Omkar Dattatray
Amarnath Yatra in the south Kashmir Himalayas is an ancient Hindu pilgrimage which has got immense religious ,spiritual ,cultural and inter faith significance . Thus this arduous and challenging yatra is not only a Hindu religious annual event but is the best example and shining symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity ,amity and composite culture .The Muslims of Kashmir valley in large numbers are associated with the Amarnath Yatra as all the poniwallas , labourers, taxi operators and transport operators and local Muslims .Since lakhs of devotees every year take part in this arduous and much challenging yatra ,it seems a mini -India in those days of Yatra and thus it is brewing with communal amity ,harmony ,Hindu-Muslim unity ,pluralism ,secularism and above all diversity which is the basic character and attribute of India. Amarnath Yatra is the sangam and mixture of religious, spiritual , cultural and above all an example of communal amity and religious harmony and therefore there is much need of such religious ,spiritual ,cultural and composite Yatra and thus Yatras like this should be encouraged. Amarnath Yatra is a very ancient Yatra and perhaps dates back to 19th century but in its new avtar this challenging Yatra was found out and traced by a local Muslim shepherd named Buta Malik in 20th century.
The legend goes that one day while flocking his herd of sheep, Buta Malik saw a big cave wherein there was a big Shiv of snow in the form of a lingha and he was greatly pleased and informed about it to a Hindu saint and later on this holy cave of Amarnath slowly and steadily became famous and got prominence and today Amarnath Yatra attracts lakhs of devotees from India and even abroad and during the two month duration of Yatra ,it becomes a place and pilgrimage of mini-India as the people of various communities are directly and indirectly associated with this challenging and hard Yatra.
The people of Jammu and Kashmir consider themselves fortunate enough that such a religiously and spiritually significant and composite Yatra takes place annually and provide grace to valley .The Kashmir valley shines with mini-India experience and it gives much strength to communal and inter faith harmony and this yatra is famous throughout the world for showcasing communal harmony and amity. Kashmiris of all religious faiths anxiously wait for the year for this Yatra. Amarnath Yatra is not only a spiritual ,religious ,cultural and inter faith sojourn but it promotes the economy and financial wellbeing of the people associated with the Yatra .Therefore Amarnath Yatra has economic significance as well because the Yatra provides jobs to a very large number of the people in Jammu and Kashmir and thus this Yatra adds to the economy of the Jammu and Kashmir annually because the Yatra is an annual pilgrimage and it gives direct and indirect employment to hundreds of people and there is great need and necessity to encourage the Yatris and Amarnath Yatra as it is a big source of livelihood to a large number of people and the Kashmiris cutting across the religious affiliation eagerly and anxiously wait for the Amarnath Yatra for the whole year and their joy knew no bounds on the commencement of the Yatra which is a source of livelihood to a large number of people in Jammu and Kashmir. Thus Amarnath Yatra has economic significance as well apart for being primarily a religious and spiritual pilgrimage which is world famous as it attracts people and devotees from the abroad as well. Therefore Amarnath Yatra has an economic significance as well besides basically been a religious ,spiritual and Hindu-Muslim composite pilgrimage .People of various communities take active part in this yatra and they jostle with joy over the commencement of Yatra .Three decades ago Amarnath Yatra was an annual event of pilgrimage of seven days duration which was held in the second fortnight of the Hindu month of Shravan and devotees were paying obeisance and having a glimpse of snow Shiv lingam on the Shravan Purnimashi ,but from many years this annual Amarnath Pilgrimage is a two month long affair and event and lakhs of devotees undertake this challenging and arduous pilgrimage annually and add grace to Jammu and Kashmir and the valley of Kashmir is brewing with enthusiasm and activity during the duration of Amarnath Yatra and therefore this yatra has a special significance for the people of Kashmir who wholeheartedly facilitate and take part in the Yatra. Amarnath Shrine Board headed by the LG Manoj Sinha and the government of the UT make all the arrangements and facilities for the Amarnath Yatris .The fool proof security cover is provided to Yatris by the UT government and for this purpose enough security is provided arranged for the Yatries by central government .In fact Amarnath Yatra today has become a blend of religiosity ,cultural ,spirituality and above all a Yatra of pluralism ,secularism and interfaith harmony .Amarnath yatra in fact is the window of Kashmir’s pluralism ,secularism ,inter-faith harmony and diversity to the outside world and the day will not be far off when this significant religio-spiritual-cultural and diverse as well as inter-faith sojourn will shine in the world and it is becoming the harbinger of normalcy ,peace and communal harmony .May this Yatra become a best tribute to Sufism ,Kashmiriyat, Hindu-Muslim unity, communal brotherhood and religious harmony. Amarnath Yatra has the distinction of turning Jammu and Kashmir into mini -India as people belonging to various faiths undertake this pilgrim sojourn in order to fulfill their spiritual thirst besides giving them, religious cultural and ,social fulfillment .Further this Yatra has big economic significance as it furthers and promotes the tourist economy of Jammu and Kashmir by offering livelihood to a large number of local people who are directly or indirectly associated with tourism and thus the importance of Amarnath Yatra for developing economy of the UT cannot be denied .However this Yatra is the harbinger of communal harmony as people of various religious faiths are associated with the Yatra and they participate in this spiritual sojourn and give meaning to the religious and inter -faith harmony for which J&K is famous throughout the world and the Yatra adds more shine to the communal harmony.
(The author is a columnist ,social and KP activist).
