In a moment that transcended ritual and touched the very soul of a Sanatanis, the Kashmiri Pandit diaspora, after 35 long years, witnessed a deeply emotional milestone on May 28, 2025, with the reinstallation of a sacred Shivling at the historic Jogeshwari Temple in Rainawari, Srinagar. The Shivling, once desecrated and thrown into the Rainawari canal during the peak of Pakistan sponsored Islamic militancy in the 1990s, was ceremoniously reinstated, not just as a religious act, but as a poignant reclaiming of faith, culture, and belonging.
The event, led by the Rainawari Kashmiri Pandit Action Committee (RKPAC) in collaboration with the Jhelum Mandir Trust (JMT), was more than a consecration and puja. It was a homecoming of a deity, Dharma, a memory, a people. The Shivling, originally from Bodh Mandir in Kralyar, had languished in police custody for years after its recovery.
What followed was a decade-long legal struggle marked by persistence and pain, culminating in a court order that finally returned the sacred idol to its rightful custodians. Its installation in Jogeshwari Temple, known locally as Lokut Mandir, is now a powerful emblem of the Kashmiri Pandit community’s quiet but unyielding struggle and resilience. “It’s not just a stone,” said BL Jalali, President of the Jogeshwari Temple Trust, his voice thick with emotion. “This is our soul, our connection to our land, our gods, our ancestors. Today, the Shivling has come home, and so have we.”
Once a Resting Place for Sadhus and en route to Amarnath Yatra
The Jogeshwari Temple, nestled in the heart of Rainawari, is a site steeped in history and sanctity. Once a resting place for sadhus en route to the Amarnath Yatra, the temple lies in the area historically known as Jogi Lankar. The temple’s original Shivling remains missing, and its once-grand three-storey structure was illegally sold off. Yet, even amidst the ruins and sorrow, this reinstallation marks the first pulse of a revival.
The puja ceremony drew scores of Kashmiri Pandits, some of whom had returned to the Valley after decades. Many wept as the chants of Vedic hymns filled the air, the sacred smoke of the havan curling into the skies that had once echoed with silence and fear. It was a scene of catharsis, for those who left, those who stayed, and those who never made it back.
Symbol of Long Struggle and Victory of Kashmiri Hindus
The installation is part of a broader movement by the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community to reclaim their cultural and spiritual heritage in the Valley. In November 2024, the community registered the Displaced Kashmiri Residents Housing Cooperative, seeking permanent resettlement. While the scars of the past remain, underscored by recent tragedies like the Pahalgam attack in April, this moment stands as a quiet defiance against despair.
The RKPAC and JMT have appealed to authorities for the protection and restoration of other temples still lying in neglect. For now, the Shivling rests once more in sanctity, the bells of Jogeshwari Temple ringing not just in celebration, but in remembrance. In the echoes of those bells lies a message: faith may be attacked, buried, or silenced, but it never dies. It waits, like its people, to return home.
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