhandi of Jan Sansada, Nandan Pandey, Trilochan Bhatt, Hari Narayan, Pramod Sharma, Shivkumar Bhardwaj, Jagdish Kuliyal, Premshankar, Rajbhar, Rai Singh Khadri, and Kundan Singh were present.
01 November 2023, Wednesday
On the second day of the Padyatra of Uttarakhand state, ‘Dhai Akhar Prem’ Yatra started from Indira Garden Wedding Point at 8:00 am in mild cold with mild sunshine. The journey started early in the morning with breakfast of hot parathas and potato curry. At 8.30 am in Shyampur Khadri, local comrade Shri Ram Singh was felicitated by covering him with a gamchha. After sharing their experiences, everyone felt like sipping one more cup of tea.
The journey started from Shyampur Khadri and reached the local Nalanda School. There, the school children were already ready and waiting for the journey. Principal Shri Vikram Singh Negi along with manager Mahavir Upadhyay welcomed the yatra. School student Ruchi Joshi presented the patriotic song ‘Ae mere watan ke logon’ in her sweet voice. Sardar Ram Singh ji spoke about social harmony and Shri Guru Nanak Devji. Shri Isham Singh Saini ji recited Kabir’s couplets and Kumari Yogita Bhatt presented a poem. The presentation of a drama was the centre of special attraction. Everyone appreciated the acting of Nitin as well as Asad in the drama. After this, the group came out of the school singing folk songs. Hearing the sound of folk songs, people came out of their homes. Some people were watching with curiosity and a few questions were clearly visible in their eyes and on their faces, wondering who are these people after all? Some people also joined in the journey for some distance. The journey progressed from Lalit Vihar to Thakurpur Khairi Khurd. The group met comrades like Harshpati Semwal, Gautam Singh Negi, Lakhi Ram Raturi, Preeti Pal Rautela, Vikram Singh Rawat, Baluni etc.
The journey started from Thakurpur Khairi Khurd towards Raiwala Nepali Farm. There were lots of trees and plants and tall mountains along the way. A lake appeared in the middle of the forest, in which fishes were swimming. The water of this lake was shining exactly like pearls. Seeing this picture of nature, the body and mind felt very relaxed. The whole day’s fatigue vanished within a moment. Everyone tried to capture that scene on their mobile’s camera, but has anyone been able to capture the entire unique masterpiece of nature? All the people of the group rested there for some time.
The journey continued. In between, LIU people kept calling on the mobile phones of Dr. V K Dobhal, Dharmanand Lakheda, Hariom Paali. Ashok Choudhary, Kuldeep Madhwal, Omprakash Noor and Asad Khan – Where are they? Whose place are they going to at night? Where will you stay? etc. The group led by Dharmanand Lakheda reached the Gram Panchayat Pratit Nagar office located in Raiwala. Hariom Paali presented a Khadi gamchha to Gram Panchayat head Anil Kumar and Shri Chitraveer Chhetri ji. Thereafter, lunch was served.
The yatra reached Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya via Haridwar, where everyone met Mudrika Yadav, Jagdish Kudiyal, Vikram Singh Negi, V K Singh, and Sunirka Yadav. Everyone sang folk songs there. Despite extreme fatigue, everyone’s enthusiasm did not seem to diminish. There was a lot of enthusiasm among the people. Encouraged by the folk songs of the group, the people there joined our journey and started towards Jamalpur Kala with us.
After this, the procession moved towards Jamalpur to the tune of folk songs and dhapli. On the way, people traveling in vehicles saw us talking about love, so they too got down from their vehicles and started walking a few steps with the group. They encouraged the marching comrades. The journey reached Jamalpur Kala. Here, the group met comrades Satnam Singh, Mantasha, Afsha, and Ramakrishna Bharti from Saharanpur along with Ashok Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Manoj Kumar, village head Harendra, former head Sushil Raj Rana, Kalyan, and Pandit Arun Kumar from Jamalpur.
