The Amarnath Pilgrimage – History & Facts

Historically, the worship of Shivalingam has been a very popular religious practice in Kashmir. The same stands corroborated by Kalhan Pandit who in his monumental work, Rajtarangini, makes a mention of ‘vateshwar’, an ancient Shiva-lingam worshipped even in his lifetime. A king of Kashmir, Ravana, (1000 B.C)worshipped it as it was believed to predict future occurrences & events through the light emanating from the Sri-cakra engraved on it.1 The king was so devout in his worship of the Shiva-lingam that he consecrated the entire valley of Kashmir to the Math where-in he worshipped the Shiva-lingam.2 The Mahadev Peak, Dyaneshwar lingam &Sureshwar lingam, known as svayambhu lingams, have been objects of worship for the Hindus of Kashmir. In fact, the interiors of Himalayas possess numerous such lingams & Hindus reverently call them Shiva-dhams. Pilgrimages to the Shiva-dhams have been a regular feature without interruptions.

 

            The ancient cave of Amarnath known for its icy-lingam that is naturally formed has been a venerable spot of pilgrimage for thousands of years. The icy-lingam waxes & wanes with the waxing &waning of the Moon. It attains its full length form on the night of shravanPurnima. As per the written records the icy-lingam has been nomenclatured as’amresh’, ‘amreshwar’, ‘rasa-lingam’, ‘siddhi-lingam,’ ‘buddhi lingam,’ ‘shuddhilingam,’ ‘puratan buddhi lingam’ & ‘pumsavan lingam.3 The nomenclature of ‘amarnath’ as is in voguehas been drawn from & owes its genesis to the ‘Amarnath Mahatamya’, anauthentic work on the Amarnath as a holy place of worship.

 

            As per the ‘Amarnath Mahatamya’ Shiva in the form of  icy-lingam bestowed immortality on gods,devatas & thus he is known as ‘amresh’ or ‘amreshwar’. He delivers hisdevotees from the pains & pangs of old age & disease soon after they have his ‘darshan’ & ‘Satksatkar’ in the formation of icy -lingam. As per the Tantric erudites, He is Amarnath because He commences His ascent from’ama-kla’ to ‘purna-kala’ & a mere drop from it liberates a pilgrim, adevotee, from age & death & grants him the state of oneness with Supreme consciousness, the same as Shiva. A pilgrim, who in his extreme joyfulness& ecstasy, dances inside the cave, is considered a veritable rudra. 

Historical records

 

            The references to the holy cave of Amarnathare available in Bringesh Samhita, Nilmat Puran, Amarnath Mahatmaya & Rajtaranginis of Kalhan Pandit, Rajanak Jonraj & Shuk Pandit & othertravelogues by foreign travellers.

 

            Bringesh Samhita is a compendium of the Mahatamayas of all the prominent & well known tirthas (holy places) of Kashmir compiled by Bringesh, a scholar of eminence. In Kashmir, we have a galaxy of three persons bearing the same name of Brigesh. One was agana, an attendant of Shiva, the other was a sage & the third a scholar of eminence. Bringesh, the gana, being an unworldly recluse could not have any cultivated interest in writing & compiling the Mahatamayas. The research scholars hold that initial task of compiling Mahatmayas was taken up by Bringesh who was a known sage & the date for it is supposed to be 5thcentury A.D. The third Brignesh given to scholarship & scholarly pursuits is supposed to have aptly culminated the work as begun by the second Bringeseh in 12th century A.D.4. The entire work is unfortunately lost & the manuscript  available in the Ranbir Library, Jammu, is a truncated version &hence falls short of providing multi-dimensional & authentic informationabout the culture & mores of ancient Kashmir including  the topography of the region.

 

Mythology

             The Bringesh Samhita relates that Mahakala threatened the gods (devas) with death &destruction & they in all trepidation called on Lord Shiva & humblyentreated Him to protect them from Mahakala’s menacing threat of decimation. Shiva in all mercifulness freed them from Mahakala’s threat by showering uponthem the boon of immortality. Again to seek Shiva’s support & protectiongods (devas) could not see Him as He was deeply immersed in His devotional& meditative practices. In absolute distress the gods (devas) lifted theirhands to supplicate Him to appear before them. Shiva, the merciful, appeared inthe formation of an icy-lingam & this is the genesis of the Holy Lingam& subsequent pilgrimage to the holy cave of ‘amresh’ or ‘Amarnath’.

 

            Bringesh Samhita also relates that Kashmir was a vast expanse of water & the sageKashyap drained the lake for the land to appear. Bringesh, the sage, was scouring the swathes of the valley & discovered the cave wherein an icy-lingam in full length form was standing. Lord Shiva gave him a sceptre for protection of pilgrims which has now taken the form of Chhari Maharaj, the holymace leading the annual pilgrimage.

 

            As per Amarnath Mahatamya, Parvati, the consort of Shiva, was ultra-keen to know in full details the mysteries of life & immortality .Entreating the lord to reveal the mysteries to her, Shiva traversing the tops& ridges of the Himalayas took rest in a cave & disclosed to her all the secrets about life & immortality. Finally Lord transmuted Himself into an icy-lingam.

 

Nilmatpuran

             Vital to the history of Kashmir Nilmatpuran as a fascinating store-house of socio-cultural materials is the earliest work of 6th century A.D. which carries a reference to the Holy cave of ‘Amreshwar.6 It authentically establishes that the cave known for its icy-lingam was well within the active consciousness of general populace in Kashmir. The people of Kashmir in particular & the vast masses of people in India in general believe Shiva as the god of mountains laden with layers of white snow. Shiva’s consort, Parvati, is the daughter of the Himalayas who got wedded to Shiva who has His abode in the snow-capped mountains. Pilgrimages to the mountains as a home to gods have been an ancient practice of the Hindus. The Hindus of Kashmir as part & parcel of the Indian cultural mosaic shared the same cultural spirit & ethos & made pilgrimages to the mountain peaks & mountainous caves in search of spiritual upliftment & spiritual bliss of peace and ananda.

 

Amarnath Mahatamaya

             Amarnath Mahatamya gives a full & elaborate account of the pilgrimage to the Holy Cave of Amarnath. It details out all the holy spots enroute to the Holy cave. It does not only mention the religious merit that a pilgrim earns by bathing & cleansing praxes at various holy spots, but also gives an authentic & credible account of their topography & geographical position. Amarnath Mahatamya has its essential base in the Adi-Purana establishing its original position as a Purana. It was regarded  as a standard Mahatamya giving lucid details & exact descriptions in concordance with well recognised literary  practices. The Amarnath Mahatamya certainly has a religious & legendary complexion, yet it is a mine of information on the cultural ethos of Kashmir in those hoary days of yore & also the socially-oriented behavioural indices of aboriginal Hindus of Kashmir.

 

Kalhan’s Rajtarangini (1148-50 A.D.)

             Kalhan Pandit, the Herodotus of Kashmir history, has made definitive & categorical references to the Holy cave of Amarnath. In Tarang I of his work, Rajtarangini, he makes a mention of a legend of Naga Sushravas, who had given his daughter in wed-lock  to a Brahmin youth for the help he had rendered him in harvesting the crops. But king Nara, the ruler of Chakradhar (Chakdar) near vijyeshwar (vegibror), tried to abduct the young Brahman’s youthful Naga wife. This aroused the wrath of Naga Sushruvas, who in all blood & fury, arsoned & destroyed Nara’s entire kingdom & put him to death. It was done in all bitter revenge & Naga Sushruvas, perhaps fearing fearful reprisals, carried his son-in-law & his spouse to his own abode, Sushram Naga, now known as Shesh Naga. Kalhan writes, “This place is now located en route pilgrimage to ‘Amreshwar’.

 

            Kalhan Pandit describes the Shesh Naga lake as ‘the lake of dazzling whiteness resembling a sea of milk’ This authentic account available in Rajtarangini unambiguously buttresses the assertion that the pilgrimage to the Holy Cave of Amreshwar must have been much in vogue in Kalhan Pandit’s time.

 

            The above-mentioned reference to ‘Amreshwar’ is not the solitary one that Kalhan Pandit has provided the succeeding generations about Amarnath. He as a historian possessed of an observant eye conveys more credible materials about the cave shrine.

 

            In Tarang II of Rajtarangini Kalhan Pandit conveys that “King Sandimat Aryaraj (34 BC) used to spend the most delightful summer in worshipping linga formed by snow in the regions above the forests.”7

 

            It is a clear cut reference to the icy-lingam at Amarnath cave.

 

            In another  reference to Amarnath Kalhan Pandit in his Rajtarangini, Tarang VII conveys that Queen suryamati, the spouse of king Ananta “submitted trishuls, banalingas and other sacred emblems in the name of her husband at Amershwar”.8

 

Jonraja’s Rajtrangini 

            In his second Rajtarangini, Jonraj, a fearless historian of Kashmir, writes, ‘Sultan Zain-ul-abidin (1420-1470) paid a visit to the sacred tirth of Amarnath while constructing a canal on the left bank of the river Lidder (lambodari)’. 9

 

Shuka Pandit’s Rajtarangini 

            In his fourth Rajtarangini, also known as Rajavalipataka, Shuka, the disciple of Prajya Bhatt, whose Rajtarangini is lost, gives full length detail of the pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath. Shuka informs that Akbar who as per history had annexed Kashmir at the pleadings & prodding’s of two political advisors of Makhdoom Sahib, a Naqshbandi sufi of indigenous origins, anti-shia to his bone-marrow, had made some queries from his governor Yusuf Khan about some political-cum-administrative affairs regarding Kashmir. In his reply to the query made by the emperor he mentions among other things the Amarnath pilgrimage in broad & incisive details. It establishes that the Amarnath pilgrimage was surely in vogue even in the times of Akbar who annexed Kashmir in 1586 A.D.

