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| Is Kashmir hunt for a mysterious owl or Osama? | | Rumour mills are abuzz even in Delhi | | NEW DELHI | JAN. 27
A hunt has been launched in Kashmir for a mysterious owl. Both print and electronic media have, in recent days, added confusion to the already confusing scenario in the Valley. It all started with the circulation of a report by an unidentifed person or an unknown agency about Rs 30 lakhs as reward for the one who captured a three-kg owl.
A report fed to the Union Home Ministry said that groups of Kashmiris had engaged themselves in the "feverish" search for a three-kg owl which will eventually fetch Rs 30 lakhs. Even as some local officials in Srinagar and adjoining villages attempted to make the locals reject the "misleading message" vis-a-vis the existence in Kashmir of a three-kg owl, the search for the mysterious owl was not abandoned.
Interestingly, as days rolled by, the search began to keep the rumour mills abuzz in Kashmir. More importantly, even some Kashmir-watchers, based in Delhi, have, like many Kashmiris in the Valley, called for a correct answer to the question: Is the ongoing hunt in Kashmir for the mysterious owl or is it the search for Osama bin Laden?
After Pakistan Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz, reiterated on two consecutive days this week that Osama bin Laden "is not in Pakistan", a rumour was set afloat with regard to the undetected presence of bin Laden somewhere in Kashmir. No wonder, then, for the unanswered question: Is the hunt in Kashmir for an owl or is it for Osama bin Laden? And another unanswered question: Who is the man who travels from village to village in the Valley of Kashmir searching for that perfect (3-kg) own?
History bears testimony to the fact hat odd rumours tend to spread quickly in Kashmir. And the rumour triggered by the ongoing hunt in Kashmir has resulted in a talk, which, significantly, has jumped to the Internet. This has spawned some theories, including those that claim the owl-hunt is actually for Osama bin Laden.
Be that as it may, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Wildlife Warden, Farooq Gilani, has been quoted as saying: "There must be something-- some mischief behind this. We don't have any research as such on any owl...One has to find out from those newspapers and news agencies which had carried this story....One has to know who is this person who is going to buy these-- there may be something, some mischief behind this".
Interestingly, regardless of what officials say, people in Kashmir, though not all, are reportedly catching owls, keeping them in their homes and even feeding them meat in the hope that they may weigh three kg one day and fetch them a bumper price from the mysterious buyer. |
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