Haridwar, Aug. 24 -- Hundreds of devotees whose ancestors hailed from the Multan region, now in Pakistan, participated in the annual Multan Jot pilgrimage in Haridwar on Sunday, keeping alive a tradition that dates back to 1911. The devotees, many of whom are now settled in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, took a holy dip in the Ganga and offered milk at Brahma Kund at Har-ki-Pauri amid prayers and religious rituals. They also floated lighted cotton wicks, or jots, on the river and participated in devotional hymns. The annual pilgrimage is traced back to 1911, when Roop Chand, a resident of Multan in undivided India, is said to have undertaken a pilgrimage on foot to Haridwar and offered lighted jots in the Ganga. Since then, the tradition has continued, with descendants of families originally from the Multan region gathering in Haridwar every year to honour the spiritual legacy. The Multan Jot pilgrimage has acquired a prominent place in Haridwar's annual religious calendar, particularly during the Shravan season, attracting devotees from several parts of north India. The annual yatra is organised by the Akhil Bharat Multan Sanghtan. Devotees said participating in the pilgrimage said the tradition represented a spiritual connection between their ancestral homeland in Multan and Haridwar, which has continued across generations despite the Partition of India in 1947. "It is a spiritual legacy of devotion and strength that Roop Chand laid down, bonding Multan and Haridwar and, thereby, post-Partition India and Pakistan too. The Multan Jot tradition gives the message of worship, bonding, unity and brotherhood. We also hope relations between the two neighbouring countries ease, leading to mutual cooperation and greater exchange in religious, cultural and trade affairs," said Dr Mahendra Nagpal, president of Akhil Bharatiya Multan Sanghtan. Senior teerth purohit pandit Avikshit Raman said the Multan Jot was among the largest such pilgrimages held in Haridwar in Shravan-Sawan....