 

Asif Vilas by Pt Raj Jagannath 

            As reinforced by historical evidences Shah Jehan vandalised temples & other places of worship of Hindus in Kashmir & a shocked foreign traveller, Francios Bernier, writes, ‘The doors & pillars were found in some of the idol temples demolished by Shah Jehan & it is impossible to estimate their value.’11

 

            But the Amarnath pilgrimage continued un-interrupted despite the emperor’s vile iconoclastic activities. In his well-known eulogy of Asif Khan, Shah Jehan’s father-in-law, a reputed aesthete, Panditraj Jagannath, makes a categoric mention of Amareshwar while giving a poetic description of Nishat garden as laid out by Asif Khan. In his flight of imagination jagannath writes in the ‘Asif vilas’ that ‘ Indira, king of the galaxy of gods, comes here to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva.’12

 

Francois Bernier, The french physician  

            Francois Bernier, the French physician, accompanied Aurangzeb, the Bigot, when he was on a visit to Kashmir in 1663 A.D. Driven by curiosity & wander-lust he visited Trisandya, Verinag, Achabal, wular-lake & Sangsafed facing Harmukh & therefrom he pursued ‘Journey to a grotto full of wonderful congellations’. 13 It had taken him two days to reach the grotto, which surely is no place other than that of the Holy cave of  Amarnath.

 

            In the second reprint of Bernier’s Travelogue titled ‘Travels  in Mughal Empire,’ a noted historian, Vincent A. Smith, writes in his introduction, ‘ the grotto full of wonderful congellations is the Amarnath cave, where blocks of ice, stalagmites formed by dripping water from the roof, are worshipped by many Hindus, who resort here, as images of Shiva, glaciers surround the………………….’14

 

Kirpa Ram dutt & holy cave of amarnath (1675 A.D.) 

            At the behest of Auranzeb his governor in Kashmir, Iftikhar Khan, cruel & theo-fascist, subjected the Kashmiri Pandits to the worst ever persecution & torture for their conversion to Islam. Kashmiri Pandits, five hundred in number, under the astute leadership of Kirpa Ram Dutt, a known Shaivite Scholar, met at the Holy cave of Amarnath to devise a workable strategy to meet the challenge. One of the pandits at the Holy cave saw Lord Shiva in a dream directing him to call on Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-75A.D) at the village of Anandpur Sahib in the Punjab. It was from the Holy cave of Amaranth that kirpa Ram Dutta in obedience to the direction of Lord Shiva led the delegation of five hundred Pundits to Guru Tegh Bahadur & rest is history.15

 

Vigne, a foreign traveller 

            Vigne, another foreign traveller, paid a visit to Ladakh and Tibet during the times of Maharaja Sher Singh of the Punjab. He made an attempt to visit the Holy cave of Amarnath via the traditional route, but was forced to return from vayuvarjan (vavjan) because of inclement weather. Out of sheer curiosity he met various shades of people, mostly the natives and thus gleaned a lot of relevant material about the pilgrimage to the cave and put it to writing in 1842 A.D. In his reputed travelogue titled as ‘Travels in Kashmir, Ladakh and Iskardu’, vigne conveys, ‘The ceremony at the cave of Amarnath takes place on the 15th of the Hindu month of Sawan, 28th July…………… not only Hindus of Kashmir but those from Hindustan of every rank and caste can be seen, collecting together and travelling up the valley of Liddar (Lambodari) towards the celebrated cave, which from his description must have been the place which Bernier tried to visit but was prevented.’16

 

            What we get  from vigne’s travel account is that pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath was not only a local affair, but would draw a crowd of pilgrims from far and near in the country.

 

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj (1563-1606 A.d.)

             It is a known fact that Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj granted land in Amritsar for the ceremonial depature of Chharhi, the holy mace of lord Shiva, marking the commencement of the pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath. This gracious act of the Guru Maharaj lends unimpeachable credibility to the fact that pilgrimage to the holy cave was not confined to the natives of Kashmir, but would draw enthusiastic pilgrims from across the country. To earn religious merit many devout Hindus would donate lands and moneys to the religious  groups and institutions to provide facilities to the pilgrims bound for the Holy cave of Lord Shiva.

 Pt Sansar Chand Koul, a naturalist of Kashmir

             In his booklet ‘The  Mysterious cave of Amarnath’, Pandit Sansar Chand Koul, the first ever geographer of Kashmir, author and scholar, informs that ‘in 1819 A.D. Pandit Hardas Tiku founded the Chhawni Amarnath at Ram Bagh in Srinagar where saddhus (renunciates) from the  plains assembled and where he gave free rations for the journey, both ways from his own private resources”.17 The year 1817A.D. as mentioned by Pandit Sansar Chand Koul marks the end of the brutal and tyrannical rule of the Afghans who persecuted Kashmiri Pandits to incredible limits, out-smarting the pains and wounds inflicted on them by the sayyid-sufis from Central-Asian countries.

W. Lawrence’s Valley of Kashmir  

            In his celebrated work ‘Valley of Kashmir‘ walter Lawrence, the Settlement Commisioner of Kashmir, has not missed to make a mention of the pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath.

             He writes, ‘Puranmashi the full moon of the month of Sawan is the day when pilgrims must reach the distant cave of Amarnath and worship the snow-lingam which gradually melts away  after the puranmashi. Strict Hindus both male and female discard their clothes and put on shirts of birch-bark before they enter this cave……………………………’ 18.

 Routes to the holy cave of Amarnath

             The traditional route to the Holy cave of Amarnath has been via Lidder Valley despite the fact that the cave is situated in the geographical environs of the Sind Valley. The prominent holy spots enroute the traditional path have been elaborately mentioned in the Amarnath Mahatamya. The holy spots other than Anantnag as elaborated in the Mahatamya are :-

Balihar (Baliyar), Vaghashram (Vagahom), Hastikaran (Hasikhan), Chakresh (Chakdhar), Devak (Divakiyar), Harish Chander (Chandanyar), Surya-guha-vat (Sirigofwar), Sakhras (Sakhras), Badoras (Badur), Hyashashishram (Kamalnag), Uttarnag (Wotarnag), Sarlak (Salar), Khilyayan (Balkhyalan), Narayan-Maha-Khetra (Kolar), Mamlak (Mamleeshwar), Bragupati (Pahalgam), Sthanu-ashram (Chandanwor), Giripesh (Pishbal), Sushrumnag (Shishirnag), Vayuvarjan (Vavjan), Pancha-tarni (Panchtarni), Garbagar (Garabyatra), and Amravati (Ombravati).19

 

            After having ritual baths and performing other ritual practices at these holy spots the pilgrim’s progress blissfully climaxes at the Holy Cave where the icy-lingam, the transmuted form of Lord Shiva, is standing either in suyambhu form or in full-length form only to bless the pilgrims and grant them deliverance from sickness of the world caused by meshy layers of duality.

 

The Baltal Route

 

            The Baltal route to the Holy cave of Amarnath is the Sind valley route which has not been popular with the pilgrims, either natives or from various parts of India. The route lies in inhospitable terrain, arduous and difficult, risky and menacing. Thanks to the Border Roads Organisation a negotiable path has been carved out and constructed and in view of the facility a multitude of pilgrims is seen ambling on the path for ‘darshan’ of the Holy icy-lingam. The path remains open for all months of the summer. Distance wise, the Baltal roiute is shorter than the traditional Pahalgam route.

 

Route from Zojilla Pass

 

            The Zojilla route to the Holy Cave of Amarnath has been a known route and comparatively the shortest route to the sacred shrine of Shiva. It is just a track that can be trekked on foot and descends near the cave from the Amarnath peak.

 

Kishtwar – Seru Route  

            Kishtwar -Seru route has equally been a known route to the Hindus of Kishtwar and other belts of the mountainous region. Kashmiri Pandits, who doggedly refused conversion to Islam during the tyrannical days of Sultan Sikander (1387-1407AD) fled to Kishtwar for shelter and safety, trek the same route to pay obeisance to Shiva in the Holy Cave. For them, it is a popular route, though it was already popular with the indigenous population of the region.

 Sacki- Pantsal route

             The geographical studies of the region reveal that Sacki-Pantsal route is also a route leading to the Holy Cave. But it has not been much in vogue because of its difficult terrain and weather disasters.

 

Pigeons in the holy cave

             A pair of pigeons, present and flying in the cave, drench its chill-cold and weird environs in mystery and mystique. The pilgrims consider it extremely auspicious and feel blessed, thrilled and transported to mystical realms when they catch a mere glimpse of them. The pair of pigeons in the Holy  Cave has been reverentially depicted in the Amarnath Mahatamya as the two messengers of Lord Shiva disseminating  His revealed verities and truths to the world of humans for their spiritual upliftment and emancipation.

 

            As per the legend Lord Shiva revealed to His ever-eager consort, Parvati, the mysteries of creation, life and immortality in the Holy Cave of Amarnath. The pair of pigeons, quietly perched in some niche of the cave, overheard the secrets in full details as were revealed to Parvati by Lord Shiva. Having learnt of their presence in the cave, Lord Shiva granted them the boon of immortality and hence their eternal abode in the Lord’s cave.

 

            Foreign travellers having found their way into the purlieux of Kashmir have not missed to make a mention of the pair of pigeons in the cave-temple.

 

            Anchored in speculation, waxing eloquent on the topic of pigeons, vigne, a foreign traveller, writes, ‘The dove (pigeon) has always been an emblem of peace, the sublime and preter-natural     have always been concomitants of wildness; solitude accompanied by an extra-ordinary degree of remoteness has often been a cause of sanctification. And the wild and gloomy the locality, the better has it been thought qualified to become the peculiar residence of God.’ 20

 

Swami Vivekanand on Amarnath cave (1897 A.D.)

