Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, June 12: Kashmir will be witness to first Dashhar of this century on June 14 when thousands of Hindu pilgrims will assemble at Shadipora Prayag in Ganderbal district of Central Kashmir which is the confluence of river Jehlum (Vitasta) and Sindh (Indus) after a period of 75 long years.
Last time Dashhar took place at this place on June 4, (Wednesday) in 1941 when Maharaja Hari Singh was ruling the undivided J&K State.
Thousands of people drawn from different parts of the country are expected to participate in the Shadipora Dashhar and devotees have already left for Valley and after participating in Kheer Bhawani Mela today they will leave for Shadipora tomorrow or early on Tuesday where besides taking a dip in the holy waters they will perform pooja archana and also perform religious rituals and Maha Shrad of their nears and dears who are no more in this world now.
Besides, one can atone sins by taking a dip on this occasion in holy waters at Prayag, said Pt. Omkar Nath Shastri, chairman of the Dashhar Festival Committee. He said in addition to this the Maha Shrad will also be performed to those people who died during the last 27 years of turmoil in the State.
Both Vitasta which is linked to Goddess Parvati and Sindh which flows from holy cave of Amarnath are sacred rivers for Hindus of Kashmir, said Shastri Ji.
To oversee the arrangements a Dashhar Festival Committee was constituted which is headed by Shastri Ji and assisted by prominent people of KP community.
The authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the devotees visiting the Shadipora Prayag on June 14. A bridge from river bank to Prayag has been constructed by Tourism Department.
According to Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, Tariq Hessain Ganai all arrangements are in place and there will be all facilities from the administration for the devotees at Shadipora which were provided to pilgrims at Kheer Bhawani today.
“We have made all arrangements as per the demand made by different KP groups at Shadipora”, he said adding besides elaborate security arrangements and health care facilities, makeshift toilets and bathrooms by municipality will be established.
In addition to it Tourism Department will keep boats at the disposal of pilgrims to deal with any eventuality as the devotees are going to take a bath in the river. Arrangements for light refreshments will also be made , he added.
The Muslims of the area have also welcomed the members of minority community visiting Shadipora on the occasion of Dashhar on June 14 this year and People’s Republican Party (PRP) has taken a lead in this regard as party has decided to set up welcome banners in the area. “We will welcome our Pandit brethren as they are the part and parcel of civilization of Kashmir which both communities have nurtured for centuries together”, said Mir Ghulam Rasool president PRP.
“It is good that Pandits are visiting their religious places and participating in the religious festivals in Valley and this reminds us of the days prior to 1989 when both the communities used to live in peace and complete harmony in Kashmir. Both the communities should pray for return of those days so that Kashmir will head towards an era of progress and prosperity again”, he added.
Supporting him Ghulam Qadir Bhat a social activist and local resident said that people of the area are eagerly waiting to welcome their Pandit brethren at Shadipora on Tuesday and it will provide an opportunity to the members of two communities to come together.
According to Hindu mythology the Dashhar at Shadipora takes place when there is celestial configuration of 10 planets and this time this particular combination takes place after a gap of 75 years. The religious scholars term this combination auspicious for the State and nation as a whole and taking a dip in the waters at Shadipora Prayag is also considered religious to atone sins.
The Dashhar festival of Shadipora has same relevance for Kashmiri Pandits as Kumb of Allahabad has for Hindus of the country. The festival was earlier held in 1941 after a gap of 30 years i.e in 1911 as per the records available in Archives and Archeology Department of J&K.
Rajesh Bhat a scholar who had done his PhD in Mass Communication said that earlier the Dashhar was held on 22nd of Jesht 1998 as per Hindi calander.
On this day Maharaja Hari Singh had declared public holiday in Baramulla, Anantnag and Muzaffarabad districts of Kashmir Valley, he added.
The Government at that time had spent Rs 200 on rescue boats, Rs 500 on lighting arrangements and Rs 500 on unforeseen expenditures. Besides 100 Maharaja’s guards were put on duty for security of yatris and medical officers of Sumbal and Ganderbal were given strict orders to take care of the yatris in the festival.
About one lakh pilgrims took part in this festival in 1941 as against 40,000 as expected by the Government due to which there was a terrible outbreak of disease and 3063 people were treated by the Government doctors.
One 16 year boy also lost his life while a boat had over turned near Sumbal during the festival.
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