Repeated attempts to give Islamic names to places which are sacred to Hindus has been causing widespread concern. More so, because it looks like a gameplan of a handful of people enjoying political patronage
Sant Kumar Sharma
It is a very dangerous game of altering names, wilfully, that is being played in the state of J&K . Changing from names which are sacred to Hindus into Islamic names.
The latest attempt, on the face of it a typographical error as it is being made out, officially, is about the Bahu area being referred to as Shahbad.
But it is beyond comprehension that one can type Shahbad, twice, at two different places, when one has to write Bahu (or Rakh Bahu as per revenue records). Is there a major difference between Bahu and Shahbad?
One has also to note that the name Shahbad appears twice in an advertisement issued by the Executive Engineer of the J&K State Cable Corporation. Bahu Fort is abode of Maa Kaali and sacred to Hindus, who believe it to be a presiding deity of the Jammu city. The fort is the most recognisable landmark of the city located next to river Tawi.
Apparently, a controversy is being sought to be created deliberately to
“sabotage’’ the cable car project, which is aimed at creating a cable car in Jammu. This cable car, when completed, will connect two historical places of Jammu city, Mubarak Mandi to Bahu fort, located on eastern and western sides of Tawi river.
It will be a cable car passing over the river offering a panoramic view of the city. It is also considered vital for attracting tourists to the city and expected to emerge as a major attraction. In some ways, it is considered as a rival to Gulmarg gondola as it will operate all 365 days of the year.
The earliest association of this area with Hindu rajas can be traced back to 15th century.
The fort, as it lies today, was repaired and extended by Dogra Hindu ruler Gulab Singh during his reign. The fort is believed to have been built originally by Raja Bahu Lochan. Its Hindu antiquity has been unquestioned.
For giving benefit of doubt, let us assume it to be a typographical error. That leads us to next logical question then. Has it happened in the past that the name of some place having an Islamic origin been written wrongly as of Hindu origin?
The name of a place associated with the Hindu faith has been mentioned wrongly (deliberately?) in the past too. The government had landed itself in a huge controversy last year when the name of Hari Parbat located in Srinagar city was printed as Koh- e- Maran. In official invitations meant to invite people for a government function. Hari Parbat is sacred to Hindus, particularly Kashmiri Pandits as it is the place where a relic representing Sharda is located
In ancient times, Hari Parbat was known as “Sharika Parvat’’, the hill of Sharika. “The cognoscenti have seen the mystical Shri Chakra represented in the shrine,’’ a reader named Predhuman K Joseph Dhar had written in a newspaper, Daily Excelsior, published from Jammu.
The advertisements for Kashmir Fort Festival organised in May 2016 had
mentioned Hari Parbat as Koh e Maran. The Tourism Department which had issued the advertisements, hasbeen with the Chief Minister, since the PDP-BJP government took charge. Till date, all names have been sought to be changed from those bearing Hindu signatures to straight Islamic names. The prime example of this is the name Islamabad being given to Anantnag. Of course, the name Anantnag is distinctly a name having its origins in Hindu scriptures.
Fortunately, due to one reason or the other, these attempts have failed, officially. However, it is a matter of serious concern that these repeated attempts to provoke Hindus of the state, and all over India, are continuing. This tendency and proclivity of some working in the government, as employees at different levels, is deplorable. Of course, it appears that these people doing and attempting mischief, repeatedly, are being protected by their political masters.
Ms Mufti needs to take better care of these people and keep them on a tight leash, lest it tears apart the secular fabric of the Jammu region. We already know that the relentless hounding and killing of Kashmiri Pandits in the Kashmir valley has purged it virtually of adherents of all faiths other than Islam.
The Kashmiri Pandits constituted a miniscule minority before their forced exodus in 1989-90 drove them out of the Valley where they had lived for centuries. The ancient name of the valley was Satisar and it is too well known a tale to be repeated here. The presiding deity of Kashmir, Maa Ragnya, had been brought their by Shri Hanumaan from Sri Lanka, according to legend. At Lal Chowk, and near Dalgate, in Srinagar city of Kashmir, one finds vehicles which take one eastwards to Anantnag city. But can one find some vehicles with Anantnag written on them?
The name written on all the vehicles going to Anantnag is Islamabad only, not Anantnag. What does this signify? What does it convey? Apparently that a city where Hindus lived among an
overwhelming majority of Muslims have been driven away It has now become Islam+Abad=Islamabad.
Anantnag is home to famous Martand temple, dedicated to Surya, the Sun God in Hindu pantheon.
The temple complex had one in the centre and 84 smaller shrines all around.
According to historical records, it had taken the invader Sikander Butshikan one year to demolish the temple. Despite all these recorded evidences, its links with Hindu religion is sought to be erased.
A prominent PDP leader from the area Peerzada Mansoor Hussain is nowadays the Chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB). A proof of his credentials is perhaps a Bill he wanted to move, as a Private Member’s Bill, once in the legislature to change the name of Anantnag town to Islamabad. He is considered very close to Mehbooba, her political adviser, and remained a very close aide of late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.
In December 2015, he had dubbed Burhan Wani, killed last year, as a youth `icon’ and attributed this iconic status to state “oppression”.
This had led to a political row as he had said this had happened because of anti-youth policies of National Conference-Congress government.
(The writer is a J&K based senior journalist)
