The yatra is frequented by hundreds of thousands of people around the world (File)
Bhubaneswar:
A 19-year-old Muslim student from Nayagarh district in Odisha is one of 21 people and organizations who have asked the Supreme Court to seek a recall of his suspension order from the historic Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Supreme Court declared on June 18 that, in the interest of public health and the safety of citizens, this year rath yatra, which was to take place on June 23 at Puri in Odisha cannot be authorized and “Lord Jagannath will not forgive us if we allow it”.
the yatra is frequented by hundreds of thousands of people around the world.
Aftab Hossen, who moved the court during the yatra rath, is a final-year undergraduate student in economics at Nayagarh Autonomous College and is now named the state’s second Salabega on social media.
Salabega was a Muslim man and a great devotee of Lord Jagannath.
During the three kilometers of yatra from the main sanctuary to the Gundicha temple, the chariot of the Lord stops for a moment near the tomb of Salabega located on the Grand Road as a sign of respect.
Salabega, who was the son of a Mughal subedar, occupies a special place among the devotional poets of Odisha. He lived in the first half of the 17th century.
Hossen said he was influenced by Lord Jagannath from his childhood and that his late grandfather Multab Khan was also passionate.
The 19-year-old has filed a request for intervention before the Supreme Court through his lawyer PK Mohapatra.
Hossen said his grandfather built a Trinath temple (Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar) in Itamati in 1960.
He said he had also read several books on Lord Jagannath and developed a devotion to the “Lord of the Universe”. Mr. Hossen’s father, Imdad Hussain, his mother Rashida Begum and his younger brother Anmol never objected to him worshiping the idol of Jagannath.
“I did not visit the temple because I am not allowed to do so. I believe that I am a human being and that there is a creator in the universe,” he said.
With great confidence, Mr. Hossen said that “the superior court will allow the rath yatra to be held once it becomes aware of the fact that the management committee is in favor of carrying it out on a limited scale in the absence of faithful for the COVID-19 pandemic “.
