Sheetalnath has assumed a great importance in the minds of the people belonging to the Kashmir valley
FRAGRANCE OF IDEAS
At an outset, it becomes important to give a historical background of the Sheetalnath Temple situated in the Habbakadal area near Sathu Barbarshah in the Srinagar (Kashmir) city. Originally, the whole temple complex, including its big ground was surrounded by water on its three sides. The water body was called Maier. It was originally like a peninsula, and the habitation stood on its fourth side only. It had a specific one route to enter with a big gate of stones, mud and wood linked to the road going from Sathu Barbarshah to Breya-Kujan. The Gadood-Bagh ground is also near to the vicinity of Sheetalnath Mohalla. It had a big Hindu population surrounding the whole complex.
Sheetalnath is a prominent Bhairav in the Kashmiri Pandit tradition. There are eight prominent Bhairavas in the Srinagar city, which are as follows: Anandeshwar Bhairav-Maisuma, Vital Bhairav-Rainawari, Bahukesteshwara Bhairav-Chattabal, Mangalraj Bhairav-Fatehkadal, Purnaraja Bhairav-Hari Parbat, Turskraja Bhairav-Narsinghgarh, Hatkeshvara Bhairav (Mahakal)-Malkhah, Nowhatta and Sheeteleshwara Bhairav-Sathu. It is the same Sheetleshwara Bhairav who, with the passage of time, is known as Shetalnath Bhairav. Historical scriptures suggest that King Praversena II of the kingdom of Kashmir established the authority of Asht-Bhairavas, who were later called ‘Rashtradipaties’.
Prominent Hindu families living in the vicinity of Sheetalnath included the Saroops, Gurtus, Ghasis, Ganjoos and Kauls. There were also some Muslim families living in the area. The Hindu community of the vicinity used to organise a huge Hawan on the occasion of Basant-Panchami every year in the Sheetalnath Temple with great fanfare. Besides other festivities and rituals that were observed on the occasion, the people would burst crackers in the evening on the same day in large numbers that was somewhat very unique in the Santana tradition of Kashmir.
Some prominent personalities of the area included Prof. Neelkanth Gurtu -an eminent Sanskrit and Hindi scholar, Kanaya Lal Saroop –Retired S.P and Shaiva philosophy scholar, Premnath Ghasi – KP Agitation leader, Kailashnath Kaul – Jansangh leader who fought Tankipora Assembly constituency elections in 1972 and Prof. T.N.Ganjoo –a great scholar on Kashmir history, culture and civilization. There were budding second-generation young men and women in the area of Sheetalnath who have by now achieved great heights in their educational, professional and other choicest pursuits.
The great freedom fighter of India, Veer Savarkar, on his only visit to Kashmir prior to 1947 had a historical interaction with the prominent members of the Hindu community at Sheetalnath. Mahatma Gandhi, during his visit to Kashmir in the 1946-47 period, also paid a visit to Sheetalnath and addressed a large gathering of Kashmiri Pandits there. Pt. J.L.Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India (designate), accompanied him on his visit to Sheetalnath. Late Kanaya Lal Saroop, former S.P, J&K Police, was one of the attendees at both the meetings.
The office of the then main representative organisation of Kashmiri Pandits -All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (Sanatan Dharam Yuvak Sabha) was situated in one of the main buildings of Sheetalnath. Leading figures among the Kashmiri Pandit community presided over the office of the ASKPC there and led the community affairs from the Sheetalnath office, podium and the surrounding complex. These prominent figures included Hargopal Kaul, Kashyap Bandhu, Justice Jialal Kilam, Shiv Narayan Fotedar, Dr S.N. Peshin and Amarnath Vaishnavi.
Way back on 13 July in 1931, when Hindus were attacked by the frenzied mobs in Srinagar and Budgam under the garb of agitation & demonstrations against the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Hari Singh, the ASKPC organised a huge protest in the Sheetalnath complex against the communal attack and the brutalities in which 11 Hindus were killed. It was here that the community decided to observe 13 July every year as the Black Day, which they continue to observe till date.
The Hindu Yuvak Forum, a premier organisation of the Hindu Youth in Kashmir during the 1980s, had its office in the main building of the complex. There was also the old-style printing press of The Martand Weekly in the same building. A famous school in the area, named Hindu High School, was an established educational institution in the Sheetalnath complex. This school would usually bag the first prize in the Independence Day parade in the capital of the state of J&K –Srinagar on 15th August every year.
It was from this Sheetalnath complex that the huge procession carrying the chariot and tableau connected with Lord Krishna was taken out under the leadership of the President of ASKPC annually on the birthday of Shri Krishna. This procession was an annual affair, and it would go round the major parts of the Srinagar city, including the Downtown and the Civil Lines. Then it would conclude at Sheetalnath again, followed by a community programme on the next day at the same venue. In such a programme in 1976, Sheikh Abdullah, the then Chief Minister, had also participated as the chief guest on the occasion.
The temple dedicated to Sheetalnath Bhairav in the complex is the main religious point of reverence for the devotees of the area. There was a famous hospital known as Rattan Rani Hospital on the left side of the temple complex. This hospital played a crucial role during the historic 1967 Hindu agitation in Kashmir.
Sheetalnath was the Centre of activity during the whole agitation that lasted for two long months. Satyagrahis courted arrest from the same ground. The agitators who were injured during the lathi charge, tear gas attack and other police brutalities were admitted in the above-mentioned hospital, where they got the necessary treatment. This hospital was established by Dr. Omkar Nath Thusoo in honour of his deceased wife, Rattan Rani.