 

            Swami Vivekanand, an eloquent and eminent spiritualist of India, paid a visit to the Holy cave and was mystified by the icy-lingam in the Holy cave where Lord Shiva had dwelt upon perennial subjects of creation, life and immortality that have ever been intriguing humankind from the days of its creation. As per his well known biography Swami Vivekanand is reported to have conjectured about how the Holy Cave could have been discovered. The author writes ;-

 

            ‘I can well imagine how this cave was first discovered. A party of shepherds, one summer day, must have lost their flocks and wandered here in search of them. What must have been their feeling as they found themselves unexpectedly before this unmelting ice-lingam of white camphor, with the wall itself dripping offerings of water over it for centuries unseen of mortal eyes ? When they came home they whispered to other shepherds in the Valleys how they had suddenly come upon Mahadeva.’ 21

 

            On having entered the cave Swami Vivekananda was overwhelmed with a mystical experience. He had a darshan of Shiva. He called the place religious, inspiring and extremely beautiful. He wove meticulously beautiful poetry about the icy-lingam and its impact on his total psyche.

 

The tyrannical Rule of Sultan Sikander 

            Sultan Sikander, who had pawned his soul to a Sayyid-Sufi from Central Asia, Mir Mohammad Hamadani, was not only an iconoclast, but a misanthrope, hater of books, enemy of aesthetics and worst form of Islamist. He issued an atrocious and contemptuous government decree ordering the Kashmiri Hindus to get converted to Islam or flee the native land or get perished. As a result, thousands of Hindus were brutally massacred, thousands got converted and thousands fled the land for shelter.

 

            The Sultan’s numerous crimes against humanity are :-

 

1.       He did not permit the Hindus to go to temples to pray and worship.22

 

2.       He did not permit them to blow a conch or tolll a bell.23

 

3.       He stopped Hindus from performing their religious practices and celebrating their festivals. 24

 

4.       He killed them if they put a tilak-mark on their foreheads.25

 

5.       At the apperance of the new moon, the Hindus were not allowed to worship or take out processions.26

 

6.       He burnt six mounds (1 mound = 37 kilos) of sacred threads worn by Hindus as a mark of their religious initation only after putting them to cruel death.27

 

7.       He stopped Hindus from undertaking pilgrimages to all Shivadhams (Amarnath, Sureshwar, Harsheshwar, Dyaneshwar, Mahadev Peak).28

 

8.       He stopped Hindus from burning their dead.29

 

9.       He demolished and destroyed the marvellous temples of Martand, Vijyeshwar, Chakrabrat, Tripureshwar, Sureshwari, Varah and many others.30

 

10.     He imposed the hated Jazia (poll-tax) on the Hindus, thus declaring them dhimmis.31

 

11.     He waged war on the Hindus when Mir Mohammad Hamadani declared them ‘Kafirs at war’.32

 

12.     He burnt books on Hindu knowledge, science, astronomy, astrology, music, dance, poetics and medicine.33

 

          The worst ever hurricane fury of genocide of the Kashmiri Hindus 34 unleashed by Sultan Sikander and vigorously pursued by Ali Shah and their armies 35 forced Hindus to burn, hang and drown themselves in rivers and wells and jump over steep precipices to protect their religion. The genocide of Hindus acquired a renewed speed and impetus when another wave of Sayyid Sufis led by Sayyid Jalal-ud-din Bukhari 36 entered the borders of Kashmir. The Hindus and their cultural signs and symbols were ruthlessly destroyed the same manner as locusts destroy and devour the lush green paddy fields.

 

Q-factor in the History of Kashmiri Hindus

             Zain-ul-abidin came to the throne of Kashmir in 1420 A.D. In his treatment of and attitude unto the remaining small number of Hindus, not more than proverbial eleven families, the Sultan slavishly followed the marked foot-prints of his predecessors and felt no reason to swerve away from the state policy chalked out by the foreign Sayyid-sufis in choke-hold of state apparatus. The Sultan at the behest of Sayyid-suifs in his court repalced Sanskrit as the official language of court by Persian37. He showered lavish and unprecedented patronage on the foreign musicians from Khurasan and other Central Asian belts thereby discouraging and disparaging the indigenous trends and shades of music38. His court was under the total siege of foreign Muslim ulema and Sayyid-sufis whose inflow into Kashmir had gained tremendous volume and speed. As he was in the line of foreign unsurpers Zain-ul-abidin failed to architect a state that would transcend religious hue and complexion. Encouraging foreign craftsmen to pursue their crafts in Kashmir he dealt a massive blow to indigneous crafts and craftsmen, their jobs being practically stolen by foreign Muslims from distant countries. Sharia-bound the Sultan did not order the execution of a foreign Sayyid-sufi when he murdered a saffron-clad recluse in cold blood. The reason cited was that he was a Sayyid-sufi and hence above law and immune to severe punishment. The state that Zain-ul-abidin assiduously built was an all-round affair of the Muslims from distant lands and people in general though forcible converts to Islam remained deeply mired in despondency and alienation. As social and moral cohesion and bonding had ruptured and shredded the individuals as units in the social fabric were reduced to a state of sheer lawlessness and chaos.

 

            No historian of Kashmir has been precise in citing the date and time when the Sultan developed a fatal boil on his body. All sorts of treatment by a host of foreign physicians was administered to the ailing and wailing Sultan. In all desperation the Sultan was informed of a Hindu physician, Shirya Bhatt by name, who had somehow survived the holocaust and was living in obscurity away from the prying eyes of Muslim maruders.

 

            The Hindu physician was called in. In all Jitters and a chill going down his spine Shriya Bhatt examined the awe-inspiring patient, Zain-ul-abidin, the son of Sikander, the iconoclast and commenced his indigenous treatment. Some days elapsed and lo! the high profile patient showed encouraging signs of turning the corner. He recovered and came to live a normal life. Happy and elated the Sultan sent for the Hindu physician, a native under duress in a gulag and in all generosity asked him to name the beneficence or bountiful reward he would like to have from the Sultan.

 

            What the Hindu physician, Shirya Bhatt, in all humility and supplication asked for as the beneficence or bountiful reward  from the Sultan worked as Q-factor in the history of Kashmiri Pandits. A pious and noble soul, altruistic in his world view and harassed to his bone-marrow, Shirya Bhatt shell shocked the Sultan when he asked for naught for himself, but prayed for the return and rehabilitation of multitudes of his compatriots who had fled their native land to avert the Muslim persecution, allowing them to pursue their indigenous form of education and have jobs in government. The Sultan, more or less, chastened by the fatal boil and under a debt of gratitude to the Hindu physician ungrudgingly conceded all what the Hindu physician had supplicated for.

 

            The Sultan to the absolute  disapprobation and annoyance of Muslim Ulema and Sayyid-sufis despatched messengers to various parts of the country to spot out exiled Hindus and earnestly urged them to return to their native place. He reduced the quantity of Silver (4 tolas in weight) to be paid as Jazia (poll-tax) by half, but was not gracious enough to withdraw the hateful imposition in full thereby granting them total exemption from the punitive tax.

 

            As the Hindus could not cremate their dead under a despotic decree from the Muslim Sultan called Sikander, they were left with no option but to cremate their dead inside their dwellings and kept the ashes in an urn placed in a space created by removing mud and stone from the main doors of their dwellings. Srivar, a historian of Kashmir, writes that when the Sultan Zain-ul-abidin permitted the severely persecuted Hindus to immerse the ashes of their dead in the Gangabal Lake, ten thousand of them miserably perished in a horrific snow-storm that cruelly hit the upland regions the time they were on a return journey after performing rites and rituals connected with the immersion of ashes40.

 

            Srivar also informs that he as a faithful courtier had to pay tax-money, a monstrosity, for the cremation of his father. When he cheekily brought it to the personal notice of his Sultan in the court, he condescended to reduce the tax money, but was again not magnanimous enough to remit the levey in toto that was punitively imposed on the Hindus by Sultan Sikander41.

 

            The Muslim Sultan, Zain-ul-abidin, as a result of fundamental shift in his attitude permitted the exterminated Hindus to celebrate their religious fairs and festivals, circumambulate around the Sharika Parbat and chant hyms and mantras in high decibel and undertake pilgrimages to their holy spots and Shivadhams42.

 

            It becomes stark clear that pilgrimage to the Holy Cave of Amarnath was cruelly stopped by the Muslim ruler Sultan Sikander, from the day he launched a Muslim crusade against the natives and could not be resumed till Zain-ul-abidin suffered a change of heart after the fatal boil that was treated and cured by Shirya Bhatt, who was later included in his court and put in charge of health facilities for the people.

 

            As per the historical archives, Ibrahim Shah II (1552-54 A.D.) granted religious freedom to all. The Hindus were granted freedom of worship only on payment of Jazia (poll-tax). The Hindus made a request for the remittance of the oppressive tax. The Sultan in all hostility replied, ‘How can I who is a Muslim cease to levy tax from the Hindus?’43

 

            The chak fanatics (1554-85 A.D) who were Shias by faith re-imposed Jazia in full on the Hindus of Kashmir. Any Hindu wearing a sacred thread had to pay an annual tax to the chak rulers. Shuka Pandit, a contemporary historian, makes a comment, ‘The Hindus were overpowered by religious intolerance the same way as the sun is overpowered by the grey sable clouds.’44

 

            By implication what is conveyed by Shuka Pandit is that Hindus performing any religious act including a pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath had to pay a tax to the Muslim rulers.

