INDORE: Hingots will blaze . Blood will flow. Ballots will follow.The deadly, centuries-old tradition of Hingot Yuddh will continue this year as the district administration gave in to the villagers’ demands. Locals had threatened to boycott elections if the ritualistic combat was stopped.The administration on Monday announced that the annual festival, celebrated by villagers a day after Diwali at Gautampura in Depalpur tehsil, about 50km from Indore , will be held albeit with more safety arrangements in place.In this festival, warriors of Turra group of Gautampura and Kalgi group of Runji Village hurl burning Hingots (a hollow fruit stuffed with gunpowder) at each other. Hingots are desert dates, but in this ritual, they are turned into deadly missiles. Last year, a spectator died after being hit by a Hingot and 36 were injured.This year, the festival was facing uncertainty as officials of Depalpur Nagar Parishad sought the collector’s consent to go ahead with the arrangements while model code of conduct is in force. As the wait stretched to the 11th hour, posters started cropping up, saying: ‘No Hingot, No Vote’.“There is no court ban on the festival, so the administration will make whatever arrangements are needed to ensure safety and security of spectators. We also urge participants to pay attention towards their safety,” collector Nishant Warwade told TOI.Depalpur SDM Aditi Garg said, “There is some confusion among villagers or some people are misleading them. We have already started making better arrangements. Or instance, we are erecting iron-nets around the arena to ensure that spectators are safe. We held a meeting with the participants to inform them this is a traditional event and not political, so it should be celebrated with the same fervor.”This year, the protest began after two persons were arrested by Gautampura police last week for “illegally making explosives”, when they were preparing Hingots. It rekindled the debate on whether the tradition should be banned. And before long, poll boycott posters had come up.Fiery TraditionNobody wins or loses in this war and it ends with a few severely injured. Nobody knows when the tradition started, but local lore says it is ‘sadiyon purana’. The fight is always held on Padwa (the day after Diwali). Preparations started at least three months in advance.As per tradition, the warriors are divided into two groups — Turra of Gautampura town and Kalgi of Runji village. Tension mounts as the warriors and spectators wait for the sun to dip low on the horizon. With darkness looking, the whistle is blown and the two groups start hurling burning hingots at each other.In the darkness, the sight of hingots criss-crossing in a blaze of sparks leaves you speechless. Hundreds travel from across the state to witness it. Some end up getting hurt.A petition was filed in high court to ban the annual combat, following which the district administration is trying to ensure that nothing untoward happens. The administration never gives permission for it, yet the event is organized by residents in the name of tradition. Police had distributed pamphlets in town to persuade people not to get into the Hingot war but no one bothered to listen.In 1984, the then PM Rajiv Gandhi had asked for Hingot Yuddh to be displayed by Gautampura residents during Malwa Utsav in New Delhi.On A Short FuseHingot is a fruit, hard from the outside and hollow from inside. It grows in monsoon and once the jungles dry up, residents collect hingots and prepare for battle . Two holes are made on either end — one tiny and the other a little bigger. Gunpowder is filled through the bigger hole, which is then plugged with yellow mud. A short fuse is fixed in the smaller hole. A strip of bamboo, about eight inches long, is fitted in the back to hurl the missile faster and longer.Fighters hold a shield in one hand and hurl burning Hingots at one another.

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