Tragedy struck the two centuries old shrine of Dastgeer Sahib in the locality of Khanyar, Srinagar, when flames suddenly leapt from the top floor and engulfed the entire wooden structure of the shrine in no time as it was all made of wood. From Governor and the CM, down to MLAs and organizations of civil society throughout the State, one and all, have expressed grief and shock at the tragic incident. Daily Excelsior joins them in expressing its grief on the gutting of a historic construction which houses the priceless relics (tabbarukat) of 11th century renowned Sufi saint Abdul Qadir Gilani. He is the founder of Qadiri silsila or the Qadiriyyeh school of Sufis. The Qadiri School gained much popularity in Kashmir, not only in the city of Srinagar but throughout the length and breadth of the Valley. Traditionally, people of Kashmir celebrate the annual festival at the shrine called Urs of Dastgir Sahib. Dastgir is a combination of two Persian words, dast meaning hand and gir meaning holder. Shaykh Abdul Qadir Gilani has been given the sobriquet of the “Holder of the Hand” means one who assists a traveller along the path of Sufism to reach the destination which is God Almighty. One can understand the influence this Sufi saint exerts on the mind of people of the Valley who hold him in highest veneration. Damage done to the shrine naturally hurts the feelings of a vast population of followers of this school of Sufism.
Most of old shrines of Kashmir, whether attributed to Sufis or to Rishis, are usually made of wood, the material used in building houses during medival times. In the past many shrines have been damaged by fire and were rebuilt. The history of Jama’ Masjid at Nowhatta also has had the share of natural disaster and was rebuilt. In recent years, we witnessed extensive damage to the shrine at Chrar-e-Sharief which happened owing to the acts of militancy and counter-militancy. The shrine has been rebuilt and restored to its original and pristine purity. Fortunately the valuable and rare relics at Dastgeer Sahib Shrine have been preserved and are safe in the vaults according to a formal statement of the keepers of the shrine. That is a redeeming factor. We would like to react on two points in connection with this tragic incident.
The first point is that why elementary fire fighting arrangement was not in pace at the shrine. The custodians knew that the shrine was made of timber, a substance that is exposed to damage caused by even a small mistake or negligence or a short cut. If emergency fire fighting device was in place, in all probability, the fire could have been brought under control before it spread to other parts of the structure. All sensitive places are observing the norm of keeping fire-fighting device in place and a number of incidents which would have flared up in disaster were controlled in good time. The second point is that according to reports available, though this again is subject to investigation, the fire tenders came to the site much later than those that came from other towns in the periphery of the city. And then there was non availability of water when some fire tenders had exhausted the storage. In big cities there are specific points in the entire city wherefrom fire tenders can connect to the main water supplying pipe in emergency cases. Nothing like that is to be seen either in Srinagar or in Jammu. Fire Fighting Department should put up a plan before the Government of providing fire extinguishing points at crucial places and squares in the city along main water supply line…
Ministers and MLAs have made appeals to the people not to get carried away by emotions. An enquiry into the happening has been ordered by the Government. Divisional Commissioner will head the enquiry committee and they will submit their report in shortest possible time. That is what the Governments usually do. It needs to be emphasized that nobody should jump to accepting one or the other version of how the incident of fire began at the top storey. Enquiry will be made in all aspects of the incident, the delayed arrival of local fire tenders, incidents of police-crowd clashes, stone pelting and burning of a stationery fire tender vehicle, the mob violence and the threat of escalation of clashes in which anti-social elements fish in disturbed waters. It has to be said that miscreants are striving every nerve to disrupt normalcy that has gladly emerged from the woods. Therefore giving calls for a bandh and persuading people to express their resentment through surcharged anger is not the way. It is a poignant issue and introspection into the entire gamut of historical and traditional value of Kashmir Sufi-ism and Reshi-ism coming closer to each other has been missed. Certainly a new structure, more beautiful than the previous one, will come up on the site. It is a historical monument and has to be restored to its original status.
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