 

            The Afghans as per all available versions of Kashmir history were barbarous, crude, cruel, ignorant and inhuman. They chopped off every twig from the tree of mercy. The atrocities inflicted on the Hindus of Kashmir by Afghans were unheard of and  beat all previous records. They plundered their houses, looted all what they had by way of material possessions, and anybody complaining or resisting was straight-away put to axe or sword. Persecuting and massacring Hindus was designed to exterminate their entire race or achieve their conversion to Islam. The Hindus fled their land of ancestors to the tropical plains of India to save themselves from the barbarous Afghans. When Hindus were existentially in peril, how could they  have thought of living a pious life of religiosity and performing pilgrimages to the holy spots (tiraths) that they reverred and worshipped for spiritual attainments ? The brutal Afghans stopped them from undertaking pilgrimages to well-known Shiva-dhams or even celebrating their auspicious fairs and festivals. They condemned them as manifestations of infidelity and heresy violative of Sunna and Sharia 45.

 

            The people of Kashmir in general heaved a great sigh of relief when the Sikh army from the Punjab expelled the brutal Afghans from the territory of Kashmir. The soothing relief to the Kashmiri Hindus was that all vexatious and oppressive taxes levied on them were mercifully withdrawn in toto and pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath was resumed. It was during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh that the Holy Mace symbolic of Shiva’s Mace was stored at Amritsar and pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amaranath would kick-start right from Amritsar.

 

            With the Dogra takeover of Kashmir in 1846 A.D. the pilgrimage to the Holy cave assumed a new scale and dimension. The number of pilgrims increased manifold and proper arrangements for safe conduct of yatra were meticulously made. The Dogras managed the shifting of the Holy Mace from Amritsar to Srinagar where it was stored at Dashnami Akhara where from it is traditionally taken to the Holy cave in a massive procession of devotees, pilgrims, sadhus, sanyasis and general mass of Hindus.

 

Malikhs of Batakoot

 

            Before discussing the role and status of Maliks of Batakoot it becomes quite imperative to place the Maliks as a generic term in proper historical perspective. It can be gleaned from the pages of Hindu history of Kashmir that the Hindu rulers were extremely vigilant in guarding the frontiers of their kingdom. There were routes and passes that were vulnerable and militarily sensitive and could be used for incursions, surprise raids or full-scale aggressions by the invading hordes. To guard their territories the rulers had set up military-cum watch stations put under the charge of officials designated as dwarpals or dwarpatis. They were also tagged as ‘margeshes’ meaning those who mastered the routes or pathways. These military-cum-watch stations were so fortified  in terms of men and materials that the marauding armies of Mahmud Ghaznavi failed twice to invade Kashmir and conquer it.

 

Records Alberuni —   

            ‘They (Hindus) are particularly anxious about the natural strength of their country and therefore take much care to keep a strong-hold upon the entrances and roads leading to it. In consequence it is very difficult to have any commerce with them…….’ 46

 

            It broadly explains how Kashmir resisted going the Islamic way for full six hundred years after the advent of Islam in India.

             In the wake of the launch of Muslim crusade against the natives of Kashmir by Sultan Sikander and his Sayyid-sufi mentor from Central Asia, Mir Mohammad Hamadani, the dwarpals, dwarpatis and margeshes like all other hapless segments of Kashmiri Society were coerced, tortured and brutalized to change their indigenous faith. After they got converted merely as statistical Muslims they were renamed as maliks and were allowed to retain their profession or else they were to be de-mobilised. When army was used for whole-sale conversions by Muslim rulers, all the exit routes were totally closed for the fleeing Hindus so that they would not escape the orgy of conversion47. The same converted Maliks guarding the passes and other exit-points faithfully executed the atrocious writ of the tyrannical rulers.

             Maliks as a vital cog in the Muslim state apparatus were tortured, hounded out and made to flee in the aftermath of chaks getting defeated by the mighty Mughal forces. Most of them perished and some survived by hiding themselves in secluded mountainous regions. The surviving ones had no option but to make a truce with the Mughals to earn reprieve. They were permitted to pursue their profession of guarding the routes and ingress-points on mountains girting the valley.

 

            With the advent of Dogras the Maliks lost their professional moorings and utility as they established the same improvised policing methods and techniques that were largely prevalent in the Punjab, perhaps introduced by the Britishers.

  Myth of Discovery of the holy cave of Amarnath by a Malik

             It is a mere myth, a fib, a lie and a fabrication that the Holy cave of Amarnath was discovered by a Malik in1845 A.D. The litany of references and allusions to the Holy Cave are so profusely splashed in the historical works and theological literature of Kashmir that in no uncertain terms establish its enormous antiquity. Most of the Muslims rulers as borne out by historical records banned the pilgrimage to the Holy cave or created insurmountable hurdles and difficulties for the pilgrims to undertake the pilgrimage. Sultan Sikander banned everything that had a Hindu flavour. Ibrahim Hussain Shah imposed Jazia (poll-tax) on a Hindu to practise his religion including undertaking pilgrimages. Chaks were crude and intolerant fanatics. They used all wild and cruel methods in their armory to exterminate Hinduism from Kashmir. Afghans were the cruellest of the cruel. Their persecution of Hindus is bone-chilling and beggars description. The pilgrimage to any and all Shiva-dhams became impossible during the barbaric period. The pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath was a continuous affair. All written records amply bear it out and fully buttress it. It got interrupted during the time-periods when indigenous religion, medicine, theology and architecture were decimated. The unrelenting natives under constant on-slaught during the Sultanate chunk of history and even during post-Sultanate period resisted and rejected conversion and fled the land of their birth six times48. In the history of Kashmiri Pandits the stark resemblances to the Jewish history of the exoduses and persecution are writ large. The small numbers that survived the Muslim genocide or those who found it wise or expedient to return to their native land from the plains never severed and abandoned their linkages with the hall-marks of their religion and culture. Steely and resilient they continued to pay obeisance to the Holy cave of Icy-Lingam for spiritual fulfilment and ascendance. This fact is amply reinforced by the calender of the native Hindus, nearly five thousand year old in which the pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath is included as a day of fasting on account of ‘Shrawan Purnima’, the culminating day of the pilgrimage to the Holy cave.

 

Association of Maliks with the Amarnath Pilgrimage

             As per my personal findings the Maliks of Batakoot are those who proved stubborn beyond limits and failed to reconcile to the Mughal conquest of Kashmir and to avoid annihilation hid themselves at a distant place in the mountainous region away from the gaze of the Mughal soldiers. As they lost their ancestral occupation and had become rudderless and vagrant the Dogra rulers in view of their history harnessed their services as guides to the pilgrim’s enroute the Holy cave of Amarnath. Over the years they were assigned the additional jobs of maintenance of the rough track, raising of small sheds on the routes and physical safety of the pilgrims. In lieu of their services they were paid a sufficient part of the offerings that the devotees offered to the Icy-Lingam in the Holy cave.

 

            To reinforce my stand-point I refer to W.Lawrence who lucidly mentions that pilgrims on way to Holy cave were joined by Brahmins at Mattan and further up at Batakoot Maliks used to take charge of the pilgrimage. He also adds that Maliks were supposed to keep the track in order, guide or escort  the pilgrims and carry sick pilgrims and ensure that nothing was stolen and received one-third of the offerings at the Holy Shrine of Amarnath.

 

            My probe into the affair has led me to an alternate theory that the Malik clan after their conversion to Islam would collect tax money or Jazia (poll-tax) from the native Hindus and the devout pilgrims across the country on a pilgrimage to the holy cave of Amarnath. For most of the Sultanate period barring a short-lived interlude the native Hindus, their religion and its prominent signatures littered over the entire region were under a determined onslaught and decimation. If Hindus were allowed some sort of vague religious freedom, anathema to Islam, they had to pay tax-money or Jazia (Poll-tax) for their religious observances and pilgrimages. As Maliks were stationed at all vulnerable spots, if Amarnath route was one and I believe, it was, they could have been assigned the authority of collecting the hated tax from any Hindu pilgrim, a dhimmi as per Islamic practices.

 

Who is Secular?

 

            With the eruption of mass frenzy over the diversion of some chunks of forest land at Baltal to Amarnath Shrine Board, some half-baked Muslim leaders, immature and ill-informed media men and ultra-liberals have claimed that the association of Muslims with the pilgrimage is something uniquely secular. Let these worthies be told that it is the Hindus who are ultra-secular for having allowed the Muslims to be a part of the pilgrimage and have a share from the offerings. Do Muslims allow the Hindus or for that matter Christians or Jews to be a part of their annual pilgrimage? It is an established fact that the Hindus have a catholic and tolerant view of the world and are accommodative and assimilative and view God’s essence in all men of all faiths. Their tolerant world-view gets established by the vedic dictum – Reality is one, interpretations vary.

 

            If some chunks of people involve themselves in economic activities during the period of pilgrimage to the Holy cave it is absolutely an absurd position to highlight it as basis for orchestration of the secular credentials of that chunk of population. The fact of the matter is that pilgrims on way to the Holy cave duly purchase the services of a chunk of people who happen to be Muslims. It is no charity, it is no benevolence, it is a simple position of purchasing the services of a labourer, a courier, a pony wallah willing to sell his muscle or bodily strength or any other means of assistance to a pilgrim. To color the pilgrimage as an expression of syncretic culture of Kashmir and to project it as a shining precedent of secularism are mere absurd constructions and far-fetched and irrelevant stipulations. The Kashmiri Pandits who have been hounded out of their native place sufficiently know the worth of syncretic culture of Kashmir and its facade of secular credentials.

