One after another, icons of our collective identity are getting destroyed because of our apathy. On Sunday another three hundred year old Ziyrat of Baba Haneefudin (RA), locally called Baba Saben Dahresh  was destroyed   in a fire   at Rathsun, Budgam.  The midnight fire not only destroyed the structures of the holy place but also consumed some relics, historical artifacts and old    manuscripts of the holy book- rare specimens of calligraphy. 
Again for lack of promptitude of the fire fighting machinery and other connected government agencies important and historical ziryat was completely gutted.  In a fire some ten years back a portion of this historical shrine was destroyed   but for the daring inhabitants of the locality at that time, the relics and number of manuscripts of the Holy Quran had been saved. In twenty days this another important religious place that was destroyed in a ‘mysterious’ fire.  In similar circumstances on 25th of June 250 years old hospice and ziryat of Dastageer Sahib at Khanyar was destroyed plunging entire Kashmir in grief.
The fire at Ratsun,  was yet another harsh reminder that marks of our identity are imperiled. Over centuries, these monuments of faith and heritage have shaped our narratives that have given us distinctive place and identity in South Asia. While the deep wounds inflicted on the psyche of Kashmiris irrespective of their religious beliefs by the destruction of the historic mosque and ziyrat at Khanyar are still bleeding the destruction of another place of worship has strengthened doubts in the minds of people about  these mysterious fires in religious places. The fire in the Ziyrat of Baba Haneefudin (RA) has also thrown up many a question. What measures had the Wakf Board and the government taken for protection of Astan after 2002 fire. This fire like that in Dastageer Sahib puts both the Wakf Board and Government in the dock. For failure of  the government appointed   committee to inquire into the fire at Khanyar coming up even the preliminary the rumors about these fires are slowly becoming acceptable with people which is a dangerous sign.    

Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Jul 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Jul 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 17 Jul 2012 00:00:00 IST