Dadhikando Mela – A historic protest against the British rule going back more than 100 years ago

It was 1890 and a group of revolutionaries decide to come up with a unique way to protest, they organised a religious fair. Any kind of gathering was prohibited under the British rule. But these revolutionaries were confident that a religious mela will not be objected to by the British. They also calculated that once this religious procession becomes popular, they will get massive public support. Thus began the Dadhikando Mela which features the divine pair of Shri Krishna-Baldau (Krishna & Balram)

Today people think it is an entertainment fair, so it is time to revisit history and look into this fascinating story.

Role of religion in our freedom struggle

The use of religion in India’s freedom struggle is believed to have begun in 1892 when Bhausaheb Javale installed the first Sarvajanik (public) Ganesh idol in Pune. The next year, through his newspaper ‘Kesari’, Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak promoted the Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav as a way to circumvent the ban on political and social gatherings imposed by the British.

The God Ganesh was chosen because it is ‘Everyone’s God’ and it bridged the social divide. The ten day festival was aimed at uniting the people against the British at the grass-root level. This practise was not new since it was existing in Pune city during the times of Shivaji and later the Peshwas. But after the British came into rule, the festival lost patronage of rich and royals. Tilak decided to make it a common people festival. Everyone could participate by either keeping a small idol of clay at home or in a public place in an mandap.

History recognises Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav as the first event used by revolutionaries to conduct mass gathering of people. However something similar had already taken place in Prayagraj at least two years earlier.

How to get mass appeal – time to celebrate a celestial bond of brotherhood

Hundreds of kilometers away, another group of revolutionaries in Prayagraj (then known as Allahabad) were dealing with a similar problem. How to get public support for a revolution to overthrow the British rule.

It had been more than 30 years that the British Empire had completed their stranglehold on India. However the memory of the First War of Independence was still fresh in memory. However the British rule which was a mix of appeasement, division and rule with an iron fist was extremely alert on any political or subversive activity. Besides the common people did not wish to face any reprisals by the British.

Ramkailash Pathak, Vijay Chandra, Sumitra Devi to name a few, held a meeting of revolutionaries to devise ways to begin spark the freedom struggle. Also there was no organisational structure between the revolutionaries and there were hardly any volunteers.

In this meeting it was agreed to have a religious procession and two most prominent religious icons were chosen, those who were the most mass appeal, Krishan and Baldau. Two people were chosen to dress up like Krishna and Balram. Since horses and carts were rare those days, it was decided to hoist them on the shoulders of people who will walk along the road. Considering that most of the people would be free at night, the timing of the procession was chosen according. The news of the fair spread word by mouth and people came out in large numbers with torches and lanterns. Such was the enthusiasm that people were clamoring to carry Krishna and Balram on their shoulder. People participate for religious reasons, some for entertainment but many for revolution. The first procession was an unimaginable success.

The fair has only gained in popularity

In 2023, the Dadhikando fair was organised at six places and was conducted between 16th Sept to 29th Sept. The tableau at Rajapur Dadhikando Fair featured the achievement of Chandrayaan 3. The prominent places are Rajapur, Sulem Sarai, Teliyarganj, Salori and Kidganj. All these places were under the British rule before Independence and they were designated as cantonment areas.

In the recent past few years, there has been a renewed interest in both the conduct and participation of these fairs. Dadhikando means curd games.

The original processions were deliberately taken out in Army areas as a defiance towards the British rule. Between the years 1922 to 1927 the Army authorities actually tried to ban the processions, but the people prevailed by turning out in large numbers.

Over the years, the procession has seen a lot of changes. First there were lanterns and then came gas lights in the 50s. Electrical lights began to come up in 1960s. After a long time of carrying Krishna and Balram on shoulders, the people started seeing them on elephants and later on a silver tank. If those days it was the freedom struggle, today there are social message and fight against evil.

Today hundreds of years later, we have Krishna and Balram riding on elephants with large scale music and lights. Hundreds of people come with families to view the processions. Without many of them knowing, the echoes of freedom fighters and revolutionaries can still be felt along with the tunes of Bollywood songs.