 —- The Beginning —-

Author : Prof. Mohan Lal Koul

ICONOCLASM IN KASHMIR-MOTIVES AND MAGNITUDE

Photo : John Burke , Year 1868 (once a Hindu temple now Zein-ul-ab-ud-din's Tomb, in Srinagar. )

This photograph is reproduced in Henry Hardy Cole’s Archaeological Survey of India report, ‘Illustrations of Ancient Buildings in Kashmir’ (1869), when Cole wrote, ‘In the Panels of the Gateways, there is proof that buildings had previously existed, in which columns play a part…The break in the roof is also remarkable as occurring in conjunction with the simplicity of the enclosing wall, and indicates, I think, that the Gateway is probably more modern than the wall, and may perhaps have been set up by the Mahomedans out of some of the materials of other ruined temples of which a quantity lies strewn all over Srinagar.’  Sikandar has been tainted in Kashmiri history as Butshikan or idol-breaker.Zeinabuldin , the Sultan , was Sikander;s son.The fertile valley of Kashmir offered a retreat from the crossroads of Asia in the high Himalayas, and developed its own distinctive architecture. Buddhism was established here from the 3rd century BC but was eclipsed by the 8th century AD by the flourishing Hindu Vaishnava and Shaiva cults. Kashmir finally became a great centre of the Shaiva religion and philosophy and a seat of Sanskrit learning and literature. By the 14th century Kashmir came under Islamic rule. Most of its early temples were sacked in the 15th century and their remains were sometimes incorporated in later Islamic monuments. The tomb of the mother of Zain-ul-abidin was built in c.1430 on the foundations of an old Hindu temple, and was decorated with glazed tiles. Immediately to the north of this building is an enclosing wall and gateway made of Hindu materials, which contains a number of tombs, one of which is said to preserve the remains of the Sultan himself.

………..While no one can deny the fact that Kashmir was greatly influenced by Sufism and has produced some great Sufi saints and mystic poets(both Hindus and Muslims),we must stay clear of attaching a Sufi tag to every Muslim Godman.

On one hand we have the great Sufi Tradition of Nund Rishi,Shams Faqir,Ahmed batwario,Rahim Saab,Swoch Kral,Prakesh Ram Kurigami,Govind Kaul,Ahmed Dar, on the other we have self styled god-men like Bul Bul Shah and Syed Ali Hamdani on whom this label of Sufi is stuck to make them more palatable to the larger masses.
Syed Ali Hamdani or Shah-I Hamdan as he is popularly called by Kashmiri Muslims is widely regarded as the man responsible for conversion of Kashmiris to Islam.As we already know that the Shah-i-Hamadan mosque was built after demolishing a Kali temple(and there are enough historical records to prove that, apart from the fact that to this day Pandits perform prayers alongside the converted structure).

Now that itself should restrain our Marxist historians from making “religious divines” claim.
That not-withstanding I would like to inform the readers that before Shah-i-Hamadan left Kashmir he ordered the king to impose the following sanctions on Non-Muslims.I am enumerating them for your reading please.

1) The Hindus will not construct any new temples under the rule of Muslims.
2) They will not repair old temples fallen into ruins.
3) They will respect Muslims.
4) They will not dress like Muslims.
5) They will not ride a horse with saddle & bridle
6) They will not put on a ring.
7) They will not carry swords or bows & arrows.
8 ) They will not adopt Muslim names
9) They will not harbour spies or act as spies
10) If any relation of their’s wants to embrace Islam, they will not oppose it.
11) If a Muslim comes to attend a Hindu meeting he will be respectfully received.
12) They will receive Muslim travelers into their houses & provide them hospitality.
13) They will not prevent Muslim travelers from staying in their temples & shrines.
14) They will not mourn their dead loudly.
15) They will not buy Muslim slaves.
16) They will not build houses in neighbourhood of Muslims.
17) They will not sell intoxicating drinks.
18) They will not carry their dead near the grave-yards of Muslims.
19) They will not openly practice their customs & usages among Muslims.
20) They will not give up their traditional dress so that they can be distinguished from Muslims.
In the end the fiat in the form of an advice dictated if any Hindu dares to flout any of conditions, he should be first looted and then possession of his body is halal(Zakhiratul- Muluk).

Read the well researched complete write up by clicking HERE

Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra 2010 – Registration details

Circular No.92

Reg:Registration of Yatris for Shri Amarnathji Yatra-2010

Dear Sir/Madam,

As usual Bank has undertaken registration of Yatris for Shri Amarnathji Yatra-2010. The registration shall be taken through 121 designated branches of the Bank as per the list annexed.

2.) Shri Amranathji Yatra-2010 is scheduled to commence on 1^st July 2010 and will culminate on the 24^th August 2010. The advance registration of Yatris will commence from 5^th June 2010 and shall continue till 22^nd August 2010 for the Chandanwari (Pahalgam) route and 23rd August 2010 for Baltal (Sonamarg) route by each of the designated business units of our Bank. The number of Yatris to be registered on each route to proceed on each day to the holy cave from 1^st July 2010 onwards shall be as per the branch-wise allocation of Yatra permits as per the list annexed (Annexure-I). It needs to be ensured that Yatra permits are to be issued on FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS.

3.) The procedure for registration of yatris for Shri Amarnathji Yatra -2010 is detailed out as follows:-

I.      The intending Yatris are required to apply for the issue of Yatra Permit Forms (YPF) on the prescribed application form (Form “A”), copy whereof is annexed (Annexure-II). The said application form indicates the Yatri’s name, address, contact details, name of the nominee for the accidental insurance cover, one photograph and the intended date of Yatra. The Form “A” has to be signed by the intending Yatris himself/herself. Adequate number of forms has been consigned to each designated business unit along with the YPFs. The yatra application form is also available on the website of SASB (www.shriamarnathjishrine.com) and on Bank’s website www.jkbank.net.

II.      On being satisfied that the Application Form “A” has been submitted after being duly filled-in and signed by the intending Yatri, the relative designated business unit will issue one YPF for each form received. The machine printed number of the YPF so issued along with the date and route needs to be recorded at the bottom of the relative Application Form under the signatures of the concerned officer of Bank. The YPF should be issued after receiving full registration fee @Rs.15/- per YPF.

III.      Yatra Permit Form (YPF) contains day & date details and as such care should be taken to issue the particular YPF for the date & day as marked thereon.

IV. The YPF have been printed in seven distinct colours for different weekdays for each of the two routes as under:-

Day	Chandanwari route	Baltal route
Monday	White	Craft Paper
Tuesday	Red	White
Wednesday	Ground Orange	Red
Thursday	Yellow	Ground Orange
Friday	Green	Yellow
Saturday	Blue	Green
Sunday	Craft Paper	Blue

To determine the day of travel for the purpose of selecting the prescribed colour for a particular weekday travel document, it needs to be noted, that Yatra shall start from 1^st July 2010 & will continue till 22^nd August 2010 from the Pahalgam route & till 23^rd August 2010 from Baltal route, For example 1^st July 2010 ,when the Yatra is scheduled to commence falls on Thursday & the Yatris traveling from Pahalgam route shall have to be issued Yatra permit printed in Yellow colour and for those traveling from Baltal route, the colour of the permit will be Ground Orange as indicated above.

It may be noted that YPFs meant for Baltal route are marked as “B” on the top and the YPFs meant for Pahalgam route are marked as “P”.

V.      Running serial numbers are machine printed on the blank permit forms. The designated business unit shall maintain a separate register to record the serial Nos of YPFs, names & contact/mobile no’s of intending Yatris to whom blank YPFs have been issued. The number of blank YPFs issued must not exceed the number of YPFs allotted to a given business unit for any particular day & date. Day-wise colour coding shall be carefully adhered to while issuing blank YPFs

VI. The intending Yatris shall fill up the YPF on spot after affixing the passport size photographs on it. The duly filled- in and signed YPF shall be endorsed by our business unit after duly checking the particulars, sign etc and affix the  Bank’s round (yatra) seal on it before giving  back to the Yatri. Bank’s yatra seal must partially stamp the photograph of the Yatris as well cover the requisite portion of YPF. The registration & issuance of YPFs will be done on first come first serve basis. The chronology of the issuance of blank YPFs will have no bearing on the chronology of the actual registration and issuance of Yatra permits.

VII. The registration will be done between 3.00 P.M to 6 .00 P.M on every working day except Saturdays, when the same will be available from 1.00 P.M to 4.00 P.M.

4). The designated business units shall maintain a MIS for the registration tickets issued per day through   their Intranet Users.  Each of  these B/U’s  shall  be able  to  access the link  “SHRI AMARNATHJI YATRA 2010” after login on the Intranet and shall enter at EOD the number of YPFs sold per Yatra date per route. The information, as desired, should be uploaded on the system invariably on each day to enable the Bank to furnish information to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board on daily basis.

5).A substantial portion of Yatra Permit Forms (YPF) have been made available for being booked online. The prospective yatris can access http://yatra.jkbank.net for online booking of YPF. The detailed guidelines thereof are available on the main page of the said URL domain. The said domain shall also be live for booking from 5^th June 2010.

6).Once the registration process is over, the designated Business Units shall forward all the application forms against which YPFs have been issued to the General Department, CHQ for our onward submission to SASB. In addition the designated Business Units Shall forward copies of all the registers in which data has been entered by them to this office for being delivered to SASB.

7). In Case of any difficulty in handling registration of Yatris as per the procedure laid down hereinabove, BUs must approach the undersigned on email- Id syedhamid@jkbmail.com or Contact No.0194-2450925.

Application Form (Form A)
List of Branches of J & K Bank having Registration Counters

Ruined Temples of Rainawari , Kashmir !

Shiv Temple [ Bod Mandir ], Near VB College, Rainawari, Srinagar,Kashmir

Shiv Temple Naidyar,Rainawari ,Srinagar,Kashmir

Shiv Temple, Jogilankar, Rainawari, Srinagar,Kashmir

Shiv Temple, Near Bridge, Naidyar, Rainawari, Srinagar,Kashmir

Shiv Temple, Near Mishan Sahib, Naidyar, Rainawari, Srinagar,Kashmir

Shri Vaital Bhairav, Mal Mohalla, Jogilankar, Rainawari, Srinagar,Kashmir

Shri Vaital Bhairav, Motiyar, Rainawari, Srinagar,Kashmir 

Shri Gopantar Ashram, Bagh-i-Jogilankar, Rainawari, Srinagar,Kashmir 

Also Check THIS

Video Courtsey : Mr Vijay S

Lost Home – Kashmiri Hindu Houses

This video should make every Kashmiri Hindu nostalgic and it would be very diffcult to fight back tears.

