Muslim caretakers of Amarnath Yatra

The Amarnath terror attack on Monday night which led to the death of 9 pilgrims and injuries to 32 others has led to shockwaves all across the country. A high-level meeting was conducted on Tuesday which was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, NSA chief Ajit Doval, RAW chief and other officials.

The attack which was one of the worst since 2001, has earned condemnation from one and all. However, the Amarnath yatra has always witnessed Muslim caretakers taking care of Hindu pilgrims. Local Muslims have been instrumental in the running of the annual pilgrimage. Hundreds of locals put up stalls at the yatra base camps at Baltal and Pahalgam.

Thousands of Muslims offer services as pony, horse drivers and palanquin-bearers in the annual pilgrimage.Besides being a business provider for the locals, the Amarnath Yatra also showcases the bonding between Kashmiris and the pilgrims.

The Amarnath Yatra would be incomplete without local involvement. In fact it was a Kashmiri Muslim family that discovered the Amarnath cave in the 15th century.The locals were also instrumental in relief and rescue operations in 1996, when a snow storm killed 200 on the route of the yatra.