The Rath Yatra rolled out of the Jagannath temple in Udaipur on July 1, passing through the city’s cramped old lanes filled with nearly on lakh devotees and stalls offering sharbat, tea, lassi, and pakoda. The festival couldn’t be held the last two years because of Covid, so this year it was especially fervid. There was another reason, too: the murder of Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli by two extremist Muslim men have sent emotions running high and the tension was palpable at the yatra.
Carrying saffron flags with depictions of the Hindu god Hanuman and the medieval ruler Maharana Pratap, bikers zipped through the lanes chanting, “Jai Shree Ram”, “Vande Mataram”, and “Bharat Mein Rahna Hoga Toh Vande Mataram Kehna Hoga”. The last of the slogans, which translates to “You’ll have to say Vande Mataram if you want to live in India”, was clearly intended at the Muslim community, concentrated mostly in the walled city of historic Udaipur.