I would be greatful if someone can translate the Kashmiri Song in English so that the same may be added to this blog.

 

Update [ 30th Sept.,2009 ] “Irma” has shared the below translation of the song which is in the background.

MY  LOST  HOME  IN KASHMIR
GET  UP  ALL, 
WE WILL  TOGETHER  CROSS  TO  OUR  HOMES
ON  FOOT  WE  WILL WALK  TO  OUR HOMES,
HOME WHICH  WE  LEFT  BEHIND, 
WHICH  WE  LOST TOGETHER 
WE  ALL WILL  SEARCH  THAT  HOME!

SMALL  AND LITTLE  WAS  THAT  HOME  OF  MINE
SMALL  AND  LITTLE WAS  THAT  HOME  OF  MINE ;
LOVELY  AND PLEASING  WAS THAT  HOME  OF  MINE :
HOME,  WHERE  I  PLAYED  IN MY  CHILDHOOD  DAYS.
I YEARN  TO  SEE THAT  HOME  ONCE AGAIN  !
GET  UP  ALL ,  WE WILL TOGETHER  CROSS TO  OUR  HOMES  !

WHAT  WORTH  HAS  ONE  
WHO  HAS  NO  HEARTH  AND  HOME  ?
IT’S  LIKE  OUR  EYES  WITHOUT  THEIR  VISION.
UP  AND  DOWN   I  WOULD LIKE TO RUN IN MY HOME ,
AND  DANCE  AND PRANCE  IN  MY  COURTYARD  ONCE  AGAIN  !
I YEARN  TO SEE THAT HOME ONCE AGAIN .

THEY  SAY  SOMEONE  HAS  TAKEN  OVER MY  HOME     ,
SOME  SAY  A  STRANGER  HAS BEEN ALLOTTED  MY  HOME
SINCE  THEN  I  FEEL  I  AM  DYING    ONCE  AGAIN .
GET UP  ALL ,  WE  WILL  TOGETHER  CROSS  TO  OUR  HOMES  !

(HARI) PARBAT AND TULAMULA  (OUR  RELIGIOUS  ICONS)  WERE  NEAR  MY  HOME ,
ZEETHYAR AND MATTAN  (OUR  SHRINES  ) WERE  MY  RELIGIOUS  BACKBONES  ‘
OH  THEN!  WHY  WAS  MY  HOME  SHATTERED  TO  SHAMBLES ?
I  YEARN  TO  SEE  MY  HOME  AGAIN  !
GET  UP  ALL,  WE  WILL  TOGETHER  CROSS  TO  OUR  HOMES ,
ON  FOOT  WE  WILL  WALK  TO  OUR  HOMES :
WHICH  WE  LEFT  BEHIND ,  WHICH  WE  LOST
TOGETHER,  WE  ALL  WILL  SEARCH  THAT  HOME  !!

Sharda Temple of Hindus in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir

It may be noted that Goverments of both countries, India and Pakistan have allowed muslim population of Kashmir to cross the line of actual control and have allowed trade as well across the border , both these countries are not allowing Kashmiri Hindus to visit the above shrine despite many requests.

Prior to independence, Hindu Pandits were settled in great numbers, in the Northern areas of Kashmir. Sharadi is a small village in Northern parts of Kashmir, which was famous for an ancient temple of Goddess Sharada. A Kashmiri Pandit family headed by Thusu Ladarwani was settled in this village. This Thusu family was compelled to migrate to Srinagar from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) and again due to the terrorists and their activities, had forcibly to shift to Jammu and stay in a transit camp there.
At present, Shri Shambhunathji Thusu from this family is ninety four year old and possesses an exceptionally remarkable memory. He is well versed in Urdu, and Kashmiri language . Shri Shambhunathji provided me a map in Urdu prepared by him, giving details of the “Sharda Temple”. He has successfully retained many memories, about the “Sharda Temple” right from 1920 A.D. Shri. Shambhunathji reiterated that there was no idol of the Goddess Sharda in the temple, but there was only a stone plinth, admeasuring six feet long, seven feet wide and one and half feet high. “Just outside the temple, not very far, was a Shivaling.( i.e . symbolic idol of Lord Shiva). The devotees worshipped at both the places.

Shri. Shambhunathji was born and brought up in Shardi and he spent his prime youth there only. His family owned a business there. He aptly recollects the fair held at Shardi in the month of Bhadrapada (the sixth month according to Hindu Calendar) on the eighth day of Shukla Paksha i.e. a fortnight of rising moon.

He makes a mention of the briefings by a scholar in History from “Shardi”, about the assistance rendered, by a Gaud King to the “Sharda Temple Complex”. The village Shardi is situated at a distance of 130 Kilometers from Srinagar and 140 k.m.s. from Muzaffarabad. This place, presently, has the following postal address in Pak occupied Kashmir. (POK).
Village Shardi, Tehsil Atta Mukam, District Muzafferabad.

Since olden times, the village Shardi was renowned for the following two things
1. temple of Goddess Sharda, and
2.  Sharda Peetham (Centre for Advanced studies)

Prior to the partition, a fair was held at village Shardi in the month of Bhadrapada and on the eighth day of the Shukla Paksha, and devotees from all over India, flocked the place in thousands, for receiving the blessings of the Mother Sharada deity. There is a place called “Tikkar” at a distance of one and half kilometers from Kupwara, in Kashmir. From here, there is a short cut for going to Shardi which measures 40 k.m. Many Pilgrims treaded this path only.

Prior to the partition of India, many Kashmiri Pandit families were settled in “Shardi”. Those professing as priests and traders had their shops   and   establishments   in the   near vicinity of the Sharda Teerath. Besides,   many  saints,   ascetics and their associates/disciples and their servants also lived there.

Shri. Pradeep Kaul, from Srinagar, informed that every scribe offered his writings to Goddess Sharda, for obtaining her blessings. The following alleged legend in this regard runs as follows. The Kashmiri Scribes, kept their Bhurjapatra manuscript covered in a platter overnight, in front of Goddess Sharda, for obtaining her blessings. If the pages of writings remained undisturbed, it was taken for granted that the works had the blessings of the Goddess. If, however, the pages of the works were found sifted, the works were considered as disapproved by the Goddess.

Presently , the Sharda Temple lies within POK territory and one has to travel from Muzaffarbad to Thitwal – 80 K.M. from Thitwal to Karna-20 k.m., from Keran to Dudhe Niyal – 24 km, and from Dudhaniyal to Shardi- 16 K.M., to reach Shardi.

Prior to 1947, some travellers went to “Udi” from Barahmulla, and then from “Udi” to Shardi, via Muzaffarabad. In Shardi, the Sharda temple is on the right bank of river “Krishnaganga”. At this spot, there is a confluence between river Madhumati and river Krishnaganga. In Sanskrit, the word Sharda denotes both Goddess “Saraswati”, and Goddess “Durga”. An old styled, stringed musical Instrument called “Veena” is also addressed as “Sharda”. The Kashmiri Pandits, rever this Goddess Sharda as a symbol of strength. The brief history of “Sharda” in Kashmir is as follows.

“Kashyapmir” aka Kashmir means the Land of “Kashyap: Rishi the ascetic. Kashmir was a home of erudites and scholars. Here was an University of the extremely learned Pandits and philosphers in all branches of knowledge. The epic, Mahabharata, refers to Kashmir as “Kashmir Mandal”. Ancient History of India describes that there was a temple of “Goddess Sharda” in Kashmir also. There was a centre for providing education, Sharada Peetha had four doors facing four direction. The southern door was always closed and no one from South ever entered from this door. “Shankaracharya” in 8th cent A.D. opened this door and entered the Centre . He defeated all the scholars there and won the highest hierarchial position of Acharya. An ancient volume “Shakti Sangam Tantra” has a stray reference to “Sharda complex”. The volume describes Kashmir as a Land from Sharda Complex to “Saffron mountain ” Keshara Parbat extending upto 50 yojana.

At present, in POK, the valley of river Krishnaganga lies at a distance of 125 k.m. from Muzaffarabad towards North. It is now being addressed as “Neelam Valley” by Pakistani authorities.

The village “Shardi” lies in between Gurej and Karna: the two places in Neelam valley. At Shardi, wreckaged remains of the temple of Goddess Sharda can be seen. One can reach Shardi within 4 hours from Muzaffarbad. The following are the lines from the verse of “Goddess Sharda” (residing in Kashmir) in praise of her.

Prior to Division of Kashmir in last century Mr. Bamzai, a Kashmiri Pandit, has very aptly described the Sharda Temple had the main girdle of 22 feet dia. It had an entrance door in the west. The other entrances had arches over them, and these arches were 20 feet in height .The main entrance had foot steps. On both sides of the porch, there were two square shaped pillars, 16 feet high and 2’6″ x 2’6″ in sectional size. Carved out of a solid stone Block. The construction inside the temple was very plain and unadorned . The temple was situated on a hillock, on the right’ bank of river Madhumati”. The rectangular sanctum had 63 foot steps, each 9′ wide. The name and fame of this Sharda Teerath was well spread throughout ancient India.

Kalhan, the famous Historian, who wrote “Rajtarangini has given a reference to “Lalitaditya” of the eighth’s century. He says, disciples of the Gaud King had come all the way from Bengal to Kashmir to pay a visit to this Sharda Mandir.

Alberuni, the famous traveller of the 10th century has made a mention of this “Sharada Mandir”. He narrates “After traversing the interior portion of the valley of Kashmir, one reaches the Bolair Mountain, which is mid way between “Ladakh” and “Gilgit’. Many pilgrims come here for receiving the blessings of Goddess Sharda”. Albe-runi further states that this “Sharda Teerath is equally famous like Som Nath of Gujarat, the Vishnu Temple of Thaneshwar, and the Sun-Temple of Multan.

