Pari’ versus ‘Parishad’ warfare in Ardh Kumbh Mela now going on in Haridwar ended for now when the Mela officials finally allotted land to the only all-women Akhara known as Pari Akhara.
A total of 30 thousand square feet land has been allotted as demanded in Bairagi camp by the mela administration. Earlier, the Mela administration had denied the allocation following opposition from Akhara Parishad.
Interestingly, the Mela administration had earlier agreed to allot 10,000 sq ft of land. But they backtracked after they found through the finding of a secret agency deployed to gauge the mood of the Akharas. The general opinion in the male-dominated Akharas was found to be hostile. However, later, as the women ascetics threatened country –wide agitation in support of their claim the administration has now allotted 30,000 sq ft of land to them.
Those associated with the all-women Akhara said that they were being subjected to gender discrimination, something that goes against the soul of Indian spiritualism based as it is on profound reverence for the women ascetics. “We had to fight for days since the Akhara founder had applied for land allotment in the fair,” said one of them.
“Akhara Pari also got the land in Ujjain Kumbh which will be held in Madhya Pradesh in the mid of this year. Following the same, we have cleared land measuring 30 thousand square feet in Bairagi camp to it,” said Manjeet Singh, an officer of the Mela administration.
Notably, in line with Shankaracharya tradition, there are, in all, 13 Akharas of which seven belong to Shaiva sect and three each from Vaishnava sect and Udaseen sect.
Ever since its formation from Allahabad Kumbh in 2013, there have been tiffs amongst the male-dominated Akharas and Pari Akhara. The woman ascetics had threatened that over ten thousand members of Pari Akhara might protest against this discrimination across India in case the male ascetics continued stonewalling their legitimate claim.
The founder of the Pari akhara, Trikal Bhawanta Saraswati Maharaj told The Pioneer, “We have received the confirmation from the Mela officials. We had shown the confirmation and fax letters from Nasik and Ujjain Mela administration which had allotted us lands during Kumbh Melas of 2013 and 2016.”
However, the observers say it is a temporary truce. “Things would go on the boil again any time as the hostility has turned intractable,’ one of them said.