Only Kashmir News Desk
Leh, June 28 (Only Kashmir): Observed every year on full moon day in June, the three day Sindhu Darshan Festival’ held at Leh in Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir was Friday formally inaugurated by Governor Satya Pal Malik. The objective behind the celebration of Sindhu Darshan Festival is to endorse the Indus River (Sindhu River) as an icon of the communal harmony.
Pertinently, former Union Minister Lal Krishna Advani and Tarun Vijay a veteran journalist re-discovered the Sindhu river flowing through Ladakh, when they visited Leh in January 1996. Vijay conceived the idea of a festival on its banks as it has given the identity to India as the names India, Indian, Hindu and Hindustan are derived from Indus and Sindhu. Since then it has been attracting people from all walks of life, castes, religions and places especially becoming a pilgrimage for Hindu Sindhis, who in pre-partition days, used to worship her ( in Sindh ), now in Pakistan.
Maintaining that India has got its name from Sindhu and our ancient history is rooted in the Indus civilization, Governor Satya Pal Malik on Friday formally inaugurated the grand celebration of Sindhu Darshan Festival at Sindhu Ghat, Shey Smanla.
The first day of the Sindhu Darshan Festival witnesses a reception ceremony for the participants organized on the banks of Sindhu at Shey. This reception ceremony is conducted by a joint association of committees of various religious groups ( Buddhist, Shia, Sunni, Christian, Hindu and Sikh ) namely, Ladakh Buddhist Association, Shia Majlis, Sunni Anjuman, Christian Moravian Church, Hindu Trust and Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee, to promote national integrity.
As a part of the ritual, fifty senior Lamas conduct a prayer on the banks of the river. A series of cultural programs are also presented by artists from various states of the country. A sightseeing tour is organized for the participants and the day comes to an end with a bonfire at night. After the cultural programs and sightseeing trip, a Puja is organized on the second day of the Sindhu Darshan Festival. On the third day, the participants get ready for the departure. Leh is popular with tourists, who visit the hill town to be a part of this grand celebrations.
In the year 2000, on 7 June, Sindhu Darshan Festival was held with much pomp and show and was inaugurated by Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then the Prime Minister of India at Shey (15 km away from Leh). The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the Sindhu Cultural Center and also inaugurated the new office complex of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.
Pertinent to mention here, the Postal Department of Government of India issued a postage stamp depicting Sindhu Darshan Festival on 28 July 1999. The Bollywood film Dil Se set in the backdrop of the insurgency in Northeast India was shot during the first Sindhi Darshan Festival.
