Jhiri | Jhiri Mela | Jammu Jhiri Mela | Baba Jittoo Temple | J&K Jhiri Mela 2024 | History | Significance | Celebration & more.

Jhiri | Jhiri Mela | Jammu Jhiri Mela | Baba Jittoo Temple |  J&K Jhiri Mela 2024| History | Significance | Celebration & more. 

Annual Jhiri Mela begins in Jhiri Village Jammu:

In India festivals & fairs are an intrinsic part of Indian culture and civilization celebrated with great fervor and gaiety because these are the constituent part of Indian culture and civilization since ancient times. These festivals and fairs are also the lifeline and backbone of Indian culture and civilization and in the Northern parts of India people from all walks of life celebrate and take an active part in fairs and festivals with great enthusiasm and dedication. Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory of India is a prominent example of observing these fairs and festivals of all faiths with great respect and love. 

Today in this blog I am going to tell our readers and Viewers about a historical, famous week-long fair called Jhiri Mela Jammu, its History, significance, celebration, and meaning of this annual seven days fair being celebrated every year on a mass level in a historical village about 22 kilometers away from District Headquarters Jammu called Jhiri. 

Every  year this seventh day of Jhiri Mela(fair) is celebrated in October- November in which lakhs of devotees from many parts of  India, especially from North India participate with great devotion and spirit in Jhiri Mela and visit the first Jhiri Village to pay homage in the twin temples of Baba Jittoo and his daughter Bua Kouri and then visit an adjoining village called as Shamachak where hundreds of small memorials have been built by the devotees in the memory of their revered Hero and it is organized in collaboration with the Government of Jammu and Kashmir which looks after most of the arrangements for smooth conduct of Jhiri Mela  like Sanitation, electricity, pure drinking water supply, Security, Medical facilities for devotes, maintenance of better road connectivity, adequate ration supply, mobile toilets, deployment fire tenders, boarding and lodging for devotees, etc 

This annual Jhiri Mela(fair) is held in District Jammu in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India from October- November. This Fair exhibits the symbol of honesty, courage, compassion, and brotherhood and adds cultural values to our society. 

Jhiri Mela is also popularly known as the farmer's fair which is being held by the masses the history behind this fair is about a legend of a farmer named Baba Jittoo highly revered and respected by the people 

History :  

The History of Jhiri Mela Jammu goes back to the 15th  AD and there was a Brahmin namely  Baba Jit Mal who was a strong devotee of MATA VAISHNO DEVI goddess who lived in the village of Aghaar Jittoo near the Holy Town Katra, the base camp of Mata Vaishno Devi in DIstrict Reasi J&K, India and he used to perform Pooja Archa (Prayers) of Goddess Mata Vaishno Devi.  Soon after a girl was born to Jit Mal, he decided to work as a farmer and live a life of hardworking peasants for his family but he had no land. He then thought to approach the ruler of Jammu and accordingly, he wanted the then ruler of Jammu namely Raja Ajaib Dev (1426 AD- 1474 A/D ), and prayed in front of him for a junk of land. 

The king taking mercy on him give him a barren piece of land at village Jhiri about twenty-two kilometers from Jammu city and fixed a condition for Jit Mal that he will give fifty percent of the proceeds of the crops to him (king). The condition fixed by the king was agreed upon by him. 

After getting the land, Jit Mal worked very hard in the fields day in and day out and sowed the crops of wheat due to his dedication and hard work, a huge quantity of wheat crop was grown in a comparatively smaller field. The message of the huge production of wheat crops spread like a fire in every nook and corner of the adjoining villages and people started rushing to this village to see the crop this message also reached the then king of Jammu. 

The king himself visited the place to see the huge production of wheat crops and after seeing it, the king became greedy and demanded 75 percent of the crop yield instead of the already agreed fifty percent from Jit Mal. After hearing this from the king, Jit Mal was surprised and disappointed but being a brave heart decided not to bow down before the king's whims which were common practice at that time, and refused to give 75 percent of the produce to the king. Then king after hearing the refusal of Jit Mal, he immediately ordered his men to forcibly lift the crop to which he resisted and appealed to the king to look after the interests of the farmers who work hard day and night in the fields for their survival but the king did not bother to listen to his arguments. Jit Mal finds after finding himself in a helpless position before the king, finally ended his life on the heap of crops and his daughter also followed her father by ending her life too. 

It is said that after this unfortunate incident that took place, many miseries fell upon the kingdom and whoever had taken a grain suffered badly and the same thing repeated with the king and his family. Ultimately people along with the king realizing his spiritual connectivity visited the site where Jit Mal had ended his life and held a condolence meeting there as well prayed for his soul. It was decided by the king himself to build a temple and some memorials in his honor as a tribute at the site which was accordingly built by the king himself. 

A week-long fair is held every year here in memory of Jit Mal well known as Baba Jitto since then and the sacrifice of Baba Jitto is recalled by various prayers and means. In this week-long fair- Jhiri Mela farmers along with their families from different parts of J&K, Punjab, and other parts of North India participate in this fair by visiting the place to pay due homage to the saint Baba Jitto. 

Significance  & Celebration : 

The most significant thing about this place is that there is a pond at the place and it is firmly believed that the ladies who don't conceive are blessed with a child if they have a bath in this pond and people have big faith in  JHIRI MELA  and traditions associated with it. Many sports activities like wrestling, tug of war, and volleyball are organized under the aegis of the Khelo India project. During this seven-day Fair, big hustle and bustle are witnessed at Jhiri, and many other activities are also made available for the people.