In the context of its great historical, cultural and religious importance, and also as the hub of Hindu socio-political activities for the whole year in Srinagar, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) also developed its special connection and love with Sheetalnath. When it’s (RSS’s) activities were banned in 1948 throughout the country, its activities were strictly prohibited in the Jammu and Kashmir state as well.
Even after the lifting of the ban from the organisation at the national level in 1950, the restrictions in the Kashmir valley continued for a long time. However, RSS, with effect from 1951, adopted various pseudo names to carry on its activities in the valley. One such banner was the Vivekananda Society, and some activities under its name were initiated in the Sheetalnath complex during the 1960s.
It was for the first time in 1966 that the RSS started its regular activities (Shakha) in the Sheetalnath grounds. Initially, it was limited to the school-going children who would be asked to participate and take part in the games, physical exercises and other intellectual exercises in the Shakha. With the passage of time, it grew into a larger volume of activity with focus on good conduct, nationalism, patriotism and Hindutva. However, during the winters, the Shakha would convert into indoor activities, and the participants were encouraged to take part in the daily indoor Shakha. With the passage of time, Sheetalnath assumed the position of the centre of gravity for RSS in Kashmir. It became the de facto headquarters of the RSS, practically.
In 1967, the activities of RSS got stuck because of the agitation in the Sheetalnath complex. It was after the conclusion of the historic Hindu agitation in July-August 1967 that the Shakha started again in the grounds. This author, for the first time, came into contact with the RSS in September 1967 at the Sheetalnath grounds in the Shakha, which I came to know later was also called Sheetalnath Shakha. It was conducted by a veteran Motilal Zadoo ‘Pushkar’, and Upinder Saroop was one of the prominent members of the youth brigade in the Shakha.
Vijay Malla, a small boy who later became a big musical voice of Jammu and Kashmir, used to sing a song in the Shakha on a daily basis –‘Bharat Maan Teri Jai Ho Vijay Ho’. It was from this point of time that the open activities of the RSS Shakha started from other places also, like Shivala, Kathleshwar, Deewan Mandir and Nai Sarak in the Srinagar city.
In 1971, Bapurao Moghe, an All-India leader of the RSS, addressed a gathering of swayamsevaks in Sheetalnath temple hall. A number of programmes were held at the Sheetalnath grounds and hall after that event. Prominent among those who addressed gatherings of RSS there included Brahma Dev, Thakur Ram Singh, Narayan Dass, Dr. Om Prakash Mengi and Bhagwat Swaroop.
Immediately after the lifting of the ban from RSS (for the second time) in 1977, a big congregation of swayamsevaks in uniform was held on the Sheetalnath grounds, which was addressed by Thakur Ram Singh, the then Sah-Kshetriya Pracharak -North Zone. Initially, it was decided that Madhav Rao Mule would be addressing the gathering, but due to his sudden indisposition, he couldn’t come to the valley.
In the 1980s, VHP sponsored Ekatmata Yatra, connected with the Shri Ramjanambhumi movement also stationed here in this ground for a couple of days. RSS activists organised all the affairs of the Yatra and helped VHP in their endeavour. When terrorism gripped the whole valley in the late 1980s, a lot of activities were held at the Sheetalnath complex, thereby building confidence among the minority Hindu community of the Kashmir valley.
After the brutal killing of the senior-most BJP leader and senior RSS swayamsevak Tika Lal Taploo on 13 September 1989, his body was kept on the podium of the historical Sheetalnath for two days for the people to have the last ‘darshan’ of the departed leader of the community. Thousands of people gathered in Sheetalnath to pay their last tribute to their dear leader. It was from this podium that he would address people throughout his life. BJP top leaders like L.K.Advani, Kidarnath Sahni, and Chaman Lal Gupta reached the venue and paid their floral tributes to the great leader of the Kashmir valley. It was from here that his body was taken to the Shamshan-Bhumi in the Karannagar area in a huge procession joined by thousands of people.
When, due to the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Hindu community from the valley, the forced mass-exodus became a reality, Sheetalnath was also put to a siege by the highly trained fundamentalists and terrorists of the area. They virtually occupied the whole complex at the peak of terrorism in the valley in 1989-90, and the rest is history. However, in the early 1990, a permanent police post was created in the complex by the J&K Police on the insistence of the leadership of the community in order to protect it from further damages. Now things stand changed. The whole complex is now surrounded by a big wall, and a number of renovation and developmental activities have started in the complex having support of the local administration.
It was in the tough times of the displacement of the Kashmiri Pandit community in 2007, that Panun Kashmir organised ‘Kashmir Sankalp Yatra’ for fifty days covering eleven states and Union Territories throughout the country. The Yatra was inaugurated from the historic Sheetalnath on 10 November 2007 under the leadership of this author, and all the nine members of the Yatra paid their floral tributes to the 1967 agitation martyrs (seven in all) on their samadhi in the complex. It was a great occasion under a heavy deployment of security in the area. We also prayed before the temple of the Sheetalnath Bhairav for the successful conduct of the yatra.
Sheetalnath has assumed a great importance in the minds of the people belonging to the Kashmir valley. Everyone has his or her own memoirs about this historical place of huge importance. RSS activities in this complex gave it one more dimension, due to which it remained the centre of gravity for the organisation and its members.
(The author is a senior BJP and KP leader, Human Rights Defender and a columnist and can be reached at: [email protected])
