‘New era’: Shah inaugurates temple near LoC in J&K

SRINAGAR: Home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday inaugurated the Sharda Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, which is close to LoC, while also proposing a Kartarpur Sahib-style corridor to the Sharda Peeth temple in Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK). He termed reconstruction of the Sharda Devi temple in Karnah as an important step in the discovery of Sharda civilisation and Sharda script, the original script of Kashmir.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Maa Sharda Devi temple via video-conferencing, the home minister recalled how Sharda Peeth was once a centre of India’s cultural, religious and educational heritage, where scholars from all over the country converged in search of scriptures and spiritual knowledge. As was done in the case of Kartarpur corridor, the central government will move forward to open the Sharda Peeth, he assured.
Shah said peace has been established in J&K after the nullification of Article 370 with both the Kashmir valley and Jammu returning to their old traditions, civilisation and Ganga-Jamuni ‘tehzeeb’ (peaceful co-existence among different religious communities).
Stating that the opening of Maa Sharda Devi temple on the first day of Chaitra Navratri was an “auspicious sign” and “the beginning of a new era”, Shah said the architecture and construction of the temple was done in accordance with the mythological scriptures under the aegis of Sharda Peeth.
He said 35 places across J&K, including temples and Sufi centres, were being renovated at a cost of Rs 65 crore. In addition, 31 mega cultural programmes were organised by identifying 75 places. Shah hoped that the opening of the Sharda Devi temple will continue to awaken the consciousness of India for ages.