Other Main attractions : 

The other main attraction of the fair is the exhibition of arts and crafts, vegetables, awareness camps by many Government Departments,  hybrid fruits, etc. The other major attractions during the day's fair are wrestling competitions, sports activities, activities of fun and fair for children, amusement Park, cultural and traditional folk and theatre, local cuisine, Holy Bawa Jitto Temple, etc.

Major Activities of  Attraction   :

The major activities which remain an attraction of visitors during the ten-day fair are depictions of activities under Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, on big led panels, imparting big awareness on employment generation Avenues,  Nukaad Nataks on socially relevant themes viz; Atm Nirbhar Bharat, Nasha Mukut Abhiyan, Beti Bachao Beti Padao, Swachhata Abhiyan, course of Bhajan Sandhya, Gayatri Deep Yagya besides other routine activities.

About Jhiri Mela

Jhiri Mela (fair) is observed with great honor to pay homage and obeisance to Baba Jitto, the Hero of peasants who sacrificed his life for the cause of the farmers in 15 AD. Jhiri Mela(Jhiri Festival) Jammu is a socio-religious event that could not be organized in two years Covid 19 pandemic period last year in 2022, Jhiri Mela Jammu was observed On a mass scale by the Government of Union Territory Government of Jammu and Kashmir, India where more than ten lakh people from different parts of the country like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, etc and abroad participated with great enthusiasm and devotion.

Jammu to Jhiri Distance

The maximum distance from Jammu city to Village Jhiri where the annual Jhiri Mela is held is about 20 kilometers via NH 144-A. One can easily reach here from the Jammu Bus stand by boarding a bus, hiring a taxi, Cab, Ola, tempo, etc in forty to fifty minutes only.

How to Reach Jhiri

Devotees, Tourists traders, and farmers along with families come from different parts of the country and abroad to participate in Jhiri Mela. These reach Jammu first by road, air, and train and then travel to Jhiri Village by road in their vehicles or hire taxis, cabs, buses, tempos, etc from the Bus Stand, Railway Station, or Airport Jammu to reach Jhiri village for participation in the Jhiri Mela. Proper staying arrangements are made by the government for the participants and one can stay in Jammu where the best quality of Hotels, restaurants, and big markets are available at affordable prices. The government of Jammu and Kashmir makes special arrangements for the pilgrims and visitors for their night stays at Jhiri which is about twenty kilometers away from Jammu city.

Conclude :

Jhiri Mela Jammu a socio-religious event is North India's second biggest fair after Pushkar Mela of Rajasthan. This one-week Jhiri Mela(fair) Jammu signifies the spirituality, honesty, innocence, courage, humility, and truth fullness of legendary farmer Baba Jitu and is being observed on Kartik Purnima I.e. late autumn full Moon. The administration makes detailed arrangements at the Site for devotees, tourists, and trade as it always becomes a big mega event and last year more than ten lakh people participated in Jammu Jhiri Mela on a grand scale. Last year  7-day Jhiri Mela  was organized on the 9th of November 2022 and as per the reports around 2 lakh, devotees visited Jhiri Mela on the first day I.e. on the 7th of November 2022 to pay obeisance at the Holy shrine of Baba Jitto Ji. 

Jhiri Mela Jammu could not be organized due to the outbreak of Cold 19 in the country for two years but last year in 2022, it witnessed a heavy rush of pilgrims and devotees from Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country, especially North India. Last year more than fifteen lakh devotees participated in the Festival and paid their obeisance at the Shrine of Baba Jitoo and had a holy bath in the Sarovar called Bawa ka Talab.  Jhiri Mela  2022 last year was organized for ten days which happened for the first time in the history of Jhiri Mela.

It is due to elaborate and extraordinary arrangements as well as the untiring efforts of the District Administration of Jammu, that the Jhiri Mela always proved to be a grand success for which their role is highly laudable in all its forms. The ten days of Jhiri Mela Jammu 2022 concluded on 16th November 2022 with the chanting of Vedic Mantras and ended with a happy note. 

This year in 2024 ,Historic week long Annual Jhiri Mela commenced at Village Jhiri in sub Division Marh Jammu on 14th November 2024 in which lakhs of people from several Northern States of the country like Punjab, Harayana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi NCR are participating. This week long festival begins on Kartik Purnima every year. A large number of people from different parts of the country have started arriving Jhiri Village site to participate in the  seven days festival. The devotees will perform special Puja at the holy shrine of the Baba Jittoo and Bua Kouri to seek their  blessings.  community  Langar is arranged throught out the festival at the shrine. Eloborate arregements of safety and security for the pilgrims have been made by the Police and Civil administration. The traffic police with additional deployment have  been pressed in place to regulate the traffic and public crowd  at the site. Special buses and mini buses have been engaged to facilitate the devotees and people.

This Mela is connected with the supreme sacrifice of Baba Jeet Mal, popularly known as Baba Jitto, who raised voice against the exploitation of the farmers at the hands of Jamindars of olden times. 

The Tourism Department Government of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is a major stakeholder in promoting the event through various media channels. The other key areas of focus include sanitation, cleanliness, provisions of mobile toilets, waste management, power supply and cleaning of water bodies for devotees, setting up of control rooms, public announcement booth, security, and traffic management with crucial emphasis on maintaining law and order for the big success of this mega festival. Banks and mobile ATM facilities are provided for devotees and the public. Additionally, special thrust is being laid on fumigation and fogging to protect devotees from diseases. Other matters related to this historic festival like food testing and other responsibilities of the legal metrology Department are also taken care of, especially during this week-long festival which commenced on 14th of November 2024.

Thank you from : 

Team Panaromicspots.

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