38 years on, Bhadrakali idol reinstalled in Handwara village
Sumit Hakhoo
Tribune News Service
Jammu, March 19
After being shifted from one place to the other for 38 years, an ancient idol of Goddess Kali was finally reinstalled at Bhadrakal village, Handwara, in the Valley by displaced Kashmiri Hindus.
Last year, Pandits had approached an Army unit engaged in anti-insurgency operations, asking them for permission to place the idol, itinerant since 1980 when it was stolen by smugglers, at its original place. On Sunday, the Army, which protects the shrine in Handwara tehsil of Kupwara district, facilitated its installation.
Locally, a revered shrine for the Hindus and referred to as ‘Bhadrakali’, the idol has had an eventful journey since it was discovered in a courtyard of a Muslim family’s house in Srinagar in 1891 during the Dogra rule.
As per Advocate Bushan Lal Pandita, who played an important role in the restoration of the temple since the exodus of Pandits in 1989-90, during the Dogra rule, Sarwa Bayu, a resident of Handwara, had a dream in which “the goddess directed him to unearth her idol” from the Khanyar area of Srinagar. His son Pandit Keshavji Bayu accordingly retrieved and placed it in the ancient temple complex in Bhadrakal village.
However in 1980, the statue was stolen by smugglers, leading to months of agitation by the Hindu community. It was recovered by the police in 1983 and handed over to Pandit families.
“Fearing it will be stolen again, priest Jagan Nath Sharma kept it in his custody and it was displayed only on special religious occasions. In 1990, when separatist insurgency erupted, the caretaker Jagan Nath had to flee like other Hindu families and the idol was left behind in the caretaker’s house,” said Bushan Lal Pandita.
In 1999, daughters of the priest sold the house to a local Muslim family who found the idol hidden in one of the rooms. The family contacted their friend Bhushan Lal Pandita, who belongs to Handwara and is a stanch devotee of Bhadrakali, and it was brought to Jammu.
