Tullmulla (Ganderbal), June 9: Thousands of Kashmiri Pandits thronged Khirbhawani temple Thursday to pray at the famous Hindu shrine here in north Kashmir.
The festival at the Khirbhawani temple is held every year after nightlong prayers by the devotees invoking the blessings of Hindu Goddess Ragnya, the patron deity of the local Pandits.
Muslims in Tullmulla village, 27 km from Srinagar, serve milk in earthen pots to the devotees, keeping alive the centuries-old tradition of Hindu-Muslim amity in Kashmir Valley.
"Many things might have changed, but the love, affection and respect we have for our Pandit brothers will never change", said Abdul Majid, 56, a resident of Tullmulla village.
Pilgrims started reaching the temple Wednesday evening and the rush continued Thursday as well. Phoola Raina, 40, came here from Udhampur district in the Jammu region. Since 1990 she has been coming regularly every year to keep up the family tradition.
"I cannot say this with surety. We belong to south Kashmir but had to migrate with other families as violence started here in 1990s. On a personal level, our relations with the local Muslims continue to be cordial,” she added.
The spring is traditionally believed to reflect the future of the valley through the changing colours of its water.
"In 1990, the water of the spring had turned red. That foretold violence and bloodshed. Today, the colour of the spring water is milky. This means there would be peace and prosperity in the valley during the coming days", said Sushil Koul, 42, who continues to live at the Habba Kadal locality despite thousands of his neighbours choosing to migrate out of the area.
GOVERNOR PAYS OBEISANCE
The Governor, N N Vohra, and the first lady Usha Vohra visited Khirbhawani on Thursday to pay obeisance.
The Governor and the First Lady paid obeisance at the Sanctum Sanctorum and prayed for peace, harmony, progress and prosperity in the State. The Governor interacted with the devotees and greeted them on this auspicious occasion, describing the Mela as a shining example of communal harmony and brotherhood for which Jammu and Kashmir has been known for centuries past.
KASHMIRI PANDITS PART AND PARCEL OF OUR SOCIETY: MALIK
The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Muhammad Yasin Malik on Thursday visited Khir Bhawani and joined the festivities. “We welcome our Pandit brethren. They are a part and parcel of our society,” Malik said.
He hoped that the Kashmiri Pandits would be very soon living with their Muslim brethren in the Valley as they had been living together since centuries. He hailed the preparations of reception made by the Muslims on the arrival of their Pandit brethren on the occasion of the festival. “These preparations should serve as an eye opener for the vested interests who are trying to create hatred and mistrust between the two communities,” he said.
Malik strongly condemned the statement of Ashwani Kumar Charangoo of Panun Kashmir in which he had demanded separate homeland for Kashmiri Pandits. He said Charangoo’s statement was aimed at widening the wedge between the two communities.
EAGERLY WAITING FOR KP RETURN: SHAH
The Democratic Freedom Party president Shabir Ahmad Shah on Thursday said the Kashmiri Muslims were eagerly waiting for the return of their Pandit brethren to Valley.
“We belong to the same homeland and culture. We want all Pandit brethren presently living outside the Valley to return and live with us once again,” Shah said while interacting with the Kashmiri Pandits at Tulmulla.
Shah appealed to the people of both the communities—Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims, to foil the “nefarious designs” of the vested interests who are hell bent upon widening the gap between the two communities. He said Kashmiris are dead against the division of Jammu Kashmir on the basis of religion, language and region.
WE WILL WELCOME KP’S RETURN: BITA KARATEY
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (R) chairman Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bita Karatey and senior vice-chairman Javid Ahmad Mir on Thursday urged Pandits to return.
The Front leaders while interacting with Kashmiri Pandits at Tulmulla on the occasion of Mela Khirbhawani said, “Kashmir is the homeland of Pandits and we sincerely want them to return to the Valley.”
The Front leaders accused the state and central governments of playing politics in the name of the return of Kashmiri Pandits. “They are exploiting Kashmiri Pandits and shedding crocodile tears to keep their vote banks intact,” they said.
Cautioning Kashmiri Pandits against the ‘machinations’ of rulers, the Front leaders alleged that they (rulers) give one statement in Jammu and another in Valley for the past 24-years to widen the gap between the two communities.
RATHER, MANOHAR PAYS OBEISANCE
Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs Abdul Rahim Rather and Minister of State for Cooperatives, Dr. Manohar Lal Sharma today paid obeisance at Mata Khir Bhawani Temple at Tullmulla Ganderbal. They prayed for peace, progress and prosperity in the State.
The Ministers while interacting with the devotees appealed them to maintain communal harmony and brotherhood as JK is known for this hallmark of unity among all sections of the society.
Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, Raman Bhalla also visited the shrine and paid obeisance.
KPSS THANK CHIEF MINISTER, ORS
Kashmir Pandit Sanghrash Samiti (KPSS) on Thursday thanked the Chief Minister, Divisional Commissioner, Director General of Police, Inspector General of Police Kashmir, political parties and all other government and non government organizations for providing all basic facilities and logistic support to the devotees who today visited the Mata Kheerbhawani Mandir at Tullumull, Ganderbal.
“We thank the Muslim majority community for providing all the support to devotees,” a KPSS spokesman said in a statement.
“We Kashmiri Pandits living in the valley remember the days of early militancy period when less than 100 devotees used to visit this revered Asthapan on this particular day to pay respect to Mother Goddess and even during those hard times Muslims of Tulmulla area used to arrange all Puja Samgari for the visiting devotees. The majority community always maintained our Kashmiri culture which symbolizes love, integrity and respect to each other,” he added.
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