The Kashmiri Pandit community in Srinagar held a religious procession, known as the Shobha Yatra, to celebrate the Hindu festival of Ram Navami. The procession started from the old city of Srinagar’s Habba Kadal area, which was predominantly inhabited by the Kashmir Pandit community before the start of the insurgency. The Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF provided tight security cover for the procession, which passed through the city’s commercial hub Lal Chowk, Habbakadal, Barbarshah, Hari Singh High Street, and Jehangir Chowk before culminating at Tankipora area of Srinagar.
The organiser of the Shobha Yatra expressed gratitude to both the Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims for their support in carrying out the procession in Srinagar. The locals always support the yatra, and the decorations are done by Muslims. Abhimanyu Das, the organiser, said, ‘We pray for peace and brotherhood. We hope there will be no target killings and people live peacefully.’
Kashmiri Pandits living abroad also participated in the procession, and Raj Pandita, a Kashmiri Pandit living in the US for the past 30 years, said, ‘I have been watching this celebration on YouTube, and this year I thought of coming here and seeing if it’s true that people come on the streets, and they are happy and celebrate irrespective of caste, religion, and creed. We bring the message of peace and solidarity.’
The police and paramilitary forces provided security to the yatra, and Muslim brethren, who are observing Ramadan, greeted the Hindu community, especially the Kashmiri Pandits. The Shobha Yatra has been taken out for the past 16 years, and it was stopped earlier due to turmoil in the valley, but now the organisers ensure that it is held every year in Srinagar. The Kashmiri Pandit community hopes to maintain peaceful coexistence with their Muslim neighbours and promote interfaith harmony in the region.
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