[Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir

[SJabbar]

>From The Hindu

 

No Jain temple was burnt in Kashmir: officials

Shujaat Bukhari
SRINAGAR: The temporary structure housing a Jain temple in a local hotel was
not burnt by a mob but was dismantled as a local hotel's contract with a
Mumbai-based travel agency which built the structure on its premises has not
been renewed.

In the wake of reports in newspapers around India that the only Jain temple
in Kashmir had been burnt by mobs leading the ongoing protests in the
Valley, hotel and State officials told The Hindu that no such incident had
taken place.

According to Ghulam Mohiuddin, manager of Silver Star Hotel in Lasjan on the
outskirts of Srinagar, the temporary structure was built as per contract
with Gem Tours and Travels, a Mumbai-based travel agency, which wanted to
provide a place where Jain tourists from other parts of India could worship
while visiting Kashmir.

³But the three-year contract ended and was not extended, so the structure
was also dismantled,² he said. The temple was established to attract Jain
tourists. ³As the situation in the Valley worsened and the tourist inflow
declined, the contract was not renewed and we thought there is no need for
this,² he added. The 8x8 pre-fabricated structure was dismantled in the
presence of the priest, Hans Raj, on August 10.

Mr. Mohiuddin categorically denied that the temple was burnt or destroyed by
a mob. ³This is just not true. It is a fact that a large mob passed through
this area also but no one entered our premises so the question of touching
the temple does not arise,² he told The Hindu. Before the hotel management
decided to remove the structure, the owners of the travel agency were
contacted through the priest Hans Raj, who hails from Uttar Pradesh. ³The
idols were removed and properly handed over to them when they arrived in
Srinagar the next day,² he said, adding the rumours seemed to be a
conspiracy to spread hatred against Kashmiris.

Deputy Commissioner (Srinagar) Meraj Kakroo also rubbished reports about the
Jain temple being attacked. ³The report about the burning of the temple is
baseless and mischievous,² he said. He added that no proper temple existed
and ³as per our information, it was an internal arrangement made by the
hotel owners.²

Members of the community said there is, in fact, no Jain temple in Kashmir.
While there were 40-odd Jain families living in the Valley prior to
militancy, only five have stayed back. ³There is no Jain temple here, though
a family has set up one in their house,² Amit Jain, a businessman, said.

Repeated attempts by this correspondent to get a response from Gem Tours and
Travels drew a blank. However, a local news portal, Kashmir Dispatch,
reported that a team from the Doshi family, which built the temple, flew in
to Srinagar the day after it was dismantled. ³They packed the idols in
cardboard boxes and returned to Sabarmati,² it said. ³It was not burnt and
[the newspaper which said it was] will come out with a corrigendum,² the
portal quoted Jyotin Doshi, Chairman of Gem Tours, as saying. ³The structure
was broken; we don't know by whom, we had a contract with the hotel for five
years under which the temple was built on the hotel property,² he said.

³We don't want to create enmity and request everybody to stop thinking about
the matter. We have now installed the idols in Ahmedabad and there is
nothing more I can say on this,² the portal quoted Mr. Doshi as saying.