Thousands participate in Muharram procession in Srinagar
Notably, the procession had been banned during militancy from the early 1990s owing to law-and-order issues only to be lifted in 2022
Thousands of people from the Shia community on Monday participated in a peaceful Muharram-8 procession as it took its traditional route in Srinagar.
Chanting Islamic slogans and commemorating the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS), grandson of the Prophet (SAW), the mourners marched from Guru Bazar through MA Road to Dalgate early in the morning.
Shia organisations, local volunteers and security forces helped ensure peaceful procession. Notably, the procession had been banned during militancy from the early 1990s owing to law-and-order issues only to be lifted in 2022.
A young participant, Syed Imran, who was providing water and lassi to mourners, said it was his first experience to join such a big Muharram procession through this route as he was born during the time of ban.
“It was a spiritual experience for me. Every year, people would come out but the authorities won’t allow it. Last year, there were fewer people, but many came out passionately this year. Groups of people joined the procession not only from Srinagar but also from north and south Kashmir at different time slots. It went beyond the stipulated time (of 8 am) and continued for a large part of the day,” he said.
He said even people from Sunni community joined as a mark of unity. “I witnessed a small procession by a group of Sunni community join the marchers shouting slogans of unity,” Imran said.
The government allowed the event for the second year in a row giving the community the time slot of 6 am to 8 am. All top civil and police officials were out in the field monitoring the march in which thousands participated.
Volunteers from the community, police, as well as the administration had arranged for drinking water, sanitation, sprinkling and other facilities for the ease of the marchers. The traffic department had diverted the traffic movement to other routes.
‘A dividend of the peace’
Kashmir divisional commissioner Vijay Kumar Bidhuri said the march was a result of the peaceful atmosphere in Kashmir.
“It is a dividend of the peace process. All people have created an atmosphere here that allowed us to make these decisions with ease. The cooperation of people was also excellent as you saw how the march unfolded,” Bidhuri said, adding that the arrangements were better this year than last, including water and health facilities.
“Everybody is monitoring the event including the lieutenant-governor and security forces have played an important part,” he said.
The month of Muharram is remembered for the sacrifice of Imam Hussain (AS) and his companions in a seventh-century battle in Karbala, present day Iraq. The Shia community hailed the efforts of the government for allowing the event but wanted the restrictions of time to be lifted.
Shia leader Masroor Abbas said they welcomed the administration’s move to allow the march but insisted on lifting the time restrictions pointing out to how the procession was taken out peacefully.
“There is no law and order or communal issue or that of traffic. If it is closed for Amarnath Yatra for one and a half months why are we just allowed to conduct the march for just one and a half hours? We should be permitted for the whole day. We still welcome the decision but don’t accept the time frame,” he said.
The administration had said the time window has been finalised in the larger public interest as the procession route encompasses massive business, commercial establishments, and movement of ambulances, students, office staff and general passengers.
Kashmir inspector general of police VK Birdi said firm security arrangements had been put in place before hailing the people for their conduct.
“Police secured the route all along while there were in-depth security regulations and they (people) have been conducting the procession in a very good manner. The organisers have a lot of volunteers who are cooperating with security forces including police so that the procession concludes successfully,” he said.