Save Sharda Committee appeals to PM Modi to remove coffee house erected by Pak army at ‘Sharda Peeth’
New Delhi [India], December 2: Save Sharda Committee Kashmir has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the encroachment issue by the Pakistan Army at the revered Sharda Peeth site in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) along the Line of Control (LoC).
In a letter to Prime Minister Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs, the Save Sharda Committee expressed concern about the establishment of a Coffee House by the Pakistan Army and the demolition of the boundary wall of Sharda Peeth, which amounts to encroachment.
The committee stated, Our civil society across LoC frequently visit this religious and heritage site and looking at the dilapidated condition and poor maintenance of the complex, including demolition of boundary wall, we are feeling anguished and dejected.
Ravinder Pandita, the founder of Save Sharda Committee, requested PM Modi to take necessary steps to convey to Pakistan in the strongest terms to ensure proper maintenance of this peeth – the highest seat of learning and one-time university, and stop encroachments of the complex, particularly in the wake of Supreme Court AJK judgment dated 03.01.2018 and DG archaeology & Tourism circular No: 9973-80 dated 31.12.2018 (enclosed herewith).
Pandita further stated, This is in gross violation of the Supreme Court PoK’s judgment dated January 3, 2018, in favor of the committee regarding encroachment of Sharda Peeth. This action by the Pakistan army has hurt the sentiments of crores of Sharda Followers, especially J&K Hindus.
Previously, Mohammad Amir Rashid, the president of Dara Shikoh Foundation, wrote to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) regarding Pakistan damaging the walls of the cultural heritage site, Sharda Peeth.
The Dara Shikoh Foundation sent a letter to the Director-General of UNESCO, highlighting the damage caused to the walls of Sharda Peeth for the expansion of a coffee house for Pakistani soldiers inside PoK.
We have written a letter to the Director-General of UNESCO, which has recently given the place of Vice-chair to Pakistan. Sharda Peeth was declared a cultural heritage, yet the Pakistani government has deliberately damaged some walls of Sharda Peeth for the expansion of a coffee house being built for Pakistani soldiers inside POK, wrote Mohammad Amir Rashid, the president of the Dara Shikoh Foundation.
The letter also mentioned the deliberate damage to another temple in PoK, highlighting the systematic damage of precious cultural heritage.
Sharada Peeth is a ruined Hindu temple and ancient center of learning situated in the Neelum Valley of PoK. It is believed by Kashmiri Pandits to be the abode of Lord Shiva.
The reconstruction of Maa Sharda’s temple in Kupwara is considered a necessary and important step towards discovering Sharda civilization and promoting the Sharda script, according to Save Sharda Committee Kashmir.
Sharada Peeth is one of the three holiest pilgrimage sites for Kashmiri Pandits, alongside the Martand Sun Temple and the Amarnath Temple.
