Not long ago Abhi, fresh from watching Al Gore’s documentary, alerted us to the consequences of global warming for the subcontinent. And they are as dire as he predicted. In a crisis that has mobilized India’s High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) and Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment (SASE), the Shiva lingam at Amarnath has failed to form this year. The glacier cover of the cave has receded by 100 meters, and there has been insufficient snowfall. At the onset of the annual pilgrimage season, when hundreds of thousands of pilgrims trek up to the cave to see the lingam, temple officials faced a major problem. Consider the two pictures below. The first shows the lingam in a normal year. The second shows the lingam site on May 6, 2006:
But when pilgrims and journalists arrived, a full five-foot lingam had mysteriously appeared in place even though there had been no snowfall. It was immediately evident that this lingam was a crude fake:
Though the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) on Sunday said the ‘lingam’ was natural like every year’s, it does not take more than a look at it to conclude otherwise. In the absence of a natural ‘lingam’, someone thought it was better to put together one so that pilgrims are not disappointed and the pilgrimage, like every year, earns the “success” tag. And indications are that the SASB was in the thick of action.
The Governor of Jammu & Kashmir was in on the cover-up:
The operation would have worked but for the lingam’s finish. The natural smoothness was not there and dirt and imprints (though partially covered by a fresh layer of snow) gave away the story.
Sources said in all probability J&K Governor S.K. Sinha too knew about the lingam as he chairs the SASB. He had himself seen the lingam twice — on May 16 and on June 11. Still, he kept quiet.
Now, with the media on the case, the SASB has changed its story, admitting the lingam was tampered with, but only because it formed smaller than usual:
In a fresh twist to the controversy surrounding the ‘Shivlingam’ in the Holy cave of Amarnath, the Chief Executive of the shrine board admitted that it was “tampered” with even as religious leaders and the saffron brigade demanded that the truth be made public.
“We received some complaints that some people had brought some snow and put on top of the usual Shivling. We don’t defend that but this is something which has happened in the past,” Arun Kumar, Chief Executive of the Shree Amarnath Shrine Board and Principal Secretary to the Jammu and Kashmir Governor said. …
He, however, was quick to add, “Our belief is that the Shivlingam has naturally formed howsoever small it maybe.”
The custodian of the holy mace is demanding an inquiry:
The custodian of Lord Shiva’s holy mace has termed as “sacrilege” the reported installation of an artificial ice ‘lingam’ in place of the naturally-formed structure at the Amarnath cave shrine and demanded a judicial inquiry.
“It appears to be an act of sacrilege if the ‘himlingam’ has been raised manually or mechanically as reported by a section of the media. Keeping in view the sentiments of devotees, I demand that a sitting Supreme Court Judge be appointed to find out the truth so that the guilty are punished,” ‘Charri Mubarak’ custodian Mahant Deependra Giri said on Sunday.
He expressed concern over an artificial, chemically-made ice ‘lingam’ being installed in the cave and sought the Centre’s intervention.
All jokes about shrivelled lingams aside, this is a pretty remarkable example of the effect of global warming and what we are doing to our planet. If I were Lord Shiva, I wouldn’t be pleased either.
