In a first, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the centuries-old Kullu Dussehra in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday and pay obeisance to Lord Raghunath.
Lord Raghunath’s ‘rath yatra’ on Dussehra marks beginning of the week-long festivities at the historic Dhalpur ground in Kullu district. The International Kullu Dussehra Festival will be celebrated from on 5-11 October.
Lord Raghunath is the principal deity of Kullu district and Kullu Dussehra is the symbol of Kullu’s deity culture.
While said to be an apolitical visit, Modi’s visit to Himachal in the run-up to the upcoming assembly elections, slated to be held in November, will be a booster dose for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is seeking a second-term.
Modi’s visit is bound to heat-up the politics in the poll-bound Himachal as all eyes are going to be on him as to what kind of poll narrative he will try to build in the state —development, Hindutva, or Centre's welfare schemes— to woo the beneficiaries.
A jubilant Maheshwar Singh, Chief ‘Kardar’ (caretaker) of Lord Raghunath —who also happens to be Kullu’s erstwhile King— told Outlook, “Entire dev-samaj is feeling elevated at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to be part of the religious festivities and culture. Since Modi Ji had worked as the party's generation secretary in Himachal Pradesh, he has remained deeply connected to the people. We feel he has not forgotten the dev-sanskriti. This will be the biggest highlight of his visit.”
Singh, also a former BJP MP from the area, added Modi’s entire itinerary has been kept completely apolitical.
“There will not be any political speech, slogans, or a rally. He will watch the religious ceremonies on arrival of the Lord Raghunath’s rath from a distance. Thereafter, the Prime Minister will quietly return after paying his obeisance,” said Singh.
History, cultural significance of Kullu Dussehra
The Kullu Dussehra has been celebrated in Kullu for 371 years and dates to 17th century. It continues to hold importance in the lives of locals.
As per a legend, it was King Jagat Singh of Kullu who installed an idol of Lord Raghunath on his throne as an act of repentance. Lord Raghunath is the principal deity of Kullu and is highly revered by locals. The idol of Lord Raghunath was brought from Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, by rulers of Kullu in 1637.
In atonement, Jagat Singh then had ‘charanamrit’ —holy nectar— of the idol for 42 days and was thus freed of the curse of a Brahmin named Durga Dutt.
In December 2014, the Lord Raghunath idol was stolen from a well-protected temple but was soon recovered and re-installed in the temple after rituals.
Preparations for PM Modi’s visit to Kullu
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur was in Kullu on Monday to oversee the arrangements for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.
Thakur said there was huge excitement among the locals about Modi’s presence at Dussehra celebrations and added that the visit shows his emotional connect with the people and their deity culture, which he had himself experienced during his tenure as party general secretary in Himachal Pradesh.
Before Dussehra festivities on Wednesday, Modi will launch Rs 1,470 crore AIIMS project at Bilaspur. He will also launch three other mega projects which include the four-lane 31-km-long National Highway between Pinjore and Nalagarh costing Rs 1,692 crore, a medical park in Nalagarh which will attract an investment of Rs 5,000 crore, and inauguration of hydro-engineering college at Bilaspur.
Modi is also going to address a rally at Luhnu ground in Bilaspur to kick-start the BJP’s election campaign in Himachal Pradesh. Thus, the visit has a great political meaning to Himachal than Modi’s desire to be part of Kullu Dussehra alone.
Huge security arrangements have been made by the district administration for the mega show of strength at Bilaspur. BJP President JP Nadda, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur, and CM Jai Ram Thakur are camping at Bilaspur. It’s also the hometown of Nadda and part of Anurag Thakur's parliamentary constituency.
Himachal Pradesh reverses Bilaspur SP’s goof-up
Earlier on Tuesday, Superintendent of Police (SP) Bilaspur goofed up majorly by asking journalists, photographers, and other media professionals to get their ‘character verification’ done before getting security passes for covering Modi’s rally on Wednesday. It brought huge embarrassment to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Himachal Pradesh BJP.
Following severe criticism on social media, Himachal’s Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu took to Twitter to clarify the position and later informed that SP’s order has been withdrawn.
“The letter written [by] SP Bilaspur stands withdrawn. Any inconvenience caused is regretted. Journalists are cordially invited to cover Honourable Prime Minister’s visit to Himachal Pradesh. Shall extend cooperation and facilitate their coverage,” said Kundu on Twitter.