“Bilhan” Pandit the famous author of the Later half of the 11th Century has also made a mention of the :Sharada Teerath”. Though settled in South India over a long period, “Bilhan” has dedicated all his Literary works to Goddess “Sharda”.

Between the period 1088 A.D. and 1172 A.D., an erudite, Shri Hemchandra had completed his “Prabhav Karta” a voluminous treatise. Under the auspices and patronage of King “Jay Singh” of Gujarat, he was required to compile a volume on “Grammar”. So, king Jay Singh deputed his representative to Kashmir, and made available to Shri Hemchandra a manuscript of the subject of grammar, from the Library of Sharda Teerth. This enabled Shri. Hemchandra, to complete his treatise called “Hemkandra” (Siddha Hemkandra) . This amply proves, how the name and fame of the library of “Sharda Teerth” was well-known in ancient India and as to, how abounding was the Library of “Sharda Peeth”.

Historian Jon Raja has made a reference, as to, how Sultan of Kashmir Zain-ul-Abidin visited this place in 1422 A.D.
Abul Fazal has also made a reference to this place. The stone crafted Sharda Mandir, he adds, a beautiful temple at that-is situated on the bank of river Madhumti (Krishna Ganga). Gold was often found in the river basin here. A fair is held here, on the eighth day of every month of the (Shukla Paksha) fortnight of the rising moon. After the Mughals, the Dogra regime assumed power in Kashmir and the then Collector of Muzaffarabad, Col. Gundu repaired the temple and provided a new ceiling made of wood. He got fixed an annuity for the priest of the temple, under the orders of Maharaja Gulab Singh of Kashmir.

The Northeast province of our vast country India is Kashmir. Kashmir has its own style of temple Architecture. This style was developed, during the reign of King Lalitaditya (724 A.D.) and in 9th Century reached its Zenith, during the regime of Avantiverman. There are a few ancient temples in Kashmir. Among these, the Rudrash temple at Ludo, the sun-temple at “Martand” and the “Shankaracharya Temple at Srinagar are conspicuously famous. Generally, a temple in Kashmir has two parts, a square sanctum and a porch in front of it. These structures have centres and subcentres of Learning associated with them.
Experts opine that the pillars and columns of Kashmiri temples compare favourably with those of Derrik style. There is an expansive courtyard around the temple. This ancient Sharda Mandir is in (P.O.K.) today and has nurtured all the Salient features of Kashmiri style of Architecture.

Yograj Razdan and Mr. Ratan Kaul made available this rare photograph of Sharda Mandir from Sharadi. It is at their instance, it was available to me.

Kashmir, in olden days, was a centre for education , pursuit of knowledge and studies of various sciences. That is exactly why, Kashmir is also called Land of Goddess Sharda, City of Goddess Sharda and Sharda Peetham (University).
The famous Chinese traveller, Hue-en-tsang visited Kashmir in the year 632 A.D. and lived there for almost two years. His notings assert that at Shardi, there are Pandits who are exceptionally brilliant, endowed with perspicacious wits and acumen and are genius in the real sense of the term. There is a narrative, regarding Goddess Sharda in Hindu Scriptures. When Pandits refuse to perform the sacred thread ceremony of “Shandilya” the son of ascetic “Vashishta”, he (Shandilya) under instructions of his father, went to Kashmir, to offer his services to Goddess Sharda. He bathed in the water tank near Sharda temple and got his body, transformed into radiant gold, afterwards, he, by the grace of Goddess Sharda obtained accomplishment and became famous as Shandilya Rishi the ascetic.

The Sharda Shastranam Stotra is a canticle depicting Goddess Sharda as follows :-
Goddess Sharda is “Sheeladevi” (A Goddess in stone) she sits on a stone seat and has a pleasantly smiling face. Her form and appearance resemble those of Goddess Parvati (Wife of Lord Shiva). She holds a Sword in one hand. Her eyes are glowing and radiant like the Sun, the moon and the god fire, she is the Supreme controller of all the three “Lokas” (According to Hindu Mythology, there are three lokas i.e. worlds swarga (the heaven) Mrutya (the Earth) and Patal (the under world). She has six arms and sports the sacred thread of Yagyopavit Shandilys, the ascetic. Her devotees are blessed with the eternal light from the outer world.

The members of the Gujar and Pahadi Communities, residing in the nearby area of the “Shardi” village had an abiding and unalienable faith in the sheeladevi shakti peeth (a source of power). They offered cow’s milk and cereals and other agricultural produce to Goddess Sharda. In the recent times, Swami Nandlalji a famous Yogi (a hermit) from Kashmir had his hermitage near the Sharda temple, and his disciples were both’ Hindus This is how the imposing and magnificent history of Goddess Sharda for a few centuries in the post goes. The following lines from a Sanskrit canticle are enough and sufficient to stress the importance of the history of Goddess Sharda.
Article Courtsey Author : Mr Sanjay Godblode  ;

* Video of Sharada Temple was originally uploaded on YouTube by Mr Ayaaz Rasool Nazki . He is also available on FaceBook

Temples of Kashmir – Looted & Plundered

No matter how much the media tried to hide the facts , the truth is there for everyone to see.

The Temples of Kashmir having been looted and destroyed by Islamic fanatics even in the capiltal city Srinagar . One of the temple is just a stone throw away from the ‘secure’ area near world famous Dal Lake.

And the world continues to remain silent !!!

Hindu Temples in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir

Mirpur has a special place in sub-continent’s history. The famous battle between Alexandar and Porus was fought here in 323 BC.  A large number of Hindus lived in Mirpur once . Today Mirpur doesnt have any hindus living in there.

Please find below the state of Hindu temples in Mirpur …

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Raghunath Temple in Evening – Mirpur Pakistan Occupied Kashmir

Pictures Courtsey : Mohsin

Kashmiri Pandits hand over memorandum to Ban Ki-Moon at United Nations Office in New York

 

On September 26th, 2008 scores of Kashmiri Hindus demonstarted outside the United Nations Office in New York [USA].

Some of the demands of Kashmiri Pandits to the UN were :

• Declare Kashmiri Hindu community as Internally Displaced People (IDP). The Human Rights Working Group on Minorities in Geneva has since recognized Kashmiri Hindus, formally, as a Reverse Minority. The use of the insulting term ‘Migrants’ for this forcibly exiled community may be removed from all records and communications relating to us hence forth.
• Direct the Government of India to set up a ‘Commission of Enquiry’ to establish the causes that led to the selective and targeted killings of Kashmiri Hindus and their subsequent forced exile, and appropriate the responsibility and punish the guilty.
•  Direct the Government of India to ensure adequate protection to the residual Kashmiri Hindu population currently living in the Kashmir valley.
• Direct the Government of India to restore Kashmiri Hindus’ political and economic rights that would give them equal status rather than a second class citizenship in their native land of Kashmir. Share of Kashmiri Hindu jobs in government bureaucracy, placement in state supported professional educational institutes and the representation in the state assembly has steadily diminished to virtually nothing in the last two decades.
•  Grant funds to Kashmiri Hindus for the preservation and documentation of relics of Kashmiri Hindu heritage and culture.
• Direct the Government of India to hand over the management of Kashmiri Hindu religious shrines, icons and cultural centers to Kashmiri Hindu leadership.

 

It is further requested that the United Nations Human Rights Commission may put on record these Human Rights Violations by Pakistan and its agents, and Pakistan be declared a terrorist state.

The complete memorandum can be downloaded by clicking here iakf-un-memo-sept262008

 

For more info , log into www.iakf.org

 

Jammu Uprising – A battle for nationalism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUPPORT SHRI AMARNATH SANGARSH SAMITI

“APPEAL FOR DONATION”

Sangarsh Samiti calls all countrymen for their fullest support and contributions for this cause & appeals for generous donations for the financial support towards the security & welfare of the bereaved families of the Martyrs.

The donations can be made in the form of Cheque/Demand Drafts favoring:
1. Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Samiti (SAYSS) – Shaheed Fund in A/C no. 3965000100147291 
2. Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Samiti (SAYSS) – Ongoing Agitation in A/C no. 3965000100147282

with the Punjab National Bank Ltd. in all branches of the country.

For any clarifications, please contact at Mob.Nos. 94191-88057, 94191-41408.

– (Sh. Leela Karan Sharma), Convener

All politics, no blockade

The mainstream and separatist Kashmiri leaders may be crying themselves hoarse over the issue of ‘economic blockade’, but the ground reality is totally different.

While helicopters are hovering over the Pathankote-Jammu-Srinagar highway, the army has effectively sealed all the roads leading to this lifeline of supplies to Jammu & Kashmir. Meanwhile, hundreds of trucks laden with sheep, poultry, medicines and foodgrains are running smoothly toward their destinations, uninterrupted by protesters.

“It is our single-minded focus to keep the highway through and ensure supplies to Kashmir,” Chief Secretary S.S. Kapur said.

After some incidents of violence in the Jammu region — as also in Anantnag in the Valley — there were protests and blockade for a few hours in Punjab. These incidents — not entirely targeted against Kashmiris — were played up in the Valley as “economic blockade” even after the Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangarash Samiti leading the Jammu agitation categorically denied any such move.

Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was the first to do so; thereafter, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Yasin Malik, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and Farooq Abdullah followed the suit, threatening they would look at the option of trading through the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road. They were exploiting the loose statement of state BJP president Ashok Khajuria, who had used the terms like “blocking supplies” and “quit Jammu”.

Meanwhile, Governor N N Vohra declared that whatever had happened on the roads leading to Kashmir were “traffic disruptions” and “not the economic blockade”. He made it clear that there was “no planned economic blockade”.

