Tantra Retreat in Gurez Valley Sparks Ban Calls in Kashmir

A promotional poster for a four-day meditation retreat in Kashmir's Gurez Valley has triggered a political and religious row, with prominent figures demanding that the event be stopped.

The retreat, titled 'Tantra in Silence — a journey within a meditation retreat', is advertised for September 24 to 27 in Gurez, located along the Line of Control in Bandipore district. The poster describes it as a sacred Himalayan experience and names Swami Dhyan Sumit of the Rajneesh Temple as its facilitator, saying the programme is inspired by the teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

Former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti raised the matter on social media, pointing out that a similar retreat associated with Swami Dhyan Sumit was cancelled in Goa last year after its promotional material drew public outrage and police intervention. She asked Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the Jammu and Kashmir Police to step in immediately, saying Gurez should not become a testing ground for experiments carried out in the name of spirituality or tourism. She also urged the Valley's chief cleric and the official grand mufti to spread awareness about the issue.

Responding to her appeal, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the concerns warranted urgent attention. He questioned how such a programme could be permitted in Gurez when a comparable event by the same organisation had been called off by police in Goa following public anger over its promotional content. Describing Kashmir as a land of sufis and saints, he said spirituality there is experienced rather than sold, and argued that tourism promotion cannot be used to override the region's religious, cultural and social values. He called on the Chief Minister to take note and halt what he termed exploitation.

Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam also weighed in, stating that his office had taken serious note of the proposed retreat. He said Gurez is not merely a tourist destination but part of Kashmir's sacred cultural landscape, shaped over generations by faith, scholarship and spiritual tradition, and that its hospitality should not be mistaken for indifference to its moral and cultural character.

Urging the Chief Minister, the J&K Police and the administration to act at once, the Grand Mufti sought transparency about the event. He asked authorities to verify the organisers, examine the full programme and its promotional material, establish what permissions were granted, and ensure that nothing contrary to law or to the legitimate religious and cultural sensitivities of the people is allowed. Kashmir welcomes guests but does not surrender its values, he said, adding that tourism must serve the dignity of the land and its people rather than become a pretext for practices incompatible with their convictions.