Charar-e-Sharief shrine

The Charar-e-Sharief Shrine (also spelled Charar-i-Sharief, Charari Sharief, Chrari-Sharif, Tsrari sharief, etc.) is a Sufi shrine and mosque situated in the town of Charari Sharief in the Budgam district, in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is one of the oldest and sacrosanct shrines of Indian Muslims, including Kashmir Valley dedicated to a Kashmiri Sufi saint Nund Rishi.

The shrine and mosque, built in 1460 in honor of the revered Kashmiri Sufi saint Nund Rishi , stand as an important symbol of Kashmir’s syncretic religious and cultural heritage. Revered by Muslims and visited by Hindus alike, the site represents a long tradition of communal harmony in the region. In 1995, the Sufi shrine was destroyed in a fire under highly controversial circumstances. While Indian state narratives attempted to link the incident to the escape of a Pakistan-based militant, local residents have consistently maintained that the shrine was deliberately set on fire by the Indian Army during its operations in the area. The incident is widely cited by locals as an example of the Indian state’s disregard for Kashmiri religious heritage.