On Thursday, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde announced that Dahi Handi will now be recognized as an official sport in the state. Citing the occasion of Janmashtami, he also said that ‘pro-dahi-handi’ competitions will be introduced in the state.
“Dahi-handi will be recognized under the sports category in Maharashtra. Pro-Dahi-Handi will be introduced. The Govindas will get jobs under the sports category. We will provide insurance cover of Rs 10 lakhs for all Govindas”, said CM Eknath Shinde on August 18.
This is after Dahi Handi Utsav Samanvay Samiti wrote to the CM requesting to make Dahi Handi an adventurous sport. “This has been a long pending demand. Rather than playing it only once a year on the day of the festival, we hope for more competitions and events such as pro kabaddi will be organized so that the Govindas can practice, play and have a healthy competition throughout the year”, said the committee member Arun Pati.
He was further quoted saying, “This will help the Govindas to have advanced practice and remain healthy and fit to perform the human pyramid across the year. We will like to form a committee along with members of the government and plan further activities to make it an adventure sport for youngsters”.
The decision to grant sports status to Dahi-Handi comes after the ban on it imposed by the previous Uddhav Thackeray government for the last two years. The Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP govt had banned mass celebrations of Dahi-Handi citing Covid-19 pandemic, and banned the formation of human pyramids, which led to protests by BJP and Hindu organisations. The ban on Dahi-Handi came amid ongoing attacks on Hindu festivals by left-liberals, as petitions were filed in court demanding to ban it alleging that the ritual is unsafe. As a result, the Supreme Court imposed several restrictions on Dahi Handi, like a limiting the heights of the human pyramids to 20 feet, and disallowing minors to take part in it.
Earlier, the Bombay High Court had issued directions that the SC’s order on height and age restrictions should be followed while performing the Dahi Handi. The Court had also questioned the then government over categorizing Dahi Handi as an adventure sport. Later, Swati Patil, a Mumbai-based activist also filed a PIL against the breach of the HC order and raised concern about the casualties and injuries caused during the Dahi Handi celebrations.
“The human pyramid formed by the Govindas to break the handi is a symbol of Lord Krishna eating the curd from the earthen pot (handi). The festival should be celebrated as a festival rather than naming it as a sport or outdoor game. We have other outdoor games like Kabaddi and Kho Kho where the players don’t even have a good playground to play. The government should try to revive the existing outdoor games rather than a human pyramid as an adventure sport”, Patil had said.
To note, in July this year, the Maharashtra government led by CM Eknath Shinde decided to withdraw all the legal cases filed in connection with the alleged agitations during the Dahi Handi. CM Shinde had announced that all such cases up to March 2022 would be withdrawn.