B L Saraf
One more revered shrine has been consumed by fire, in Srinagar. A blaze struck Khankah -e-Moulla on 14th instant, damaging it, mercifully, in a part. This is one of the many shrines venerated both by Hindus and the Muslims in Kashmir. In 2012, millions of Kashmiris mourned when shrine of Sufi Saint Hazrat Syed Abdul Qadir Geelani met with the same fate. Two years back Jawala Ji Shrine, abode of Mata Jawala Ji, in Khrew area of Pulwama district was reduced to the ashes in a devastating fire. These recurring fire incidents of the shrines have raised concerns about their safety.
C M Mehbooba Mufti rushed to Srinagar on hearing about the latest fire incident. After taking stock of the situation, she announced that safety audit of all religious places in the Valley will be undertaken and measures initiated to ensure their security and safety. Though belated, this is a well come development which should gladden hearts of both believers and the seekers.
Kashmir is blessed with number of soul searing spiritual places which are respected and revered by the communities living there, irrespective of faith and belief they adhere to. This is a common belief in the Valley that these spiritual places – of any faith – apart from being religious points of reference for a particular community, form part of the common historical heritage exemplifying a composite cultural and civilization.
While as elements of nature like fire, floods etc have played a part in destroying these spiritual sign posts, human have not lagged behind in vandalizing them, nonetheless. The unscrupulous have always fixed their greedy eyes on the material assets these shrines possess. They could not, however, succeed where the shrines were secured by a law like, Wakhaf Act and Gurudwara Prabhandak Committees Act.
The unfortunate events of 1990 brought miseries of various kinds to the displaced community. One has been the near obliteration of its spiritual sign posts in the Valley. As per the official records , collected at the instance of High Court, only 600 – out of the one thousand plus temples and shrines, exist (in skeleton) on the spot . Some have fallen to the vagaries of weather, some to the inimical forces and most of them have been plundered by those very persons who were expected to protect them. The plunder goes on unabated. Kashmiri Hindus have been insisting on the statutory protection of their shrines and temples in Kashmir, as religious places of other communities do have. A Bill was introduced to this effect in the previous Assembly which, for reasons unknown, could make into the Law. In this regard every quarter – be in the Government or outside – was approached by the displaced community with facts and figures. Response is still awaited.
One has a trust that while Chief Minister insists on safety audit of the shrines in the Valley, she takes into the consideration the displaced community’s long pending demand of having a law for protection of their temples and shrines in Kashmir. This could be a one effective measure to ensure their preservation and security. Besides, it would constitute a significant C B M for the community, in forced exile, to seriously think of returning to the place of birth.
If the dwindling cultural glory of the Valley is to be reclaimed the Spiritual places must resonate, once again, with soul lifting hymns sung in praise of the Only One – who Lords over the world. It may be easy to tame and manage the ‘ elements of nature ‘ or they may show some mercy on their own, humans need a hard measure of deterrence. We need a law for protection of all Shrines in Kashmir. They belong to us, as we all belong to them.
(The author is former Principal District & Sessions Judge)
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