Srinagar: On Monday, Kashmiri Pandits celebrated the birthday of Lord Krishna in Srinagar amid tight security arrangements after a gap of 32 years. The group began its ‘jhanki’ procession from the Ganpatyar temple in the Habba Kadal area of the city. The yatra covered major spots in the city including Kralkhud, Barbarshah, Amirakadal bridge and Jehangir chowk, according to officials quoted in PTI.
The devotees, including people of all ages, danced alongside the chariot and distributed sweets to the people while chanting ‘Hare Krishna, Hare Ram’.
‘This Jhanki Yatra is a beautiful way of celebrating Janmashtami because through this we can show our devotion towards Lord Krishna,’ a local told ANI. ‘An act of brotherhood has been shown today as all the other communities of Kashmir, cooperated during the Yatra and it was smoothly conducted’, said another local.
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The procession did not take place in 2020 due to COVID-19, while in August of 2019, the lockdown imposed in response to Jammu and Kashmir’s loss of special status averted its taking place.
Jhanki Yatra organised at Lal Chowk, Srinagar on the occasion of #SriKrishnaJanmashtami. The devotees also sang Krishna Bhajans. This is the first time in 32 years Janmashtami processions were taken out in #kashmir #KashmiriPandits #Hinduism pic.twitter.com/JsqspmLde5
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) August 30, 2021
In addition, Shaurya Doval, a BJP functionary, tweeted that the celebrations took place at the same place where hoisting India’s national flag in 1992 was a life-threatening act. ‘And today, people of the Hindu community are able to conduct their religious proceedings at the same location. It has only been possible under the able leadership of PM Narendra Modi ji,’ he said.
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