Jammu and Kashmir is again on boil and there are serious concerns about the revival of militancy in the State. The unfortunate part is that the process of normalization which had been making a slow progress and was getting closer to the goal of achieving normalcy in the State. Unfortunately some persons in authority for reasons unknown chose to rock the boat by creating an artificial crisis by transferring land belonging to the Forest department to the Amarnath Shrine board to provide facilities for the pilgrims going to the shrine.

For an outsider it would be difficult to understand why transfer of land belonging to the department of State to a board headed by State Governor who sits as representative of the Central Government should lead to a confrontation which brought life in the State to standstill, led to loss of valuable lives and injuries to thousands and finally the fall of the State Government headed by Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad.

More so it again provided an opportunity to the elements hostile to India in the valley to revive their slogans for holding a plebiscite in the State to decide its future as well as insurgency in the State. There were equally strong emotions expressed on the subject from Jammu side where Saffronites seized the opportunity to launch their own brand of slogans calling for State integration with the rest of the country and blocking the roads to prevent essential supplies from reaching the valley. The situation turned so ugly that many who were happy at the turn of events in the State started wondering if the clock was being turned back.

In such a situation, the vision of thousands of tourists visiting the valley, Railways making its impact by running trains through the valley and State witnessing many sport events were temporarily put on hold if not suspended indefinitely. The unfortunate part of the story is where was the need to make such a transfer of land to the Shrine Board and changing the age old practice of allowing State Tourism department making all arrangements for the Yatra including looking after the pilgrims. True that the Governor being a typical soldier was not aware of the sensitivities of local people on the issue of land transfer, but there was no such excuse for taking this step by State Government which had a popular mandate and was being run by politicians more aware of local sentiments.

Why the State chose to ignore the fact that the pilgrimage to the holy shrine was possible only because of the local hospitality and help. All pilgrims from Pahelgam onwards depended on locals who provided horses for carrying men and their luggage and in many cases even carried the old and sick on their shoulders. It was also forgotten that the shrine had been discovered by a local family of Muslims who get a share of the offerings at the shrine.

The typical norms of this pilgrimage had been undergoing changes in the last few years. With overtones of insurgency in the valley and rise of hard core Hinduism in parts of the country, what was once a symbol of tolerance and respect for the beliefs of each other was being replaced by religious fanatism. As the number of pilgrims rose, demand for extending the period of Yatra which was earlier limited to one month started being made. The worst mistake was made when the management of Yatra was handed over to the shrine board headed by State Governor instead of being handled by State Tourism department. From this time onwards it became a bone of contention between the political leadership headed by PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and State Governor.

The present crisis was a direct result of Governor trying to take his duties as chairnman of the shrine board more seriously as compared to his functions as the State Governor which called upon him to look at the entire State as his responsibility instead of being responsible for functioning of a shrine board only. The practices like making Muslim Chief Minister as chairman of the Waqf Board and Hindu Governor as chairman of the Shrine Board are at the root cause of the present controversy which goes against the secular ethos of people of Jammu and Kashmir and spirit of Kahmiriyat.

The State Government has resigned as it could not muster enough numbers and a new Governor N.N Vohra has taken over. One hopes that Mr Vohra who is more aware of the local people sentiments and Kashmiri ethos will be able to apply the healing touch and make the agitation on issue of land transfer to Shrine Board a bad memory and carry forward the process of normalization. The State was just ready for its forward march as militancy was on decline and people were keen to build the State again. The agitation has been a setback, but one hopes that it would not set the clock back and at best will prove to be only a brief pause.

There is, however, a danger that the sentiments aroused by the controversy may be used as a pretext for fanning regional and religious conflicts, but one only hopes that people of State will be able to see through these games and maintain their old traditions. The silver lining during this period was that that no Yatri or tourist was harmed and many of them got help from locals when needed, this spirit can help in healing the wounds.

Source - NPA

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