Srinagar: The Kashmiri Pandit community on Sunday reopened the Sharada Bhawani temple in Budgam district after more than three decades, with enthusiastic participation from the local Muslim community.
The ceremony, held in Ichkoot village of central Kashmir, featured traditional rituals like Mahurat and Pran Pratishtha and marked the first return of several Kashmiri Pandit families to their ancestral homes since the early 1990s, when militancy forced their displacement.
Sunil Kumar Bhat, president of the Sharda Asthapna Community in Budgam, said, “This temple is like a branch of the Sharda Mata temple in Pakistan. We have long wished to reopen it, and the local Muslims supported us throughout, often urging us to restore it.”
The temple, which had been in ruins, has been reopened after 35 years. Bhat expressed hope that such gatherings would become an annual event and prayed for the swift return of community members to Kashmir.
A few Pandit families, mostly beneficiaries of the Prime Minister’s Package, spearheaded the restoration. They have also approached the district administration to construct a new temple. “We have recovered and installed a Shivling during the cleaning and restoration process and are planning the construction of a new temple,” Bhat said.
The reopening highlighted the valley’s rich composite culture, as local Muslims actively joined the celebrations. “Without the support of the local community, this would not have been possible. When we first came here, there were only four of us. Today, the entire village stands with us,” he added.
An elderly local Muslim expressed a warm welcome to the returning Pandits. “These families are residents of our village. We lived and ate together before the situation deteriorated. If they need anything, we are here to support them,” he said, emphasizing that Kashmir remains the Pandits’ janambhoomi and recalling the times both communities grew up together. “We cherish those memories and are glad they have returned to offer prayers. This is a matter of faith,” he added.
