Dispute Over Shivling Worship at Mawjymbuin Cave In Meghalaya: High Court Asks Hindu Society, Village Council To Resolve Issue

The Meghalaya High Court has asked a Hindu organization and a village council to amicably settle their dispute regarding the council’s prohibition on worship at a cave with a 'Shivling' near Mawsynram, one of the rainiest places on earth.

Earlier on 6 August, an Assam-based Hindu group threatened to block key roads leading to Meghalaya if the dorbar shnong (village council) of Mawsynram did not revoke its ban on pilgrimages to the Mawjymbuin cave, located around 60 km southwest of Shillong.

This pilgrimage was organised by Yatra, a registered religious society.

Members of Yatra approached the High Court claiming Hindus have been worshipping Lord Shiva at the cave during the month of Shravan for years.

The organisation provided documentation of permissions granted for the pilgrimage by district authorities from 2011 to 2023, along with annual no-objection certificates (NOCs) issued by the village council.

The organisation’s counsel informed the court that there has never been an effort to establish a formal place of worship at the cave. Pilgrims have merely engaged in the practice of sprinkling water on the natural lingam.

During the hearing on Thursday (8 August), the High Court granted the respondents additional time to attempt to resolve the issue concerning the issuance of the NOC.

The next hearing has been scheduled for 14 August.

About 60 km southwest of Meghalaya’s capital Shillong, Mawjymbuin near Mawsynram is a 209-metre-high natural cave made up of calcareous sandstones.

A major attraction in the cave is a Shivaling below water-dripping stalactites.

The Mawsynram village council refused to permit worship or rituals at the Mawjymbuin cave following an announcement by a Hindu group on 1 August that it would organise a pilgrimage, akin to the Kanwar Yatra, to the cave on 10 and 11 August.

The council’s decision sparked discontent with another organisation, the Assam-based Kutumba Surakshya Parishad, which cautioned that the prohibition on worshipping at the cave could lead to trouble for Meghalaya residents visiting Assam.

“The Meghalaya government should make proper arrangements for Hindus to worship the Shivaling during the sacred month of Shravan apart from making the local village body withdraw the ban,” the parishad’s president, Satya Ranjan Borah said, The Hindu reported.

Borah accused Christian organizations of “forcing” the village council into preventing Hindus from fulfilling their “religious duties” at the cave.

He also warned that his organization would block highways leading to Meghalaya if the State government did not ensure a smooth pilgrimage for Lord Shiva’s devotees.

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