The march reached Jamalpur Kala Jhanda Chowk. There, IPTA State President Dr V K Dobhal felicitated village head Harendra, Ashok Chaudhary, Parveen Kumar, Kalyan and Arun Kumar with a gamchha. Folk songs and the play ‘Girgit’ written by Anton Chekhov were presented by the comrades of Saharanpur under the direction of Satnam Singh. Some people from LIU kept walking with us, taking necessary information and also watching the program. The yatra concluded by giving a message of unity to the people.
02 November 2023, Thursday
On the third day of ‘Dhai Akhar Prem’ cultural Jatha in the state of Uttarakhand, after having breakfast at the residence of Com. Ashok Choudhary in Jamalpur, the group moved towards Jwalapur, singing folk songs in the streets of the village. Jwalapur is a small town adjacent to Haridwar district. Due to it’s proximity with BHEL Ranipur, it has become a good business centre. Jwalapur is also the main market of the nearby towns. The Jatha kept moving forward passing through the markets, singing folk songs and raising slogans like ‘Dhai Akhar Prem’, ‘Pyaar Mohabbat Bhaichara Zindabad’.
After covering a distance of about 8 kilometers from Jwalapur, the Jatha reached Bahadarabad. Under the leadership of Com. Vijay Pal, the group stopped at the main intersections to sing songs and to distribute the pamphlets. The fatigue of the last three days’ walk could now be clearly felt from the expressions of the comrades of the group, but their enthusiasm was still the same as on the first day. Today, everyone was all the more excited as IPTA’s National Working President, Com. Rakesh Veda was joining the Jatha. Comrades Hariom Paali, Dr. V K Dobhal, Satnam Singh, Dharmanand Lakheda, Asad Ahmed, Vijay Pal Singh, Jagdish Kudiyal, Atul Goyal, Sachin, Asad Ali Khan, Nitin, Mantasha, Afsha, Ramkishan Bharti, Kuldeep Madhwal and Nasir Ahmed, who joined from Jamalpur, reached Dhanori village near Kaliyar Sharif.
National Working President of IPTA, Com. Rakesh Veda, who had come from Lucknow, joined the Jatha in Dhanori. Everyone welcomed him warmly. Stopping outside the National Inter College located in Dhanori, the members of the group sang songs. College students also added their voices to the songs. Rakesh Veda told the gathering about the purpose and objectives of the ‘Dhai Aakhar Prem’ yatra. He said that IPTA has a long history of such yatras. IPTA was also named by the country’s great scientist Dr. Homi Jahangir Bhabha. The number of freedom fighters was not huge in the country. Any major change does not require a huge numerical strength. It requires passion, dedication and honesty towards the cause. There were not many people in the freedom struggle with Sardar Bhagat Singh. The history of Nanak, Kabir, Swami Vivekananda, Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali shows us that they all started alone and soon people started joining them.
Starting from Dhanori, the Jatha proceeded towards Piran Kaliyar Sharif Dargah. After reaching the Dargah, everyone participated in the afternoon langar, which was arranged by the langar in-charge of the Dargah, Salim Saheb. It was here that friends Om Prakash Nadeem, Deepak and Om Prakash Noor, who had come with Little IPTA from Lucknow, also joined the group. After reaching the new settlement Piran Kaliyar Sharif, folk songs were sung and street play ‘Girgit’ was presented by IPTA Saharanpur. Rakesh Veda felicitated social worker Mustafa Tyagi by covering him with a gamchha. IPTA Saharanpur’s colleague Mantasha felicitated Mrs. Akbari by covering her with a gamchha.
Com. Rakesh Veda spoke about this journey and told that Sabir is written everywhere here, but we should know who exactly was Sabir? While talking to the people, he said that we all have come out to meet you all – to reduce the distances, we have the message of unity and equality, we want to give the message of equality and justice. Let us all come together and create a new beautiful world. Before resting for the night, Rakesh Veda discussed the intricacies of acting and organisation with all the companions participating in the yatra, especially the youth.
