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| Shrine tragedies and the insensitive state | | | JAGMOHAN
Hardly had the mourning for the 150 dead in the Naina Devi temple stampede ended came the news of the tragedy at the Chamunda Devi temple near Jodhpur. About 200 persons were trampled over and died of suffocation. Not long ago, about 300 devotees had lost their lives in a similar stampede at the Mandhardevi temple in Maharashtra. But no one really bothers. Everything is forgotten after a few days of breast-beating in the media and expression of sympathy for the victims by the top leadership of the country. The recurrence of these tragedies is inherent in the nature of the Indian state which has remained indifferent to the need for carrying out fundamental social and cultural reforms and for improving the timbre of the people.
The post-1947 leadership in India has shown a marked timidity to eliminate the pernicious social forces which are wholly incompatible with the environment that is needed for building a new India with a progressive motivation. Superficial adherence to the notion of secularism and not interfering with what are called religious practices, which are actually practices born out of degeneration, are extracting a heavy price from the Indian state. Not only is its social and economic advancement being impeded, but also its cultural image is being badly defaced. Let me illustrate this by citing the case of the Vaishno Devi shrine.
My first visit to the Vaishno Devi shrine was undertaken in July 1985, when I was governor of Jammu and Kashmir. This shrine is a natural cave-temple which is located in the Trikuta hills. It can be reached through the base town of Katra from where the yatri has to climb up to Sanjichhat at 6,200 feet. Inside the cave, there are three "self-born, self-revealed pindis" or "moortis", in the shape of lumps of stone, which symbolise the three Shaktis.
I had heard a number of sordid stories about the conditions prevailing on the route and at the shrine. But what I saw was far more despicable. The entire route was virtually tree-less and unbearably hot, full of pointed stones and pebbles, punctuated frequently with treacherous pot-holes over which one could stumble and hurt oneself. Sometimes, landslides caused fatal accidents. All along the route, there was not a single public urinal or toilet, forcing people to use the limited space available in the corners. The pestering beggars, which included a large number of children, evoked both anger and pity. At the shrine complex itself, the conditions were equally appalling. Malpractices were galore, sanitation insufferable and eating places dirty. The offerings were taken without any accounts by those who claimed themselves to be the custodians of the shrine.
The revolting conditions that I encountered on the route and at the shrine gave rise to a volcanic urge in me to do something radical, something concrete to reform the management of the shrine and to improve its overall environment. Fortunately, a few days after my visit, Governor’s rule was promulgated. I enacted a law under which an autonomous board, with Governor as chairman, was set up to take over the entire management of the shrine and the complex around it. With the funds and donations, which were previously pocketed by the "custodians", flowing into accounts of the board, massive development projects were executed.
The inspired and dynamic machinery of governance that I was able to set up resulted in spectacular pace of development and improvement. In a short time, with the shrine funds, the entire 14-km route was widened, made pucca, tiled and lighted with about 1,000 sodium vapour lamps. More than 10 lakh tiles were fixed, about 5,000 parapet walls constructed, about 2,000 metres of rails installed at dangerous points, 22 shelter-cum-cafeteria units were set up and all modern sanitary facilities. Sixty green spots with flower beds and shrubs were created in addition to massive plantation in the complex. Humanitarian services were rendered to the people in the neighbouring villages by opening dispensaries, schools and work-centres.
No one could be persuaded by the vested interest to oppose my measures on the ground that they amounted to interference with religion. Moreover, what I was able to argue successfully in the public was that I was attempting to present the true face of India’s culture, religion and tradition and my efforts were directed against the forces of degeneration and degradation.
Consequently, the elements who opposed my action at the earlier stage soon became unpopular. Organisations like Dharmarth, which had filed writ petitions in the high court, were forced by the pressure of public opinion to withdraw their cases. The other vested interests — the Baridars — found themselves isolated and finally lost their cases both in the high court and Supreme Court which upheld the constitutional validity of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act.
Now the Vaishno Devi shrine has become a practical manifestation of the reformative spirit. There are no beggars or lepers, no self-appointed custodians of the shrine-complex to cause harassment, no disease arising out of insanitary conditions and unhygienic food, no unclean water or stinking latrines.
So far, over Rs 300 crores have become available for development and for general upgradation of environment and quality of life in the region. The number of the pilgrims has increased from about five lakh to about 50 lakh per annum. Hundreds of restaurants, hotels and transport and travel establishments have come into being, giving a big boost to the state economy. A fine university, named Mata Vaishno Devi University, with global academic standards, has recently been set up near Katra. The funds have been made available by the shrine board. To cap it all, true culture and heritage has been made to come alive.
There are hundreds of major shrines scattered all over India. If all of them are subjected to similar reforms, one cannot imagine the tremendous social, cultural and environmental benefits that would accrue to the nation. Importantly, it would unleash positive forces, which would build an overall atmosphere for all-round reforms of society and the state. The tragedies of the type witnessed at Naina Devi, Chamunda Devi and Mandhardevi would also become a thing of the past.
Jagmohan is a former governor of J&K and a former Union minister |
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