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| Let politicians face truth howsoever bitter it may be | | Amarnath land transfer controversy | | Bharat Bhushan
Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 30: The holy Amarnath yatra starts from July 2 but the people of Jammu region have still not forgotten the highly irresponsible and condemnable role of the leaders of mainstream Kashmir-centric political parties during the 2008 Amarnath land row. When we look at the past, we find that their role had mainly remained confined to divide people in the name of religion and region, consolidate their vote bank and nurture their constituencies. Their fiery speeches had only done the work of adding fuel to the fire and further aggravating the already volatile situation. It was a situation that politicians had exploited to the fullest in their favour. No effort was made by any of them to find a solution to the problem.
The 62-day-long agitation was marked by widespread protests, bandhs, civilian killings and curfew. Had the politicians then shun the "divisive" politics, shown a little bit of maturity and held deliberations with the agitated people of both Jammu and Kashmir regions, the trouble could have been avoided or made less severe. But everyone, be it the separatists or the mainstream Valley politicians, all had opposed in one voice the transfer of land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board to raise temporary shelters for pilgrims at Baltal. The agitation had taken the shape of people's movement in Jammu region but the government was not at all moved. Despite the over 2-month-long stir, spearheaded by Sangarsh Samiti, the land was not transferred to the shrine board. BJP was the main constituent of the Samiti. It is in power now. Will it now take the suo moto initiative of convincing its alliance partner and other Kashmiri parties that the land was not going to be transferred to some outside agency, and that it was going to remain there in the valley itself for all times to come? But people don't feel that the Saffron Brigade would do so, mainly because it had gone off-track after coming to power in J&K nearly four months back.
BJP's double-speak stands exposed now. It fought the last state polls on the issues of Article 370, delimitation of constituencies and ending discrimination with Jammu and Ladakh regions. But to embrace power, it buried all these issues under the carpet. Some Kashmiri parties are too known for their double-speak. They would speak the language of separatists and plead the cause of Pakistan in Kashmir, in Jammu, they would present themselves as true nationalists and in New Delhi, they would accuse Pakistan and separatists of fomenting trouble in Kashmir and term them as the biggest roadblocks in the restoration of peace.
NC' Farooq Abdullah too had opposed the land transfer to the shrine board despite the fact it was only to be transferred and not allocated. It was only for a period of two months in a year when Amarnath pilgrims visited Kashmir and no permanent structure was to be constructed. And yet, we had the Hurriyat and some leaders crying hoarse over "threat to demographics, ecological damage and danger to Kashmiriyat".
Omar Abdullah was MP when the controversy erupted over the Amarnath land transfer issue. In his July 22, 2008 impassionate speech, that he delivered in the parliament, he was appreciated by many. Even the national TV news channels had termed it as one of the best parliament speeches. Let me tell you that you and your father Farooq Abdullah have the distinction of never playing with the secessionist sentiments of the people of Kashmir. As you began your speech that you are a Muslim and you are an Indian and there was no difference between the two, you were speaking straight from your heart. In fact, you never needed to say that, you have always proved it. But I differ with the widespread appreciation generated by your extempore speech. For it was neither addressed to the parliament nor to the countrymen who were watching you live on TV news channels. It was for sure aimed at Muslims of Kashmir whom you were going to ask for their votes in the assembly polls that were due in the state after four months, ie in November.
You were also vocal in criticising BJP for its communal agenda while not minding to side with it in toppling the government. I know and you also know that your party tasted the defeat in Kashmir in the 2002 assembly polls for not having resigned on the Gujarat riots. NC lost the elections, mainly because it was blamed for sharing power with the "communal BJP" at the Centre. But you apologised to the Kashmiri Muslims in your parliament speech. This was the best opportunity to do so in view of the approaching assembly elections.
Your speech was a rhetoric at its best. But you lacked the same moral courage, which you displayed in the parliament to denounce "Hindu communalists", to publicly criticise the Muslim communalists in the valley, who are seeking the secession of Kashmir from the secular India just because Kashmir is a Muslim majority region.
I feel sad the way you had defended in the parliament the Kashmir's anti-Amarnath land transfer row which was not at all "secular" in nature. Let you tell the nation who was going to take away the land from Kashmir. The land was not allotted to BJP or any other Hindu organisation to settle down its communal brigade on it. It was to be transferred temporarily to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board to facilitate the pilgrimage. The shrine board is not an outside agency. It is just a state agency controlled by the state government itself. The fact of the matter is that you joined the chorus of competitive communalism that was initiated by your rivals and hijacked by the secessionists like Sayeed Ali Shah Geelani. What if the Hindus outside Kashmir rebel in the same way and seek vacation of Haj houses? But that has never been done and it will never be done in the secular India. In fact, this is the real strength of secular India.
Like you apologised to Kashmiri Muslims for joining hands with BJP, I wish you should have also apologised to the people of Jammu whom you had accused of being "communal". This was too shocking. Let you realise that many Kashmiri leaders and Kashmiris still feel safer in Jammu than in Kashmir and there have been no selective communal killings in Jammu. The Amarnath agitation in Jammu was secular in true sense as it was voluntarily supported by Muslims, Sikhs and Christians.
You also said that no Amarnath pilgrim was ever attacked in Kashmir. Let me tell you I myself have reported several such incidents. Let the record be also set right. Amarnath cave was not discovered by a Muslim shepherd about 150 years ago. This is wrong and misleading. The holy cave has its mention in many Hindu religious books, including the Neelamat Puran. Over 350 years back, when Kashmiri Pandits were subjected to atrocities during the regime of Aurangzeb, who ruled New Delhi from July 31, 1658 to March 3, 1707, they had gone to the Amarnath cave shrine to seek the divine intervention. When the KPs visited the shrine 0ver 350 years ago, can it be taken as true that a Muslim shepherd had discovered it 150 years ago? No right thinking man would ever digest this theory. They had also decided to approach Guru Teg Bahadur (April 1, 1621 - November 11, 1675) at Anandpur Sahib as he then protected Hindus against their forced conversion in the Aurangzeb's regime.
You said you would fight for your land till your "death breath". But that land also belongs to Kashmiri Pandits and several Dogra families who fled the valley over 25 years back due to the fear of gun-toting militants. Will you help them to get their lands back?
Let us all face the truth howsoever bitter it may be. |
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