Author: Jagmohan
Publication: Tribune
Date: September 9, 1998
URL:   https://www.hvk.org/1998/1098/0029.html

The tragedy of present-day India is that it has developed clogged and corroded mind in which an elevating breeze can hardly blow in. It has become virtually incapable of doing any creative and constructive thinking and translating such a thinking into solid action on the ground. And, what is equally tragic, whenever in rare cases, original and deep thinking is done and followed by determined work at the field level, forces of negativism and nihilism appear on the scene and, sooner or later, that work.

This proposition of mine gets reinforced by the shocking news that a few vested interests of Jammu & Katra are out to ruin the great edifice of reform which was so creatively conceived and so determinedly built at the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine complex, and which had won the heart-felt admiration and gratitude of millions of the Mata's devotees from all over the country and abroad. These interest have floated a proposal, in total violation of the underlying objectives of the reform as well as in total violation of both the letter and spirit of the Supreme Court judgement in the case, to bring in some persons from the backdoor into the affairs of the shrine and siphon off a huge sum of money from the shrine on a permanent basis. To attain their ends, an amendment to the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act is intended to be carried out and a Cabinet sub-committee has been constituted for the purpose.

The pernicious move must be scotched before it acquires wings. All well-wishers of the country in general and the Mata's devotees in particular must get together and show their united will and power - their true hakti=94. They must remember that he only thing necessary for triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Let me recount the events to the celebrated reform of the Mata's shrine. Its underlying motivation and its many directional implications.

The shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi, which is really a natural cave-temple, is located in the Trikuta hills, about 45 km from Jammu. The nearest town is Katra from the base of which the devotees have climb to a height of about 600 ft. The unique sanctity of the holy cave lies in the existence of three pindis; Moortis, which represent all the three shaktis - Maha Saraswati, goddess of intellect; Mata Laxmi, goddess of wealth; and Maha Kali, goddess of recreation.

Pilgrimage to distant holy places in the hills is an important part of Indian tradition. In the ancient period, yatris invariably encountered a charming environment - the air was exhilarating, forests thick and green, and streams full of crystal-clear water. The spell that nature cast on the yatri's mind brought in peace, and created within him a new rhythm; a new spirit.

The state of the Vaishno Devi yatra, before the introduction of the reform, through the promulgation of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act, 1986 was deplorable. It was a soul-depressing and not a soul-lifting experience. It was an encounter not with exhilarating air but foul stench; not with thick and green forests but a ravaged landscape; not with crystal-clear water of the Banganga but with desolate bed of a drain. Worse, it was not being face to face with the spirit of the great souls and great seekers of the truth, but with the motivation of manipulators, ignorant and closed minds who, though spiritually blind, carried torched in their hands for the uidance of others. It was superficial, soul-less, action-less and deed-less India at its worst - an India which had been sucked of its real values and in which the people had lost the capacity to e good and do good=94.

After my first journey, as Governor of the state, from Katra to Vaishno Devi in 1985, I was impelled to record: here as I was much impressed by the halos of moortis and unflinching faith of the devotees, I was shocked by the material and moral corruption. If anyone wanted to see the degeneration of our society, one has just to walk from Katra to the Vaishno Devi cave. One would get the impression, not of a wounded civilisation but of a society stricken with terminal illness. Obviously, in such a cultural wasteland, spirituality was stifled and faith undermined.

I took, within myself, a silent decision. If opportunity came my way I would undertake a radical reform with regard to the management and improvement of the shrine and its complex, formidable obstacles notwithstanding. I had a number of objectives in view. I wanted to remove the awful insanitary conditions, rid the shrine of the control of obscurantists, prevent the misuse of offerings and instead utilise them for creating environmental conditions in which the soul-lifting traditions of pilgrimage of ancient times could come alive. I also wanted to bring out the humanistic aspects of religion and demonstrate that reformed Hinduism and reformed social and environmental order could be the two sides of the same coin.

Fortunately, I got the opportunity in 1986, when Governor's Rule was imposed in the state under Section 92 of the Jammu & Kashmir Constitution. Making use of my legislative powers, I enacted, in August 1986, a law under which a totally autonomous board known as the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, with the Governor as chairman, was set up. The entire management of the shrine and the complex around it was vested in this board. All the offering and donations were deposited into the funds of the board from which they were spent on humanitarian and development schemes.

Rapid improvement was carried out with the board funds. In a short time, the entire 14-km route was widened, made pucca, tiled and lighted with about 1,000 sodium vapour lamps. More walls constructed, about 2,000 metres of railings installed at dangerous points 26 shelter-cum-cafeteria units set up and all modern sanitary facilities, including thousands of flush latrines, vacuum cleaners, fogging machines and brooms provided.

Now, the Vaishno Devi Shrine has become, in its own way, a practical manifestation of the reformative spirit, a symbol of religious, social and cultural advancement, and also a model of creativity and dynamism in administration. There is nothing to make the visit jarring or nauseating as it was before. There are no beggars or lepers, no self-appointed custodians of the shrine complex to cause harassment, no exploitation, no disease arising out of insanitary conditions and unhygienic food and no unclean water or stinking latrines or stray cattle or dogs. On the other hand, Rs 5 crore to Rs 7 crore of shrine funds are being invested annually for economic and environment upgradation of life in the region. The number of pilgrims has increased from about 4 lakh to 44 lakh per annum.

The spectacular improvement thrilled the yatri and the general public. They have indeed become the most enthusiastic supporters of reforms. On account of the public mood, the Dharmarti, which had gone to the high court against my decision, withdrew its petition. However, some Baridars persisted with the litigation and the matter finally reached the Supreme Court. The court upheld the constitutional validity of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act and ruled: he supervision permitted in the Act is to ensure proper, efficient, effective and responsible administration and management of the shrine and its properties. With regard to the compensation to be paid to Baridars on account of their rights having been forfeited under the Act, the court made it clear that, as laid down under the said Act, the compensation had to be paid on the recommendations of the tribunal, keeping in view the guidelines framed by the Governor. Accordingly, the tribunal made appropriate recommendations and the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board accepted the same. A part of the compensation has already been disbursed.

Where, then, is the need for amending the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act, 1986, and why should Baridars be brought in again and given one-third of the offerings at the shrine?
Clearly, the move is not at all bona fide and there is something more than meets the eye. It contains poisonous seeds which would destroy the entire green pasture of the reform. It must be resisted and, if necessary, an all-India agitation built for the purpose.

It may be added that Hindu has an innate desire to visit at least a few of the hundreds of holy rivers, cities, temples and caves mentioned by sage Pulasty in the Mahabharata. For example, when Sankara travelled from a small village in Kerala to what is now known as Shankaracharya Hill in Srinagar, or when Swami Vivekananda undertook an arduous journey to the cave of Amarnath in the higher ranges of Himalayas, he not only fulfilled a part of his mission to rejuvenate Hinduism but also satisfied his inner urge to be upward and divine It has been rightly observed: he number of Hindu sanctuaries in India is so large that the whole of the country can be regarded as a vast sacred space organised into a system of pilgrimage centre and their fields=94. It is this vast sacred space that today stand totally neglected in India. Most of the holy rivers are now nothing but stinking sewers, cities nothing but centres of urban chaos and temples nothing but places that near both physical and mental slums.

The Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine has emerged as a shining example and an outstanding exception to the general state of neglect of places of pilgrimage. Let this exception be not mutilated. Let it not be said by the posterity that our generation was nothing but a set of small people - selfish, intriguing and brutish, with no sense of national pride and respect for cultural heritage.

- (The writer is an MP and former Governor of Jammu & Kashmir)