RAJKOT, INDIA, July 2, 2005: For more than four months, pilgrims have had to pass a police security check before climbing to the highest peak of Mount Girnar, where a pair of footprints is worshipped as that of Lord Dattatreya by Hindus and Lord Neminath by Jains. Now policemen have also been deployed at another peak, atop which another dispute has sprung up between the two communities. The recent rivalry between Hindus and Jains–who in Gujarat have had no problems, either in dealings or in worshipping at these shrines–is turning ugly, reports this article. The trouble reached a head last October, when the state archaeology department allowed a Hindu trust to construct a small shrine to Lord Dattatreya atop the highest peak. This has been challenged in Gujarat High Court, which has asked a joint committee of the district collectorate and the archaeological department to submit a report in six months. Last month, matters worsened when a Hindu Sadhu Samaj installed an icon at another peak. At this peak, too, there are a set of footprints. Hindus say they are of Gorakhnath. Jains believe they are of a Muni called Sambhunath. There’s also a Ramadev Pir temple here, from which, Hindus say, the original icon was stolen.
Since then, Junagadh additional collector A.C. Rathod has been flooded with letters by angry Jains. Their applications to Rathod say there was no icon atop the peak–only footprints of a Jain Muni, Sambhunath. They say no new icon can be installed because Mount Girnar is a protected area. Moreover, they say, the installation of the icon near the footprints hinders their prayer. the Sadhu Samaj, has started street demonstrations alleging a conspiracy to grab a Hindu sacred place. Says Rathod, “We have had to permanently deploy police at both the Dattatreya shrine and Gorakhnath shrines. This is the first time this has happened.” Mount Girnar in Junagadh district has many Hindu temples and Jain derasars, most of them atop its peaks. It has long been a place of pilgrimage for both communities. Despite recent tensions, Hindus and Jains have been visiting the peak and worshipping without any problem–albeit under police guard.