Umiya Mata Temple is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

of the goddess Umiya, the clan-deity or ''

kuldevi A ''kuladevata'' (), also known as a ''kuladaivaṃ'' (), is an ancestral tutelary deity in Hinduism and Jainism. Such a deity is often the object of one's devotion (''bhakti''), and is coaxed to watch over one's clan (''kula''), gotra, family, ...

'' of the Kadava Patidars. It is located in the center of

Unjha Unjha is a town and a municipality in the Mehsana district of the Indian state of Gujarat. Unjha is 26 km north of Mehsana and 102 km north of Ahmedabad. Geography Unjha is located at . It has an average elevation of 111 metres (3 ...

Mehsana district Mehsana district (alternate spelling "Mahesana") is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state in western India. Mehsana city is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district has a population of over 1.8 million and an area of over ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India.

History

In November 2009, the temple celebrated its

Silver jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

. The temple was renovated from donations from wealthy industrialists and farmers. Large numbers of Kadava Patidars came to the pilgrimage, with tents and guesthouses being set up to shelter the masses. Then

Chief Minister of Gujarat The chief minister of Gujarat is the head of government, chief executive of the government of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose Cabinet (government), council of ministers are Cabinet collective respons ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

gave a speech at the beginning of the vegetarian sacrifice on his devotion to his own clan's ''kuldevi''.

Influence on politics

The temple is an important destination for politicians to win the votes and support of the Kadava Patidar community. In 2016, the temple was visited by then vice-president of the

Indian National Congress party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

Rahul Gandhi Rahul Rajiv Gandhi (; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician. A member of the Indian National Congress (INC), he is currently serving as the 12th leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and as the member of the Lok Sabha for Rae Bareli Lok ...

, in order to win the Kadava Patidar vote bank.

Umiya Dham in Ahmedabad

An Umiya Dham complex is being built by the Kadava Patidar community in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

. The complex will have a temple, an NRI guest house, a convention hall, boys/girls hostel, senior citizen care facilities, medical facilities, recreation and sports facilities, and career and business development facilities. As of 2018, Prime Minister of India

was set to lay the foundation stone. This is because the Kadava Patidars had begun to be disgruntled with Modi's

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

after Gujarati politician

Hardik Patel Hardik Patel (born 20 July 1993) is an Indian politician and social activist. He rose to prominence in July 2015, where he led the Patidar reservation agitation that sought Other Backward Class (OBC) status for the Patidar caste. He joined ...

and his Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti organized the Patidar reservation agitation. The BJP sought to regain the votes of Kadava Patidars through this gesture from Prime Minister Modi.

Umiya Maa Temples in United States

In 2013, an Umiya Mata temple was commissioned by the Kadva Patidar Samaj in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

. As of 2014, two more were coming up in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts. Umiya Mataji Sanstha Chicago Midwest celebrates the

Holi Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...

festival in Joliet. More than 500 people join to celebrate Holi every year. This festival signifies the victory of good over evil. The celebration is split into two events –

Holika Dahan Holika Dahan (), rendered Holika Dahanam in Sanskrit or Chotti Holi, is a Hindu festival in which a bonfire is lit to celebrate the burning of the demoness, Holika This ritual is symbolic of victory of good over evil. It precedes Holi, the fest ...

and color Holi. In Holika Dahan, wood and cow dung are burned in a symbolic pyre to signify good defeating evil. The next morning, people gather in open space at the temple to take part in Rangwali Holi, where people put colored powders (gulal) and colored water, on each other in celebration of spring. At the temple in Chicago, snacks and dinner are served in the free event as children and families participate in this event. In addition, the devotees also pray, dance, and sing devotional songs.

References

Kadva Patidar Kuldevi Shri Umiya Mataji Sansthan, Unjha

External links