While the Meghalaya High Court has allowed Hindu pilgrims to visit the Mawjymbuin cave in in Mawsynram, questions now arise as to who controls that site? Is the site now owned by Hindu sects and therefore they have complete control over how the site is used for religious purposes only while putting a halt to tourists and researchers with an interest in geology and in Meghalaya’s limestone caves. It is not known as to why this particular cave is zeroed in by the Hindu groups when every limestone cave has stalagmites which are limestone pillars formed by mineral rich water dripping from the roof of the cave and depositing calcium carbonate on the cave floor. This precipitation occurs as the water evaporates and releases carbon dioxide causing the dissolved minerals to solidify and build up over time to form upward growing structures which look like pillars. They are found inside every limestone cave in Meghalaya and elsewhere in the world. Stalactites on the other hand grow downward from the caves ceiling. Reputed geologists see this phenomenon as a natural one and have pointed out that stalagmites are not Shiv Lingam. But in an atmosphere soaked in religious fervour this is a cry in the wilderness.
That tourists visiting the cave at the time of the yatra were made to comply to Hindu rituals and asked to remove their shoes et al, does not bode well for Meghalaya a tribal state which has already ceded sufficient space for creating places of worship of all religions without discrimination. But for any single religious group to lay claim over a geological site that would at some point be subject to geological research to find answers to some of the climatic shifts as had happened in the Mawmluh Cave now famous for the establishment of the its Meghalayan Age. Renowned geologists from across the globe have classified the last 4,200 years as being a distinct age in the story of planet earth. This they have done through extensive research and they call it the Meghalayan Age, the onset of which was marked by a mega-drought that crushed a number of civilisations worldwide.
Considering the importance of these limestone caves for several other scientific and geological studies it is important that such spaces are left untouched by any faith group.That the state has to provide security to the yatris is another dimension that needs debating. Can the state with an already reduced police force afford to guard the yatris and the cave each time there is some such ceremony? It’s time the Meghalaya Government challenges the High Court order in the apex court on the plea that the cave is a geological marvel and has nothing to do with a specific religion and just because some group makes sanctimonious claims over it does not make it binding on the state to also follow that diktat.
