Mahant calls for 'lingam' probe

SRINAGAR: 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.  Giri, who has been actively associated with the annual pilgrimage of Amarnath for more than two decades and has been the custodian of the mace for 14 years, said the “Himlingam is a natural process and must not be interfered with.”  Some pilgrims, who have so far paid obeisance at the 3,880 metre shrine, said the ‘lingam’ was artificial and not natural. 

However, Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has denied that the lingam was artificially or chemically made. Chief Executive Officer of SASB Arun Kumar, said, “It is not humanly possible to make a mechanised lingam.” He added that there was no question of tampering with the sanctity of the shrine.

A team of board officials visited the cave in the second week of May and found that the lingam formation had not taken place, Kumar said.  However, the ice-lingams of Parvati and Ganesha had formed at their normal place, five feet from the Shiva lingam. He said the board sent a team from the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) on May 14 to inspect the track and surroundings of the cave.

The team found the cave-top totally free from snow and the glacier cover had receded by 100 metres or so. The Shiva lingam site was found dry.