Amarnath Yatra flagged off

          Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma flagged off the Amarnath yatra today. The ceremony marked tight security in the Maulana Azad Stadium here. At least 6,400 security personnel, including special CRPF commandos, have reportedly been deployed at the base camp in Jammu for the first time in view of definite intelligence reports that militants may try to target it. About 4,900 personnel are being deployed in the Kashmir Valley and 2,500 will provide security to the pilgrims along the yatra route in Jammu region. The BSF has also replaced the CRPF in providing escort to the convoy of yatra buses. About 1.5 lakh devotees are expected to visit the cave shrine during the one-and-half month-long yatra. The authorities have allowed 3,500 yatris per day to proceed to the holy shrine in south Kashmir. They have also set up 18 lodging centres in Jammu, where arrangements have been made for drinking water, ration and medical care.
- July 14, 2004

Kanwarias begin trekking to offer prayers

          Sultanganj (Bihar): Pilgrims walked barefoot to the holy town of Deogarh in Jharkhand to offer prayers to Lord Shiva as the month-long Kanwarias festival began on Monday. This is an annual festival which takes place during the auspicious "shravan" month) of the Hindu calendar. During the festival, the pilgrims, called "Kanwarias" in local parlance, collect water from the Ganga river at Sultanganj in Bhagalpur district of Bihar and carry it to Deogarh in Jharkhand to offer it to Lord Shiva. Balancing the water pots on special wooden frames decorated with colourful flowers and photographs of Lord Shiva, the Kanwarias traverse 105 kilometres to reach Deogarh. Devotees say it's their faith towards Lord Shiva which inspires them to take up the difficult pilgrimage. "It is only by God's grace that we are able to undertake this long journey on foot. We do get tired but again by God's grace we are able to complete the journey. We do this only once a year so that is no problem," said Vishnu, a devotee. Devouts believe offering sacred water to Lord Shiva during auspicious monsoon month will fulfil their wishes. "We are going to this place for the first time. We had heard about it so much. We are going there to pray for our wishes to be fulfilled," said Ramesh, another devotee from Kolkata. During the journey, they are forbidden from keeping the water pots down on the ground. Special platforms are erected on the way to keep the pots when the pilgrims take rest or have their food. Chanting "Bol Bam" and "Har Har Mahadev", they carry the vessels containing the "holy water" on their shoulders. Thousands queued up at the Shiva temple in Deoghar to offer prayers. "In the last 20 years, this place has gained so much importance that people from all corners of the country come to worship here. Authorities expect 2.5 million pilgrims to visit Deoghar during the month-long festival.
- July 5, 2004

Gurdwaras in Pakistan: Concern over poor upkeep

          Amritsar: The jatha of Indian Sikh pilgrims that returned after observing the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Pakistan has revealed the poor conditions of the Gurudwaras there. A majority of gurudwaras are neglected and in Disrepair. A trainload of Sikh pilgrims, who had gone to Pakistan to visit their shrines, comes home, a story oft repeated, but with little positive change in pictures and memories they bring home. Rays of hope in India Pakistan ties have opened up borders to these jathas, a step forward, but, according to them, a great deal remains to be done with respect to the condition of their shirnes there. This pilgrimage on the occasion of Maharahaja Ranjit Singh's death anniversary may have been happy arrangements made, but was pained that a majority of their shrines were kept from them. And add to that the nonchalant attitude of authorities and the pain multiplies. "I suspect there's something amiss at these gurudwaras that they are trying to hide away. They are afraid that people being allowed to visit would expose a lack of care and respect. This way, we are barred from visiting many of our own shrines," says a pilgrim. Another member of the jatha, Bhai Mati Singh says, "I have raised this issue at several fora. Specially shrines like Kartarpur, Sialkot and the shrine to Bhai Joginder Singh at Peshawar, should be opened for all devotees. We asked them to take us there, they said we didn't have the proper authorisation in our visa papers. We said we would approach the government authorities to help us in this, and fulfil our dreams of visiting our shrines."

         Out of 165 Sikh gurudwaras in Pakistan, both big and small, only 6 have a Guru Granth Sahib or 'prakash' within. That in itself explains why a majority remain out of bounds. Openly used as storehouses and paid living quarters, toilets and stray animals is all that's to be seen at many. Handing over maintenance to a body that represents the Sikhs, the Indian Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, has been propounded as the only way to check their rot. For the devotees, for the most part, its mostly pain and insult. "Some of the historical gurudwaras are in a better condition than others. However most of them like the birthplace of Guru Ramdass in Lahore, don't even have a 'prakash'. The gurudwara of Bhai Daru Singh at Lahore has no 'prakash' either. Some of the shrines are looked after and renovated, but in most it seems see no care or maintenance. The absence of even a 'prakash', the basic requirement, is a source of great pain for visiting devotees," says one of them. The Gurudwara Nankana Sahib on the suburbs of Lahore city, perhaps the biggest emblem of the visits of Sikh jathas from India to celebrate religious occasions at Gurudwaras here. Over a previously dark scenario, this shrine may be better. Yet for the rest, repair they realise is but a distant dream.
- July 4, 2004

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