Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Oct 19: A delegation of “Save Sharda Committee Kashmir (Regd)”, led by social activist Ravinder Pandita, called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh and held a 40 minute long meeting to discuss different issues related to the holy shrine, which is currently a part of Pak occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK). The members of the delegation also submitted several documents and representations to substantiate the campaign for preservation of Sharda Peeth, undertaken by them.
The members of the delegation shared with the Minister, several initiatives undertaken by them to revive the legacy of the Holy Sharda Peeth located in Sharda village in PoJK. They also spoke about their efforts to revive the ancient Sharda script.
The members of the delegation expressed their keen desire to undertake research related to various facets of the Holy Shrine of Sharda Peeth. For this purpose, they claimed, they were also receiving positive cooperation from the members of the civil society living in PoJK. They also referred to a recent book on Sharda Peeth written in Urdu language by PoJK author Khwaja Abdul Ghani and titled “Sharda – Tareekh Ke Irtequi Marahil”. They said, they have also undertaken the task of translating the book into Hindi.
One of the demands made by the members of the delegation was the grant of permission for them, by the Government of India, to undertake pilgrimage to Sharda Peeth. To this, Dr Jitendra Singh responded saying that the matter was earlier also taken up with the concerned authorities, but there are certain diplomatic constraints involved.
On this occasion, Commodore (Retd) D.S. Sodhi, a Committee member presented the Minister his historical books on J&K, authored by him. Surinder Mirza another member dwelt on the historical perspective and exploration of Sharda for the benefit of Sharda followers throughout the country. He gave a copy of the letter written this week by Sringeri Mutt head to the minister urging the prime minister to take effective steps for reopening of peeth.
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