The yoga event at the premises/lawns of the shrine of Kashmir’s revered sufi saint, Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani (RA), also called Alamdar e Kashmir, in central Kashmir’s Budgam district, meanwhile, elicited a harsh reaction, including by former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah.
“The burial place of one of our most revered saints is used as a venue for a yoga day photo op!,” Abdullah said in a tweet.
The event organised by army and local officials at the shrine called Charar-e-Sharief also saw the participation of students. The pictures of the event with the Muslim shrine in the backdrop went viral on social media.
The Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board controls the administration of shrines in the Kashmir valley. The board chairperson and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Darakshan Andrabi could not be contacted for comment as her phone was switched off.
A message to army spokesperson based in Srinagar also elicited no response.
Srinagar mayor and Apni Party leader Junaid Azim Mattu, meanwhile, called the yoga event an “inconsiderate idea”.
“An absolutely hare-brained, inconsiderate idea to organise a demonstration at the shrine of Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani, Sheikh-Ul-Alam (RA).I’m all for Yoga but this is immensely problematic. Places of religious importance should be treated with utmost sensitivity,” he said. Some netizens also seemed to have been offended by the development. “The administration should consider the religious importance before performing any kind of activity there,” a Twitter user said.
“This is a deliberate attempt to hurt the emotions, and sentiments of the majority community! But! Do they know HIS life is an example of peace, and brotherhood!,” another tweet read.
Speaking of the same, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Altaf Thakur said yoga should be seen from the perspective of fitness not religion.
“Yoga is an exercise to improve one’s health. It is neither Hindu nor Muslim. Some people are playing religious politics over the issue,” he added.
