[Reader-list] Chamliyal

[S. Jabbar]

And this in J&K just 10 days ago...

India-Pakistan border village celebrates festival of harmony
June 26th, 2008 - 11:32 pm ICT by IANS -


Chamalyal (Jammu and Kashmir), June 26 (IANS) Several thousand Hindus and
Muslims Thursday took part in an annual festival in this Jammu and Kashmir
village touching the India-Pakistan border in memory of a hermit who devoted
his life to preach peace and love more three centuries ago. The devotees at
the shrine of Baba Chamlayal here, less than 200 metres from the
International Boundary and about 50 km southwest of Jammu, unmindful of the
faith of the fellow devotees shared the same earth and water to rid
themselves of skin diseases, following a belief in their curative powers.

Several hundreds of others gathered across the border to pay their respects
to Baba Chamliyal from a distance. Their offerings were brought to the
shrine by a column of Pakistani Rangers led by Col. A.M. Shah. They were
received by the Indian border guards - the Border Security Force (BSF).

Across the border, thousands of Pakistanis in festive dresses waited for the
BSF trolleys that finally delivered them their share of ¹sharbat¹ and
¹shakkar¹ - shakkar being the soil in the surroundings of the shrine, and
sharbat the water of a well in the area. The mix of the two, the belief
goes, cures skin diseases.

While Pakistanis stood near the border, Indians were dancing and singing
folksongs hailing Baba Chamlayal, a symbol of the Hindu-Muslim brotherhood.

Baba, whose real name was Daleep Singh Manhas, was popular among the people
of the area. According to the legend, he had magical powers.

His popularity spread far and wide, but it was unbearable for a few in the
area and he was murdered. The legend has it that as his blood spread, the
land there acquired miraculous properties and a well sprung up at the site
where his head was placed.

This year, the devotees came to the shrine quite early in the morning
because of a shutdown call given by several Hindu groups to protest what
they called ³Kashmir-centric parties¹ plans to disrupt the annual Amarnath
pilgrimage².

³We wanted to be here at all costs, so we started our journey quite early in
the morning,² said Ashok Sharma of Kathua, a town about 80 km south of
Jammu. ³I didn¹t want to miss this fair.²

The Hindu devotees were aware of a row over land allotment to the Amarnath
shrine authorities, but they said that should not affect the fair or its
celebrations.

³The faith is faith and here Hindus and Muslims are equal. It is a place to
unite, not divide,² commented Sheila Sambyal, a young woman from Samba, a
border town about 40 km south of winter capital Jammu.