Amarnath yatra fosters communal harmony

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar September 14

‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ (guest is god) is the general feeling among Kashmiris about the pilgrims of the Amarnath cave located at an altitude of 3,880 m in the south Kashmir Himalayas.

Muzaffar Hussain, 45, of Kangan in Ganderbal district has been providing horse ride to pilgrims of the Amarnath yatra, which concluded on August 26, for the past 15 years. Owing to his services, Hussain has become known among pilgrims from various parts of West Bengal. During the yatra every year, someone or the other from West Bengal contacts him either for horse ride or for homemade food. There are several families who know him by name. “I am always at the forefront to help the pilgrims. It’s not about earning money, but mutual love and respect for humanity,” Hussain told The Tribune over the phone from Kangan.

His services come with some benefits. After October 15, he will leave for Kolkata to spend the entire winter there, selling famed Kashmiri handicraft products, such as Pashmina shawls. “Since many people from West Bengal know me, it becomes easy to sells Kashmiri handicraft items there,” he said.

Like Hussain, several Kashmiris set up community kitchens during the annual Amarnath pilgrimage to provide free food to the pilgrims. Muhammad Yousuf, president of the Tent, Shops and Workers’ Association, Baltal, says, “We don’t earn much from the pilgrimage, but we believe that guests are sent by God. It becomes our responsibility to show love, care and hospitality to them,” Yousuf said.

The hospitality shown by locals has been reciprocated by pilgrims and their relatives in other parts of the country.

“Amarnath pilgrims on the shoulders of some local Muslims are going through the ice stalagmite abode of Lord Shiva for darshan. Even if these locals do it for the sake of their livelihoods to me this is the most blissful way of serving the humanity that has a universal message of love,” tweeted Neha, a musician, on Wednesday.

“We have improved the accommodation, transport and health services over the years for making the pilgrimage smooth,” said a Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) official. He also said the pilgrimage would not take place without the support of the local Muslim population.

NN Vohra, who began his career as the Governor of J&K in June 2008, inherited communal conflagration due to the 2008 Amarnath land row agitation, which had brought the state to the brink of disintegration on religious and regional lines. However, as the head of the SASB, which handles the affairs of the pilgrimage, he encouraged the involvement of Muslims in the pilgrimage to forge harmony among the two communities.

Even after the deteriorating security situation in Kashmir, the support extended by the locals has encouraged people from across the country to pay obeisance at the holy cave shrine. From 2,20,490 in 2016, the number of pilgrims to Amarnath has gone up to 2,85,006 this year. Over the years, the SASB has taken a slew of measures to make the pilgrimage smooth and safe. It has set up 29 health facilities, 12 oxygen booths equipped with ventilators and HAPO bags manned by nearly 2,000 health professionals during the pilgrimage. The improved health facilities have brought down the deaths from 120 in 2012 to 26 in 2018.

At pilgrims' service for 15 yrs

• Muzaffar Hussain, 45, of Kangan in Ganderbal district has been providing horse ride to pilgrims of the Amarnath yatra for the past 15 years
• Owing to his services, Hussain has become known among pilgrims from various parts of West Bengal
• People contact him either for horse ride or for homemade food every year during the yatra

Board improves facilities

• Over the years, the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board has taken a slew of measures to make the pilgrimage smooth and safe
• It has set up 29 health facilities, 12 oxygen booths equipped with ventilators and HAPO bags manned by nearly 2,000 health professionals during the pilgrimage