Amarnath yatra curtailed to 39 days under the pressure of Islamists.

It is not a new thing that the Pak sponsored Islamist groups and the Hurriyat Conference tie-up always put many hurdles before the Hindu pilgrimage of World famous  annual Amarnath Yatra in the recent years including blasts and attacks upon the Hindu-Sikh Pilgrimage in this occasion.

In 2008, 6 Hindus were killed and 100 injured during the 61 days agitation and hartaal in Jammu and adjacent areas for the agreement to temporary transfer 99 acres of land to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. Then the seperatists and the Hurriyat Conference vultures declined to hand over such lands meant for the facility for the pilgrimage. Those vultures alleged a demographic change due to the 60 days Pilgrimage coming in Kashmir for Amarnathji Yatra. Ultimately, Hindus won the war for that phase.

Now, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB)  headed by the Jammu and Kashmir governor has cut the duration of this year’s Amarnath pilgrimage to 39 days, angering Hindutva activists in Jammu, Delhi and various parts in India. It is reported that the authority has bowed down to the pressure group of the Islamist lobby, working on a total ban on Hindu pilgrimage in Jammu and Kashmir.

A Raj Bhavan spokesperson said the yatra would start on June 25 and end on Rakhsha Bandhan or Shravan Purnima, which falls on August 2.

The Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board had curtailed the yatra from 60 days to 45 days last year, triggering fierce protests from Hindutva groups, which threatened to start an unofficial pilgrimage 15 days earlier.

The groups relented after the board promised to form a sub-committee, headed by its member Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, to fix the duration of future pilgrimages in consultation with religious heads.

The Raj Bhavan spokesperson said this year’s schedule was fixed on the recommendation of the Ravi Shankar committee, whose other members included Swami Avdeshnandji of Haridwar, Swami Gyaanandji of Vrindavan, chamber of commerce president Y.V. Sharma and other civil society members.

The board’s explanation is that the twin routes from Pahalgam and Baltal to the cave shrine become fit for movement only around June-end and that Raksha Bandhan falls on August 2 this year, against August 13 last year.

To placate potential protesters, the board has decided to arrange a special puja on Jaishtha Purnima, which falls on June 4, at the cave or some suitable location depending on the weather.

Also, if weather permits, the board may advance the yatra by a few days, the Raj Bhavan spokesperson said.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Rama Kant Dubey said: “We want the yatra to last two months. There will be no compromise on this.”

The board today also issued a list of dos and don’ts. They will now need a doctor’s certificate before they can undertake the arduous yatra. Cardiac arrest and accidents killed 107 pilgrims last year.

The yatra’s duration has been a subject of controversy since 2003 when then governor S.K. Sinha decided to extend it to two months despite strong opposition from chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

Sayeed had to relent and the yatra was extended first by 15 days in 2004 and then by another 15 days two years later.

Separatist zealots  led by Hurriyat vulture  Syed Ali Shah Geelani want the yatra to be curtailed to 15 days, claiming that was the practice before 1990.

Now, the Islamic propagators of Kashmir think that the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and others are the subject of the Muslims in J&K. Muslims are less in numbers, contributors and participators in every foot-step in the National cause as they bear the more Pan Islamist legacy than the Indian nationalism. But they are supported by the Indian Govt also very unfortunately.

In India, Hindus will decide the time frame of the Hindu pilgrimage, rituals and religious festivals. Not, the Muslims. Otherwise Hindus will be compelled to check the Muslim festivals as a stanch repercussion.     It is well known that united Hindu force successfully stopped Shariah for Hind  Project in India in recent days. Rest is bound to  happen in due time.

Hindus Existence urges all the Hindu saints and leaders in SASB and in all other forums to take hard steps to keep high the sentiment and the dignity of Hindu Pilgrimage in a land of Hindus, i.e. Bharat. Jai Hind.

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