Dozens of mosques covered with tarpaulin before ‘Juta Maar Holi’, ‘Laat Sahab’ will come out on a buffalo cart, shoes and slippers will be showered on him

Shahjahanpur: ‘Juta Maar Holi’ is played in Shahjahanpur district of UP. The tradition of playing ‘Juta Maar Holi’ has been going on for the last 300 years. In such a situation, the district administration is on alert. The mosques on the route of the Holi procession have been covered with tarpaulin so that no untoward incident takes place. A huge police force has been deployed in the area.

In fact, on 14 March, i.e. Friday, a long procession of ‘Laat Sahab’ will be taken out in Shahjahanpur on Holi. In this, a person is made ‘Laat Sahab’ and seated on a buffalo cart. People shower colors, shoes and slippers on him. Therefore, mosques are being covered citing security reasons. However, this is not happening for the first time.

It was told that to prevent colour and gulal from falling on mosques and to avoid any communal dispute, more than 32 mosques falling on the route of processions of ‘Bade Laat Sahab’ and ‘Chhote Laat Sahab’ in the city are covered with mutual consent. Policemen are deployed outside the mosques for security. Also, before Holi, checking is done on the roofs of houses falling on the route of the procession with drone cameras. Not only this, all the CCTV cameras installed on the route of the procession remain in active mode.

In fact, in Shahjahanpur, 24 processions are taken out in the entire city for Holi, in which there are 8 processions of ‘Laat Sahab’ inside the city. There are two major processions in these, which take place in the middle of the city. The first procession is of ‘Bade Laat Sahab’ which runs on a route of seven and a half kilometers. The second procession is of ‘Chhote Laat Sahab’ which runs on a route of two and a half kilometers.

In this procession, a person is made ‘Laat Sahab’ and is made to sit on a buffalo cart and then he is taken around the city by beating him with shoes and broom. During this, common people also throw shoes at ‘Laat Sahab’. There is a lot of ruckus in the procession. It has happened many times in the past that people threw colours in the mosque and a situation of dispute arose. Since then, more than 32 mosques falling on the route of the procession are completely covered before Holi.

Know why this unique procession is taken out
Let us tell you that this procession is taken out in protest against the atrocities committed by the British during slavery. To express their anger, the people of Shahjahanpur make a person ‘Laat Sahab’ and make him sit on a buffalo cart. ‘Laat Sahab’ is a symbol of the British. He is beaten with shoes, slippers and broom.

Regarding this, historian Dr. Vikas Khurana says that the procession of ‘Laat Sahab’ is about 300 years old. During the days of Awadh rule, Nawabs used to participate in Holi here. Its written evidence can be seen in ‘Taarikh-e-Shahjahanpuri’, when Nawab Abdullah Khan played Holi and went around the city in a procession.

It got distorted when it was named ‘Laat Sahab’ procession. The British made a person ‘Laat Sahab’ and took out a procession on the occasion of Holi. The angry public showered shoes on him. This was a kind of protest against the oppressive policies of the British. During the days of the 1857 revolution, the British saw this procession as a means of disturbing communal harmony. However, again in 1988, the then District Magistrate Kapil Dev tried to correct its form again. For years, the procession of ‘Laat Sahab’ passes through Baba Chowksi Nath, Baba Vishwanath temple and after going around the whole city, ends at Pati Gali.