‘They came to pray, bodies went home’

: A resident of Uttar Pradesh, Dharam Pal is as much at home in mountainous Baltal as in his hometown Saharanpur.

On Tuesday, Pal struggled to control his tears and come to terms with the killing of seven Amarnath pilgrims at Batengoo, 150km from Baltal, the night before. “What harm did those yatris do to the militants? They had come to Kashmir to pray but now their bodies have gone back home,” said Pal, who has been running a free kitchen at the Baltal base camp during the Amarnath Yatra for 18 years.

The assault comes at time when Kashmir is battling street protests and increased militant violence, which are keeping tourists away.

Also seen as a symbol of Kashmir’s syncretic culture, the pilgrimage has largely remained untouched by the decades of unrest in the Valley. Monday’s attack is the fourth such assault.

Pal was not alone. Disbelief, grief and sadness were hard to miss at Baltal. People did put up a brave face but fear was not too far behind. “We have full faith in God that no harm will come to us but what has happened had created fear in our minds,” said Ramesh Kumar. A resident of Amritsar in Punjab, he has been visiting the shrine for 17 years.

Two couples from Surat said they were at the shrine when pilgrims were hit. “We came down this morning and our phones have been ringing constantly. People have been calling from home, asking if we are fine,” said Dinesh Jariwala.