Hindu Pilgrimage In Kashmir Resumes After Two Years, Days After Targeted Killings

Hindu pilgrims make their way to the sacred Amarnath Caves, one of the most revered of Hindu shrines. Photo by Basit Zargar.

SRINAGAR, Jammu-Kashmir — An annual Hindu pilgrimage to a holy cave in Kashmir has resumed after two years of suspension during the pandemic and only days after a series of targeted deadly attacks on Hindus — allegedly by militants fighting against Indian rule.

The spate of violence has sparked a fresh wave of Kashmiri Hindu migration from the region.

READ: Kashmiri Hindus Fear Another Mass Departure After Civilian Killings

Kashmir acceded to India at the time of India’s independence in 1947 rather than merging with a Muslim Pakistan under a constitutional provision called Article 370 that allowed a semi-autonomous rule in Kashmir. Nearly 7 million people live in the Kashmir Valley, 97% of them Muslims. About 47,000 people have been killed in conflict, mainly between Indian security forces and Kashmiri militant separatists in the last three decades, according to government figures. In the 1990s, many Kashmiri Hindus — also known as Pandits — fled for their lives and settled outside the valley. 

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Regardless, in most years, tens of thousands of Hindus from across India trek the slippery Himalayan mountains in Kashmir to catch a glimpse of an ice stalagmite, or “lingam,” in a cave where Lord Shiva is said to have dwelled.

Indian security arrangements have been made along the entire pilgrimage route.

Dilip Sharma, a pilgrim from the Indian state of Rajasthan, is among the first batch of the pilgrims heading towards the holy cave. Satisfied with the arrangements, he said after two years his prayers for making the pilgrimage have been answered.

“I enrolled myself for the pilgrimage consecutively in the last two years, but both times the pilgrimage was suspended due to COVID,” Sharma said. “But this time I am going, and this has given me immense happiness.”

For those like Bharat from Rajasthan, the Amarnath pilgrimage has become an intrinsic part of life. Bharat, in his 40s, has been coming to Kashmir every year to make this pilgrimage since he was 20 years old.

“We come in groups of 40 to 45 people every year for the last two decades, except for the last two years when the pilgrimage was suspended,” Bharat said. “I was praying to God to please call me to the pilgrimage this year, and God has heard my prayers. I feel like I am in paradise.”

The latest round of targeted killings of Hindus in Kashmir began with the killing of a Pandit employee, Rahul Bhat, at his office on May 12, 2022. On May 31, Rajni Bala, a school teacher from Jammu’s Samba district, was killed at her school in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Two days later, Vijay Kumar, a bank manager from Rajasthan, was killed with a pistol in his office. Hours later a migrant laborer Dilkush from Bihar was killed, and another laborer from Punjab was injured in the Budgam district. A day later a grenade was thrown at a group of laborers working in a brick kiln in the Kulgam district, injuring two.

READ: Hindus In Kashmir Are Protesting A Man's Death, Demanding Security From Militants

READ: Targeted Killing Of Civilians In Kashmir Triggers Fears Of Religion-Based Violence

Around 300,000 Pandits migrated from Kashmir after militancy erupted in the early ’90s. The recent killings brought back those memories of when Pandits were driven out of Kashmir.

The recent killings have shaken the resolve of Pandits like Sandeep, a government employee who goes by one name. He lives in the Jagti township for Pandits, 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from Jammu. Sandeep enrolled in a government rehabilitation program and moved back to Kashmir a decade ago but decided to return to Jammu a month ago.

“The situation was never good in Kashmir, but it has now worsened, particularly after the targeted killings of Hindus,” Sandeep said. “We have come to Jammu for our safety, and we will continue to protest and raise our demand for a transfer out of Kashmir.”

Analysts say a peaceful pilgrimage would be an indicator of normalcy in Kashmir and may help to alleviate the safety concerns for those Hindus who have left Kashmir.

But even before the eruption of COVID-19, the pilgrimage was suddenly interrupted and suspended days before the Narendra Modi-led government changed India’s constitution to remove Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status in August 2019. Two days before that, the government issued an advisory asking all the tourists and Amarnath pilgrims to leave Kashmir.

Revoking Article 370, the constitutional provision that guaranteed Kashmiris semi-autonomous rule and some political distance from New Delhi, was a longstanding demand of Hindu nationalists in India and a campaign promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Its revocation in August 2019 was largely applauded by Indians outside Kashmir. Article 370 prevented non-Kashmiris from settling or owning businesses and property in Kashmir.

READ: India Changes Residency Rules In Kashmir Under Cover Of COVID-19 Lockdown

The Indian government says the pilgrimage has a multifaceted impact on the society of Jammu and Kashmir and is good news for those who have been losing businesses in the last few years.

“We have made good arrangements for the pilgrims,” Jammu-Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha told reporters in Jammu. “Its impact is not only religious or cultural, but it helps to give a boost to the economy of Jammu and Kashmir as well. For the last two years there are lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of people who suffered economically because the pilgrimage was suspended. The pilgrimage gives work to locals. People are ready to welcome the pilgrims.” He added that the security forces are alert and have made all the arrangements for the safety of pilgrims.

The pilgrimage has always remained a strong symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity. It was a Kashmiri Muslim family who discovered the cave more than 150 years ago. The local Muslims also rescued hundreds of pilgrims in 1996 during a snowstorm that killed 200 people on the pilgrimage route.

Along the route to the holy cave, the markets are run by local Muslims who have set up stalls and sell materials needed for prayers to the pilgrims. 

“The Muslims are welcoming the pilgrims,” said Riyaz Ahmad, a handicraft seller, who is among hundreds of Muslims who have set up stalls along the pilgrimage route. “We pray for harmony among different communities. There is no difference between us — we are all human beings.”

 Zaffar Iqbal is a journalist based in Kashmir, India. He has reported for 18 years on armed encounters, environmental issues, crime, politics, culture and human rights. He’s formerly the bureau chief of Jammu-Kashmir for NDTV.