“They are apparently trying to out do each other in the similar fashion as they first did on the land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, for they view electoral gains in it,” said Mohammad Aslam Khan, a retired employee.   

The column had appeared in Hindustan Times.

Meanwhile a defence spokesman said :

The 300-km Pathankot-Jammu-Srinagar highway, the only road connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country, has been completely reopened to traffic and over 900 vehicles, including trucks and tankers, have ferried essential supplies in and out of the valley.”The highway is totally restored for vehicular traffic between Kashmir and the rest of the country. There is no economic blockade and traffic is plying as normal today,” defence spokesman said.

 

While the main shortage of medicine and essential supplies is in Jammu, where the officials have clamped curfew, the valley as ever have been able to portray themselves as “cry baby”. When one of my colleague called up his muslim friend in the valley and enquired about the situation , pat came the reply ” Koker Ha vaty”……..Meaning the “chickens have arrived”.

Meanwhile Jammu continues to suffer, with no let up in curfew.

 

Amarnath Land – A fight for Justice ,Honor and Equality

 

Martyr for Amarnath- Shaheed Kuldeep Kumar

“Bigul Baj Raha Hain Andolan Ka Gagan Goonjta Hain Naroon Sai.” 

“Mila Rahi Hain Aaj Jammu Ki Miti Nazar Sitaroon Sai.” 

“Ek Baat Kehni Hain Laikin Aaj Desh Key Piaroon Sai.” 

“Janta Sai, Loogoon Sai, Foojiyoon Ki Khadi Kataroon Sai.” 

“Sambal Kai Rehna Apnay Ghar Main Chupay Huyay Gadaroon Sai.” 

“Jhank Rahai Hain Apnay Dushman Apnay Hi Devaroon Sai.” 

“Sanbal Kai Rehna Apnay Ghar Mian Chupay Huyay Gadaroon Sai.” 

“Jago Tumko Dogron Ki Jagir Ki Raksha Karni Hain.” 

“Jago Tumko Lakhoon Ki Takdir Ki Raksha Karni Hain.” 

Abi Jo Bani Hai Us Tasveer Ki Raksha Karni Hain.’

 

The message of the above poem is : ‘Be Alert! Be Careful about the traitors who are hiding in your house. These traitors are peeping like sly criminals through our own walls.  Wake Up! Be Awake! You have to rise to protect the free hillock that has been given to you by the nation’.

Amarnath land transfer -nothing wrong with it .

The decesion of Jammu & Kashmir Govt. to revoke the order transfering the land to Shri Amarnath Shri Board is part of long plan to treat minorty hindus as a second class citizens in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. While Jammu has been burning sincle last 33 days with shoot at sight orders imposed , the media has been restricted to cover the anger of Jammu people,who have as always been neglected.Central Govt in keeping with the tradition of psuedo secularism and muslim vote bank , have more or less decided to let Jammu burn and have not held and talks with agitating people to resolve the issue.

‘For those who havent read the land transfer document , please check for yourself and comment.’

THE FINE PRINT

The land transfer order forbids raising permanent structures

Government of Jammu and Kashmir
Civil Sectt: Forest Department

Subject: Diversion of 39.88 ha of forest land to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board at Baltal and Domail for raising Buliding/Structures in Sindh Forest Division

Reference: Cabinet Decision No. 94/7 dated 20.05.2008 Sanction is accorded to the diversion of forest land measuring 39.88 ha… in Block Kullan, Range Sindh, Sindh Forest Division, for raising pre-fabricated structures only for camping purposes of pilgrims, without going in for construction of permanent structures at Baltal and Domail, by Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board on following terms and conditions:

1. The proprietary status of forest land shall remain unchanged.
2. The land so diverted shall be utilised only for the purpose for which it has been diverted.
3. The land so diverted shall not be mortgaged, reassigned or sub-leased by the user agency.
4. The user agency shall pay Net Present Value of the forest land to the tune of Rs 2,31,30,400/
5. The user agency shall pay Rs 19,94,000/ on account of compensatory afforestation to be
carried over 79.76 ha …
9. The user agency shall construct complete retaining/ breast walls on the both side of
the road/railway line/earth work/tunneling etc… so as to minimise soil erosion/land slips.

The proposal stands cleared/approve by the advisory committee in its 39th meeting held under the chairmanship of the chief secretary on 12th July, 2007

Sd/- Principal Secretary to Government,

Forest Department

Dated: 26.05.2008

Speech, Blog, Iphone & Lies of Mr. Omar Abdullah

It took me quite a while to decide about the subject of this post. I did not want to be as blunt in the subject-line as I ended up doing. The reason being that not much long ago i still believed that Omar was a bit different from the rest of Kashmir leadership. Finally I decided the subject as I have chosen would still do the least of justice to this post.

Last one week, India has witnessed and discussed the recent speeches made in parliament of India,which also happens to be the black day of Indian democracy.

Omars speech was admired for the passion and Barkha Dutt even went ahead to write in a newspaper column that her”Oscar” goes to Omar for his speech. I still fail to understand of what makes people of Indian subcontinent  to admire a speech ? Is the leader supposed to hold a comedy show to make the parliament of India laugh or resort to rhetoric to get noticed finally ? For me the speech was  all sound and fury but woefully short of substance.

Omars speech had been full of lies and self contradictions.And i feel ashmed that the “educated” people of India falied to notice it.  Here it goes ………

AMERICA : FRIEND or FOE OF MUSLIMS ?

“The US is no friend of the Muslim world that is a point well ” – Omar Abdullah in his Blog on 4th July

That Comment made me think that was it right for a leader to make who has been the MOS for External Affairs in Govt of India and who still holds chance to become a minister again. I asked him through his blog if his opinion is based on Omar’s experience of having been the former minister in external affairs ministry or because of you being a Muslim  ?

Though not expected Omars reply came and he said “Why does it have to based on one of the other? Why not because of both or because of a completely different reason? Perhaps its based on what I see, read and understand.”

 

“the enemies of Indian Muslims are not the Americans, and the enemies of the Indian Muslims are not ‘deals’ like this” – Omar Abdullah in Parliament

Which Omar Abdullah do we trust. The Omar Abdullah who considers America not a friend of Muslim world or the Omar Abdullah who admits in parliament that America is not the enemy of Indian Muslims ? Is he playing to different galleries at different times in short span ?

Mr Abdullah , Would you care to clarify ? What exactly do think America is …a friend or a foe of muslims ?

 

ON AMARNATRH YATRA :

“You show me one place where Kashmiris have attacked Amarnath Yatra Pligrims“- Omar Abdullah in Parliament

Omar , though aspiring to be the next Chief Minister of the troubled state of Jammu & Kashmir is so away from facts and news and it is something I find it hard to believe.  I find it hard to believe that Omar who plans to blog through his Iphone can not care to google the history of number of attacks which have happened on Amarnath Pligrims in last 19 years …atleast.. A simple google can refer him dates when 10 people were killed and when two got killed in grenade balsts and it seems he has been so involved with parliament trust vote that he is not even aware of the blast in Srinagar on Amarnath pilgrims when 5 people got killed , though unfortunately the victims turned out to be migrant labourers. In 2008 atleast four major attacks have happened to Amarnath Yatra piligrims at Banihal, Gulmarg, Ganderbal and Batmaloo. 

Omar. Wake up …your Iphone can google as well !

 

ON AMARNATH …. FIGHT OF NATIVES ……. & KASHMIRIS NOT BEING COMMUNAL…ON KASHMIRIS NOT BREAKING TEMPLES ETC ETC .

Omars Speech in parliament  was probably to convey a message to people of valley that he can be as communal as Ms Mehbooba Mufti or Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

How can Omar decide for Amarnath Yatra land to be handed over for Yatris or not . Amarnath Yatra is linked to Kashmiri Pandits for thousands of years.What Omar has tried to alter the history. His knowledge about Amarnath goes only as back as communal elements of Kashmir want him to Know . What he does not know is that Amarnath Yatra has been happening since almost 2000 years , even before Islam came to Kashmir . Linking Amarnath to “false” benevolence of Kashmiri muslims . Omar needs to read this article or Rajtangini to know about the history of Amarnath Yatra if at all he has to speak about this Amarnath Yatra.

He speaks about Kashmiris not having destroyed temples is again a gesture to mislead the people of the country. In a place where only temples have been destroyed, his memory fails to recollect it. For his memory here is the partial list of attacks on Temples in Kashmir  ,if he ever tries to speak truth again. For a little more detailed list of destruction of temples , Omar may visit this link.

No wonder this comes from the president of the party whose activist was one of the founder of terrorism in J&K and was a National Conference man and later become commander in chief of JKLF . The person who was H in HAJY gang was non other than Hamid Sheikh .

 Mr Omar Abdullah also said in Parliament that he was a Muslim and was an Indian too and that he found no difference between the two. I wonder why Omar preferred to issue no statement on this issue when threats were served to the non Kashmiris ( labourers) to leave the valley ?

ON his blog when he was confronted by a reader  (soulinexile) that his Iphone is illegal in India, Omar had come to his own defence by stating that he has bought the Iphone in France where it was illegal for Apple to sell locked phone . Though it was quick one from Omar , but what he missed out was by stating this he has once again lied to his readers . What he does not know is that even the unlocked Iphone bought in France wont work in India . iPhone sold in France— is not really unlocked. It retains a country lock, meaning the device will only allow use of SIM cards for carriers that operate in France. In other words, you can’t take your French, “unlocked” iPhone to Spain, the United States, or anywhere else, pop in a foreign SIM card, and make calls on a local carrier — you’re still stuck paying international roaming fees to your French carrier. Check here for details.

Do you Omar , still have the guts to admit that you have been lying ? Whether it is Amarnath , Kashmir or Iphones ?

 

 Hate Me As you would …..but the fact remains  !! Satymeva Jayate !!

Roots In Kashmir – Campaigning For Their Rights