UCA News
Contribute

Hindus angry over silence order at Indian shrine

National Green Tribunal says banning of pilgrims' prayers will help to prevent avalanches and maintain environment
Hindus angry over silence order at Indian shrine

Hindu pilgrims trek along the treacherous path snaking through the hills to pray at Amarnath Shrine. (Photo by Umar Asif/ucanews.com)

Published: January 31, 2018 04:48 AM GMT
Updated: January 31, 2018 04:56 AM GMT

Hard-line Hindu groups are dismayed that authorities have refused to review their order asking pilgrims not to chant hymns near a Hindu holy place in the Himalayan mountains.

The federal National Green Tribunal (NGT) decided to maintain its order that pilgrims to Amarnath Shrine remain silent inside the cave, which houses a nine-foot-tall ice sheet considered to be the symbol of Hindu lord Shiva.

Hundreds of thousands of Hindus each year walk the treacherous mountain path to the cave situated at an altitude of 3,888 meters, some 140 kilometers from Srinagar, capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir state.

The cave, considered one of the most holy Hindu places, is covered by snow most of the year except for the summer months of June-August when it is opened for pilgrims.

The tribunal's latest order comes in response to a petition filed by Hindu organizations to review its January 2017 order which said the shrine area should be a "silent zone" and banned singing prayers inside the cave.

The tribunal said there was no "patent error" in its order which is aimed at protecting the environment as well as the cave shrine, which is a place of faith for millions of Hindus.

Tribunal chairman Justice Swatanter Kumar said making the shrine area a silent zone would help in preventing avalanches and maintaining its pristine nature.

However, the judgment was condemned by Hindu organizations.

Hard-line Hindu group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said the move was against the country's majority Hindu community and an attempt to hold Hindus responsible for ecological problems in the area.

"We appeal to the government of India to stop hurting Hindu religious sentiments all the time and to get the tribunal to withdraw its fatwa at once," VHP international president Pravin Togadia said in a statement.

Tajinder Bagga, spokesman for the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party, said he will not abide by the order and will go to the temple and shout mantras usually recited during the pilgrimage.

"I challenge the NGT to stop me if you can," Bagga wrote on social media site Twitter.

Environmentalists like Shakeel Ahmad Ramsoo, a senior professor of earth sciences at the University of Kashmir, say they do not understand how silence alone will help preserve the ecosystem as several other issues have been overlooked.

The tribunal hasn't looked at the issues of soil and water pollution in the region. "One fails to understand how silence can preserve the fragile environment there," Ramsoo told ucanews.com.

Nivedita Khandekar, a Delhi-based environmental journalist, said the tribunal should have taken steps such as restricting the number of pilgrims rather than ordering them not to sing prayers.

Khandekar said helicopters ferrying people make a powerful noise during take-off and landing that can trigger avalanches but the tribunal has been silent on the issue.

State government records show 260,003 pilgrims visited the cave last year.

However, some environmental activists have hailed the move to maintain silence in the cave.

Gauri Maulekhi, who asked the tribunal to protect the ecosystem around the cave, hailed its decision as a progressive judgment that will protect the shrine from degradation for future generations.

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
Lent is the season during which catechumens make their final preparations to be welcomed into the Church.
Each year during Lent, UCA News presents the stories of people who will join the Church in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is their Lord. The stories of how women and men who will be baptized came to believe in Christ are inspirations for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the Church's chief feast.
Help us with your donations to bring such stories of faith that make a difference in the Church and society.
A small contribution of US$5 will support us continue our mission…
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
Asian Bishops
Latest News
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia