Simmering Valley

on August 12, 2008

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Ananth Venkatesh

The protests in J & K over the issue of the revocation of the command of the state Government to transfer 100 acres of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board has brought to the fore the unpleasant divisiveness hidden underneath the superficially secular fabric of the state.

The decision to bequeath enormous acres of land to the Shrine Board, constituted by the enactment of an Act by the provincial legislature, has been an immensely controversial one, with allegations of varying degrees being leveled by numerous political and extremist outfits operating in the state. The fierce marches in the Kashmir valley against the earlier pro-land transfer order of the State Government was followed by a feeble surrender of the Government to the principal demand of the protestors, which was to rescind the decree.

The subsequent protest rallies in Jammu, organised by the Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti and right-wing parties, against the nullification of the land transfer edict has sorrowfully led to the communalisation of the matter. The accusation, hurled by the fanatically separatist Hurriyat Conference, of the Indian State intending to transform J&K demographically, needs to be treated contemptuously. Such an indictment is worthless. Nevertheless, the violent protest marches in Kashmir and the consequent appeasement of the agitators by mainstream political groups is reflective of the desirousness of Kashmiris for genuine autonomy laden with undertones of nationalism. This is a volatile combination, which the Indian Government needs to vigilantly view. PDP, whose ministers were constituents of the J&K cabinet when the ruling to bestow land to the Board was passed, have to shoulder some portion of the blame for the unstable predicament plaguing their state currently.

The pilgrims to Amarnath need to be provided with enriched amenities. Land, a sensitive issue in the state, needs to be provided for the betterment of the experience of the pilgrims. Temporary allocation of land to the Board during the months of the pilgrimage is a satisfactory solution, as propagated by ex-CM of J&K, Farooq Abdullah, recently. The autonomous temperament of the Shrine Board must be maintained credibly. Bestowal of enhanced services for the pilgrims is a liability of the Central and state Government.

The blockade of Kashmir, implemented by the agitated Jammuites, is a kind of economic Balkanisation, severely affecting the economy of Kashmir. An all-party delegation headed by the Foreign Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, and Home Minister, Shivaraj Patil, to settle the disputation is a promising step. Nonetheless, this delegation needs to be entrusted with powerfulness to solve the crisis there, which is marring the state and tearing apart its erstwhile secular culture. This should not be a toothless delegation, which is hampered by disablement.

The ideological separation of the province is indicative of the lugubrious termination of the secularism of the region. Kashmir, famous for its one-time secularism, manifested by the discovery of the Amarnath Cave by a Muslim family more than one hundred years back and the management of the pilgrimage with the assistance of the Kashmiri Muslims, is in an endangered position. The demonstrations in Kashmir were never directed at the pilgrims. A resolution to this contentious issue has to be found, because it threatens to disrupt the functioning of a vital and wobbly Indian region.

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