Ahead of Rath Yatra celebrations in Ahmedabad on July 7, former city police commissioner and retired IPS officer Sanjay Srivastava on Tuesday launched ‘Ahmedabad Rathyatra: A Journey of Miracles’, a book he has co-authored, in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi.
Srivastava was Ahmedabad City Police commissioner from 2020 till April 2023 when he retired. The book lists his wife Rekha Srivastava and advertiser-cum-filmmaker Kamlesh Acharya as co-authors. The book traces the history of Jagannath temple in Ahmedabad, the rituals involved in Rath Yatra, while detailing its various components.
It also cites examples of how the Rath Yatra has been a pivot for bringing together Hindus and Muslims in the celebratory fold and fostered communal harmony. The book details the Rath Yatra during Covid-19 years, including in 2020, when the Gujarat High Court had stayed the procession in an unprecedented hearing that had continued well past midnight.
Noting that the police and other stakeholders had prepared for a plans A and B to deal with two possible scenarios — if the procession is allowed and if it isn’t — the book stated, “And yet, the fact that the Gujarat High Court decision didn’t come until the wee hours on the morning of the Rath Yatra shows that it was not an easy decision even for the HC… It is also a testament of the fact that the judges understood the power of emotion, the strength of devotion, and the importance of tradition…”
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