Karachi priest brings ashes of 400 Hindus and Sikhs for final rites in Haridwar, attends Maha Kumbh

Mishra believes his ancestors were from Chakia village near Sangam, Prayagraj.

Ramnath Mishra, the head priest of the Panchmukhi Hanuman Temple and crematorium in Pakistan’s Karachi, has come on a special mission to immerse the ashes of 400 Hindus and Sikhs in the holy river at Haridwar.

As per the Times of India report, Ramnath Mishra claims to be from the only Mishra family in Pakistan’s economic capital.

Staying in Sector 24 of the Maha Kumbh area with his family, Mishra recently performed the sacred thread ceremony of his nine-year-old son at the camp of Swami Adhokshajanand. He plans to take the holy water of the Sangam (the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati) to Delhi, where he will conduct a worship ceremony for the urns of ashes at Nigam Bodh Ghat on February 21.

After that, a chariot procession will carry the ashes from Delhi to Haridwar, where they will be immersed in a stream of 100 litres of milk at Sati Ghat on February 22, Mishra informed.

During his visit, Mishra met with Swami Adhokshajanand Devtirth, along with his family, including his mother Kamala Devi, wife, son Devendranath Mishra, two daughters, and a nephew.

He shared that the Panchmukhi Hanuman temple in Karachi had once been captured, but after significant efforts, the temple was vacated. The crematorium there has also been renovated and can now handle the cremation of 15 bodies at a time. A special house for ashes has also been built at the crematorium, where many urns have been collected over the past nine years.

Mishra said that after his visa for India was approved, he gathered the ashes to perform the oblation. His ancestors have been serving the Panchmukhi Hanuman temple for 1,500 years. Though he is not in contact with his family in India, Mishra believes his ancestors were from Chakia village near Sangam, Prayagraj.

Mishra, a follower of the Nath sect, also expressed his admiration for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. "Although my visa was only for Lucknow, I requested permission to visit other holy cities. Yogi Adityanath granted permission to visit Prayagraj, Kashi, Mathura, and Ayodhya without any delay," he said.

Mishra also urged the Indian government to ease visa rules for Hindus living in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. "If the government is willing to offer protection to Hindus in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, there should be no obstacles in granting visas to Hindus from these countries," he added.