Radical Islamic Terror destroyed, Modi govt shall rebuild: Temples to be restored in Kashmir

After the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution last month, the Modi government continues to move in the right direction. Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy has given a statement which discloses the plans of the government to revive Kashmir from the damage inflicted by decades of extremist and Jihadist violence. As per Reddy, the Centre has made up its mind to conduct a survey for all the temples and schools which were shut down, destroyed or where the idols were defaced, in a bid to make a move towards reopening them.

Speaking at a press conference, the Union Minister said, “We have ordered a survey of such temples and will re-open them. In Kashmir Valley, there is no cinema theatres and had been closed for 20 years. We are also thinking about reopening them. We will conduct a survey of school, cinema theatres, temples and other things which are closed now.” He also said, “There is abundant government land available so those want to invest do not need to purchase lands. We will give them government land so that they can open institutions there. In the state, we are employing 5 people from every village on government posts. Army, Navy and Air Force are also planning recruitment drive. In Jammu and Kashmir, we are planning to open universities. We have decided to encourage tourism.” A total of 50,000 such temples are going to be restored in the valley. Reddy said, “These temples were vandalised when Kashmiri Pandits and Hindus were driven out of the Valley. We’ll do a survey of these temples and reopen them.”

It is important to mention here that ever since Kashmir became a victim of Jihadist terrorism almost three decades ago, the Islamist forces in the state of Jammu and Kashmir have been attempting to remove all traces of the Hindu community from the valley. Hindu temple as such became the prime target of the radical elements leading to desecration of numerous such temples, many of them being spiritually significant centres of pilgrimage. It all started with the infamous exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990. However, apart from the exodus of the Pandits, various reports have also cited the mass destruction of temples in the valley, in an effort to erase the very legacy of Hindusim from Kashmir.

In 2012, the Jammu and Kashmir government of that time, in a written reply to the state assembly in response to the question by a BJP MLA had stated that “Of the 438 temples in the Valley, 208 had been damaged over the years.” The government however claimed that there was no illegal encroachment of temple land in the valley. However, Sanjay Tickoo of Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS), a body of Kashmiri Pandits disputed the government figures. According to his claims, “Around 550 temples were damaged and 50,000 kanals have been encroached upon.”

The fact that just a little less than half of all the temples bore the brunt of Jihadist violence upto 2012 even according to the data given by the government shows the extent of damage that has been inflicted upon the Hindu heritage of Kashmir. Sharda Peeth, a place of great architectural value in general and religious significance for the Hindus, especially for the Kashmiri Pandits is a prime example of what extremist Islamist forces have done and continue doing to the Hindu legacy of Kashmir. This place of high religious significance situated in Pakistan occupied Kahsmir has been ruthlessly defiled by the Pakistan Army in the last five years or so. The Pakistan Army has built several barracks surrounding the religious monument closely. With mounted guns, military sheds and barracks built in immediate vicinity of the Sharda Peeth and military boots trampling all over the place, it seems that this was not a matter of negligence but a well thought out move to defile the shrine out of sheer hatred towards Hindus that is rooted in the Pakistani mindset. This mindset stems out of the aggressive Jihadist narrative pursued by Pakistan, which was also pushed into the Valley by the same forces.

Sharda Peeth is just an example, Pakistan sponsored Islamist violence and anti-Hindu sentiment in Kashmir has led to desecration of numerous such places of religious significance for the Hindus. A process that had been set in motion by the genocide of Kashmir Hindus soon displayed its manifestations and extensions in the form of defilement and vandalism of Hindu temples across the Kashmir valley.

Kashmiri valley had been closed since militancy gripped the Valley in the 90s. The biggest sufferers in the valley has been the Hindu heritage and the tourism industry. When the Kashmir valley opens again, with tourism industry running at its full potential and various other industries opening up, it will not be just a Kashmir coming out of curfew and torn apart. Kashmir will find its roots again, only this time more modern and an inclusive Kashmir with its Hindu heritage back.

For the last three decades, there were no signs of a reversal or even abatement of the process of wiping out the Hindu legacy of Kashmir. The first glimmer of hope came with the abrogation of Article 370 thereby scrapping of the special status of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The hope is now set to translate into reality as the Minister of State for Home Affairs has given strong hints about government’s plans to reopen Hindu temples which were vandalised over all these years.