On Christmas, Hanuman Chalisa Recitation At Park Right Across Church In Haryana

It's Christmas today. But in Haryana's Hisar, Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad, the Hindu right-wing organisations, have announced a mass recitation of Hanuman Chalisa at a popular city park right across the church in honour of Maharaja Surajmal Balidan Diwas.

Maharaja Surajmal, the ruler of erstwhile kingdom of Bharatpur, devoted his life in forging national integration and fought against social injustice, racial discrimination, superstitions, and sacrificed his life on December 25, 1763, according to Surajmal Memorial Education Society.

While preparations had been underway for the past two days for Christmas celebrations at the 160-year-old St. Thomas Church, following the Bajrang Dal's announcement, the administration has deployed three companies of police personnel, fearing a breach of peace.

"In view of security concerns, police forces have been deployed, and the administration is striving to ensure that the events of both religious communities are conducted peacefully. The police are fully vigilant to prevent any kind of law and order situation. The matter regarding permission for the programs of the Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad is under the consideration of the district administration," DSP Sumit said.

The entire area has been barricaded, and water cannons have also been deployed to deal with any emergency, police said.

"The administration has issued notices to four leaders associated with Hindu organisations as a precautionary measure. The notices state that the organisers will be held responsible if peace is disturbed. The notices also specify that the administration must be informed about the expected crowd size and the plans for crowd control," the cop added.

Despite this, flags and banners were put up at Krantiman Park late in the evening, and the ritualistic fire ceremony (yagna) was started, NDTV has learnt.

The Bajrang Dal maintains that their event was organised in response to public demand.

"This program was organised today on the occasion of a government holiday and Maharaja Surajmal's martyrdom day. He said that according to the Indian calendar, there is a festival almost every day, and this event was organised in response to public demand," Professor Deepak Kumar, VHP member, said.

Asked why the programme was held in front of the church, he said this location was chosen because it is situated in the heart of the city. He clarified that there was no controversy involved and that full cooperation had been received from the police for traffic management.

This is the first time that the Hanuman Chalisa is being organised on a large scale on Christmas in the city.

"This festival has been celebrated by the Hindu community for many years, and now that the entire Hindu community is coming together to celebrate it in a big way, it is a matter of great enthusiasm and joy," Deepak Kumar said.

Victor David, representing the Christian community, said that Christmas has been celebrated at St Thomas Church for the past 160 years, and such a situation has never arisen before.

"It's like children insisting that we will play here and insist on staying, so we moved away," David said.

"Every year, church-related events have been held at Krantiman Park, but this time, the fact that the Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad are holding their programs at the same location has created unease. The Christian community has requested the administration to provide them with space at Krantiman Park for their events or to designate an alternative location for such gatherings," he added.

The Krantimaan Park, located near the church, was known as Company Garden during the British era, and it also houses a pillar commemorating the 1857 rebellion.

The administration maintains that the situation is being monitored and that they are fully prepared to handle any situation to maintain harmony and peace in the city.