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Indians, Pakistanis unite at Kashmir shrine festival

Baba Chambliyal shrine revered by people on both sides of border

Chambliyal (Jammu and Kashmir): No rattling of machine guns or explosions of mortar fire, which were once a routine for residents on the India-Pakistan border, are heard here.

Instead, drum beats reverberated in the air as Indian and Pakistani troops, drenched in devotion, gathered with their families to remember the 18th century saint Baba Chambliyal, highly revered on both sides of the border.

There is little place for hostility as Pakistani border officials cross over to India to celebrate the three-day border festival at the nondescript shrine of Baba Dileep Singh Manhas, popularly known as Baba Chambliyal, located 45 km from Jammu and barely one and half km from the Zero Line.

“It is the biggest confidence-building measure. It is the focal point of the aspirations of the people. This is not just a fair but a strong bond that has kept Muslims in Pakistan and Hindus and Sikhs in India emotionally close, despite the Partition in 1947,” Pakistani Ranger Commander Brigadier Masood told reporters here.

Mr. Masood, leading a large group of Pakistani border guards and their families, offered ‘chaddar’ (a holy blanket) at the tomb of the Baba. It was received by BSF troops, led by Deputy Inspector-General Vijay Kumar.

“We welcome Pakistani guests here. It is a sacred occasion. Such occasions build up mutual trust and iron out differences,” Mr. Kumar said.

Sixty-nine-year-old Pakistani villager Mehmood Hussain still remembers the time when devotees from India and Pakistan would celebrate the fair together.

“This dividing line [border] should be done away with so that the people of the two countries — Hindus and Muslims — celebrate the mela jointly, which was done before 1971,” he said, adding, “the festival reflects that the people of two sides do not harbour any hatred for each other.”

Till 1971, Pakistanis were allowed to come to this side of the border to pay obeisance at the shrine, but this was stopped after the 1971 war. Intelligence agencies were opposed to the movement of people, arguing that spies and infiltrators could misuse the opportunity. The 2003 ceasefire, however, brought much relief to the residents, who were living in constant fear of cross-border firing.

The people gathered to watch the “shakkar and sharbat” (holy earth and water) being carried from the shrine on the Indian side to devotees in Pakistan.

Baba Chambliyal, after whom the village is named, lived about 300 years ago and was revered by the people for his spiritual powers.

While nearly 20,000 people thronged the shrine here, over 40,000 took part in the week-long mela on the Pakistani side.A popular belief is that the soil and water from the shrine cure skin diseases.

It draws devotees from parts of U.P., Rajasthan, Himachal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana. — PTI

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