Holi and the state

Ahead of Holi, images of mosques in Uttar Pradesh wrapped in tarpaulin emerged as startling symbols of a partisan administration bent on turning a day of vibrant festivity into one of joyless browbeating.

While the ostensible reason for the swaddling was to prevent mosques from being splashed with coloured water and powder by revellers, the real objective was obvious – to use the festival to assert a Hindu supremacist worldview.

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh | Sambhal's Jama Masjid being covered with Tarpaulin sheet ahead of Holi festival as per the decision of the local administration pic.twitter.com/cMIW0cV8mF— ANI (@ANI) March 12, 2025

The anxieties around the Hindu festival of spring were the result of the fact that Holi this year was being celebrated on a Friday, a day of congregational prayer for Muslims. These prayers assumed greater significance this Friday because the Islamic holy month of Ramzan is underway.

A week before the festival, a police officer in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district told Muslims to stay indoors if they did not want to “accept Holi colours”.

Chief Minister Adityanath backed up the official, saying that Friday prayers were not mandatory for Muslims. “He [the police officer] is a bodybuilder, and speaks like one,” the chief minister said. “Some people may feel bad, but he spoke the truth.”

A minister...

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