AMRITSAR: The president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, ‘while strongly condemning the burning of the Sharief shrine in Kashmir, has demanded a high-level probe into this by a panel of three sitting judges of the apex court.

In statement there, Tohra said that it was a matter of great concern that the shrine of a minority community was demolished on ldulZuha, He alleged that this was not for the first time that such an incident had occurred in the country. In June 1984, Operation ‘Bluestar was carried out by the Indian ‘Army on the Shaheedi Gurpurb of Guru Arjan Dev.

Tohra claimed that if the Army had acted as they did to save the Hazratbal shrine, the tragedy could have been averted.

The SGPC chief said that the enquiry by the Supreme Court would heal’ the injured sentiments of the minority community.

Meanwhile in Jammu, the burnt ‘down of the shrine and the houses in Charar by foreign mercenaries, continued to be condemned by social and political parties here.

The Pradesh congress Committee treasurer and former MP, Janak Raj Gupta, described it as an act of Pakistan’s Inter Service Intelligence (ISD and urged the government to adopt concrete measures to plug infiltration of mercenaries into the state.

Demanding that the gutted houses in the town be rebuilt and adequate compensation be given to victims after making a survey of losses, Gupta, in a statement here, appealed to the general public to maintain communal harmony in the state.

The president of the JK Gujar Gorum, Taj Mohiddin, while demanding a pro he by a Supreme Court judge into the circumstances that led to the burning of the shrine and hundreds of houses in Charar town, also asked the authorities to move speedily in providing compensation to the victims.

Mohiddin also appealed to the people in the state, especially in Kashmir Valley, to cooperate with the authorities in exposing and defeating the designs of such forces that were bent on destroying “‘Kashmiriat.”

The Kashmiri Pandit Sabha, Jammu, at a meeting of all community organizations and intellectuals have described the burning of the shrine of Sheikh nooruddin Nooranias the daslardly act of foreign and Kashmiri militants.

Also known as “Nand rishi Kashmiri’s great Sufi saint belonged as much to the Hindus and he was in real terms an embodiment of secularism, which has been the heritage of Kashmiri Pandits, a release issued here by the Sabha said.

The president of the J&K Akali Dal, San Singh Teg, while expressing grief on the burning of the shrine, said that it was not only a place of worship but a solace for millions.

Condemning the nefarious decision of those who were instrumental in the destruction of the shrine, the Dal leader urged the prime minister to constitute a high-level commission headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court to probe the incident and bring the culprits to book.

The Jammu Mukti Morcha in a press release has strongly condemned the destruction of the shrine. It also appreciated the patience shown by the security forces in tackling the problem and the commitment given by the government that the shrine would be rebuilt together with the entire locality.

Article extracted from this publication >> May 19, 1995