Omar Abdullah’s response to Shankaracharya Hill
As we noted, the IndiaFacts story on the renaming of the Shankaracharya Hill at Srinagar to Takht-e-Suleiman resulted in a significant impact with various organizations protesting against this historical distortion.
On his part, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abullah too has jumped into the fray. However, he chose Twitter as the medium to express his stand on the issue. Here are the relevant tweets:
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- Omar Abullah’s Tweet on Shankaracharya Hill 1
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- Omar Abullah’s Tweet on Shankaracharya Hill 2
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- Omar Abullah’s Tweet on Shankaracharya Hill 3
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- Omar Abullah’s Tweet on Shankaracharya Hill 4
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- Omar Abullah’s Tweet on Shankaracharya Hill 5
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- Omar Abullah’s Tweet on Shankaracharya Hill 6
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- Omar Abullah’s Tweet on Shankaracharya Hill 7
In response to some of these tweets, journalist and author Rahul Pandita retorted thus:
Two specific tweets from Omar Abdullah are highly revealing.
1. The first is where he has tweeted a picture of the ASI plaque whose title announces that it is indeed the Shankaracharya temple. However, the accompanying text clearly mentions the hill (where the temple is located) as Takht-I-Sulaiman. This fact can also be cross verified on the J&K Tourism website which too, calls it the Takht-e-Suleiman.
2. The second is where Omar Abdullah claims that he had spoken to Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials and “confirmed” that they had “no such proposals.” However, IndiaFacts has in its possession an RTI query filed to inquire about this exact same issue. We have reproduced the RTI query and the ASI’s reply to it.
(Click and zoom the attached images for the full size)
As we have stated in our credo, IndiaFacts will continue to monitor all such cases of distortion in our endeavour to restore truth and decency in public discourse.
The reply from RTI is shocking to say the least. It means that no one can obtain any information about J&K and its rulers, whether they are indeed trying to align with our enemies in the North-West, etc. I really hope NaMo, when he becomes the PM, will take suitable corrective action.
This Omar Abdullah should also answer whether the massacre of Kashmiri pundits and their subsequent migration from Kashmir is also a figment of imagination or is it truth? What is the ASI’s response to this controversy?
I hope Omar will pass necessary orders to re-establish the hill as Shankaracharya Hill, in the best interest of brother-hood and secularism.
Even Solomon or Sulaiman reputed to be JUST, will ceratinly recognize the sanctification of that piece of matter-the hill- by shankaras knowledge of unity between matter and spirit as the ultimate truth. the temple which represents the theory that love is god consecrated by shankara in top of the hil enhances the brightness of that truth . If names and forms have meaning what else other than the name Shankaracharya hill and the tmple as that of Sham kara the one who is all knowledge and love be more appropriate and add meaning to form. Let us not as specks of the whole truth remember it as Shankara Hill and Shankara temple and nothing else