Holi's 'Lat Saheb' Procession: Unveiling British Ploy to Divide Shahjahanpur

• Shahjahanpur's 'Lat Saheb' Holi procession, a unique tradition, reveals a historical clash between Ganga-Jamuni culture and British oppressive policies.
• Initially a symbol of cultural harmony during Nawab rule, the British manipulated Holi after 1857 to disrupt communal unity.
• Historian Dr. Vikas Khurana highlights the British 'divide and rule' policy, citing officer Goven's role in transforming the harmonious tradition into a tension-creating procession.
• Evidence from S.A.A. Rizvi's 'Freedom Struggle in Uttar Pradesh' confirms Goven's specific mission to disrupt Hindu-Muslim unity.
• The procession, believed to have started around 1859, was a deliberate British strategy to sow discord and maintain colonial dominance, now ingrained as a local tradition.