A major row has erupted after a prominent civil and human rights group described the holy Amarnath Yatra as “militarised pilgrimage”, and called for restricting it to the traditional period of 15 days to save the “fragile environment” in the Himalayas.

The J&K Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and Bengaluru-based Equations released a 208-page report entitled 'Amarnath Yatra: A Militarized Pilgrimage’ on Thursday, and demanded “demilitarising” the Amarnath Yatra, saying the military has “no place in a space of divinity”.

Swathi Seshadri of Equations said, “Given the eco-sensitive and precarious nature of the region, and the critical role it plays in providing water and environmental stability to the Valley, there are serious implications of unregulated large visitations in the two valleys — Lidder and Sindh”.

Situated in a narrow gorge at an altitude of 3,888 meters, the holy Amarnath cave is accessible from two routes in the Kashmir valley. The 46-kilometre Pahalgam trek to the holy cave is an ancient pilgrimage route that is covered in five days. There lies the ice lingam of Lord Shiva that is formed naturally and, waxes and wanes with the moon. The new 14-kilometre Baltal-Holy Cave route is now preferred by pilgrims as it is shorter, but steep. The trek can be completed in a day.

The report, according to Parvez Imroz of JKCCS and Swathi Shashadri, is based on a two-year study (from 2014-16) on the yatra conducted by the J&K Coalition of Civil Society and Equations.

The report is based on data collected from RTIs filed on multiple departments, interviews with government officials in Kashmir, all concerned authorities and organisations, and people in Kashmir, Jammu, Delhi and Ludhiana and secondary sources.

The report goes on to say, “More importantly, the faith of the yatris cannot be instrumentalised to further India’s political interests. We also call upon devotee groups to resist this use of their faith”.

Other demands include conducting an Environment Impact Assessment of the pilgrimage and making necessary changes to the numbers allowed, and scientifically establishing carrying capacity, among others.

HINDU GROUPS’ IRE

The report, however, has stoked a major controversy with Hindu groups terming it as interference in religious affairs aimed at communalising the situation ahead of the annual pilgrimage from June 29 to August 7.