03 November 2023, Friday
On the fourth and last day of the yatra, at 8:30 am, the group was about to leave from Piran Kaliyar. At the same time from Dehradun, JNU professor Rakesh Aggarwal, Biju Negi, Vijay Negi, S.S. Rawat, Dr. Rameez Raza, Tanveer Alam, Deepak Shandilya, Devesh and Atif Khan arrived to join the upcoming journey. Despite having some physical difficulty, Rakesh Aggarwal’s enthusiasm for the Jatha was indeed praise worthy. Rakesh Veda welcomed Rakesh Aggarwal with a gamchha.
Passing through the streets, the group of ‘Dhai Akhar Prem’ came out on the road singing folk songs. With the lovely tunes of songs and music, the padyatra reached Mewar Kala Imli Road district, Haridwar. Meanwhile, Suman Srivastava from Little IPTA Lucknow joined the yatra. The group travelled through the entire village singing the song ‘Insan ka insan se ho bhaichara, yehi paigaam hamara’. Gamchhas were presented to social workers Deepak Shandilya, Tanveer Alam, Mohsin and Vijay Bhatt at the main square of the village. From here, Sunil Kumar, Dinesh Kumar and Shahida Sheikh joined the caravan of ‘Dhai Akhar Prem’ from Roorkee.
Rakesh Veda (National Executive President), Dr. V K Dobhal (President IPTA Uttarakhand), Omprakash Nadeem, Dharmanand Lakheda, Hariom Paali, Mohammad Asad Khan, Kuldeep Madhwal, Biju Negi, Vijay Bhatt, Mrs. Suman Srivastava, Garima Singh, Anjali Singh, Pooja Prajapati, Aarti Prajapati, Soni Yadav, Kavita Yadav, Shivi Singh etc. were singing with enthusiasm and walking with joy. The Little IPTA team of Lucknow spread the message of ‘Dhai Akhar Prem’ far and wide with their songs and music at the nooks and corners of Mewar Kala Imli Road. In Mewar Art Village, social worker Deepak Shandilya along with local residents Sunil Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, Vishwa Pratap ji were felicitated with gamchhas. While returning, the team of IPTA Saharanpur also sang folk songs.
The yatra came out of Mewar Kala Village and reached Kasturba Gandhi Hostel located in Bajuhedi village. Here, People’s Forum’s comrades Kandwal ji and Kamlesh Khantwal ji, who had come from Dehradun, also joined the yatra. The children were already waiting for the group. The Little IPTA team sang folk songs in Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya. The team of IPTA Saharanpur presented a street play named ‘Girgit’ after singing folk songs. The purpose of the visit was explained to all those who were present. The school children sang songs in harmony with the voices of Little IPTA’s friends. School Principal Mrs. Shikha Kapoor and Junior Principal Mrs. Rashmi Sharma were also felicitated with gamchhas. They said that if all these songs and plays are made available to the school, then the school children can be made to practice them. Biju Negi, in his address, explained the definition of love in simple words to the children. After this, IPTA’s National Working President Rakesh Veda concluded the program with his address.
It was already afternoon and everyone was feeling hungry. On the initiative of Omprakash Noor ji, the Padyatra reached the house of Geeta ji living in Bajuhedi village where all the members of the group enjoyed rice with hot urad dal. Post lunch, the group reached Bhagat Singh Chowk. There, garlands were placed on the statue of Bhagat Singh followed by songs. The local people had joined there too. Passing through the market in the middle of the city and trying to answer the many questions of thousands of eyes, the group reached the place of martyrdom, Shaheed Smarak at Sunehra. Tribute was paid to the martyrs with revolutionary and folk songs and their sacrifices were remembered by offering flowers and garlands. Gamchhas were presented here to the colleagues of IPTA Saharanpur and Little IPTA. It was here that Kamlesh Khantwal, Jagdish Kuliyal and Jaikrit Kandwal were felicitated with gamchhas. IPTA’s National Working President Rakesh Veda, while congratulating everyone on the successful conduct of Uttarakhand’s Padyatra, said that this is not the end of the journey in Uttarakhand, but a beginning.
Report: Nitin Dhalwan, Asad Ali Khan and Sahiba
Translation: Vikas Rawat