Round The States

New Delhi, 25 June 2008                  

Amarnath Yatra Controversy

COMMUNALISM AT ITS WORST

By Insaf

Communal politics was at its diabolical worst in Jammu and Kashmir this past week. Scandalously, a section of Kashmiri Muslims, led by the Hurriyat and other separatist leaders, are protesting against the allotment of 100 acres of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which manages the annual pilgrimage of the Hindus to the cave shrine, saying it is a “ploy to turn Muslims into a minority in Kashmir.” Not only has a divided Hurriyat Conference come together on the issue after six years, but the Congress-led government’s coalition partner, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) wants the land transfer to be revoked and is holding a meeting on Monday to consider pulling out of the Government. This apart, for the first time, Kashmir University students have joined the protest. The outgoing Governor, Lt Gen S K Sinha, who is the chief of the Board and his CEO, Arun Kumar have come under fire.  Worse, the land controversy has polarised the political parties, wherein those in Muslim-majority Kashmir have their guns trained at those in Hindu-dominated Jammu and vice versa.

The allotment of the land at Baltal in Sonmarg and Domail at Phalgam, to the SASB for developing an Amarnath colony for smooth pilgrimage was made by the Congress-led government of Ghulam Nabi Azad, who hails from Jammu, on May 26. The Kashmiri separatists are, however, using the excuse that the colony for the pilgrims, under construction “will pollute the environment of health resorts of both Pahalgam and Sonmarg!” The PDP’s Deputy Chief Minister Muzzafar Hussain Beg has gone a step further and absurdly alleged that the Board has plans to put up permanent structures “to settle non-Kashmiris and change the Muslim-majority character of the Valley.” Governor Sinha has rubbished this as “an orchestrated campaign” and not a single permanent structure has been constructed by the Board. The BJP, led by L K Advani sees the controversy as a dangerous ploy -- “to stop forever the annual pilgrimage”. His fear is compounded further by PDP’s Mufti Mohammed Sayeed asking Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to “re-look on the desirability of a separate Board.”

The controversy is getting murkier with the Jammuites countering the separatists’ protests by questioning the construction of the Mughal Road connecting the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch with Shopian in the Valley. The BJP has said that the Road will not only pose a danger to the bio-diversity of the area but will also help the protagonists of Greater Kashmir as well as Pakistan achieve what they couldn’t in 60 years.” Besides, it feels that a section of the government is resorting to a disinformation campaign to discredit the yatra, because contrary to reports no one had died of a stampede during the pilgrimage. Regrettably, religious polarization has never been so worse, and that too in a militancy-ridden State, which is yearning to limp back to normalcy.

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Telengana Springs Surprise

The Telengana issue is not dead, nor the Telangana sentiment, contrary to what all the major political parties started believing following the rout of the Telengana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the recent by-elections. The separatist sentiment, a major headache for the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh, hit the main Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Monday last when two top leaders, including T. Devendra Goud, considered No.2 in the party, resigned from the TDP and also from the Assembly. The resignation of a top backward class leader has come as a sever jolt to the TDP and its leader, N. Chandrababu Naidu. Goud has not yet spelt out his future plans. But it is almost certain that he will launch a party of his own for the creation of Telengana as a separate State. He has experience and stature, having served as excise, revenue and home minister at different points of time. Importantly, a number of TDP and other leaders in favour of Telengana are in touch with Goud and may soon join him. 

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Floods Fury in Eastern Region

The governments of West Bengal, Assam and Orissa are swamped in trouble, with the flood situation turning grim last week in all three States. In Bengal, so far around 23 lakh people have been rendered homeless, 16,000 houses destroyed, crops worth crores of rupees damaged and 25 people killed in East and West Midnapore Districts. The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government announced a relief package of Rs 6 crore for the affected areas and the Army had to air drop food packets, basic medicines and drinking water. Too late, according to the Congress. It slammed the Left Front government for its “callous approach,” as it had been forewarned by the weather department, but made no contingency plans! However, the tables were turned on the Congress in Assam, where its government under Tarun Gogoi admitted that the State, too reeling under floods, has been tackling the situation “with ad hoc measures”. Eight lakh people are homeless and 22 have died so far in Assam. In Orissa too over 10 lakh people in 900 villages are reeling under flood fury. The Naveen Patnaik government has sought more helicopters from the defence ministry for relief operations. The Centre would need to come to their rescue.

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Sikhs Run Riot In Mumbai

Mumbaikars were yet again held to ransom, this time not by the Shiv Sainiks or Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers, but by the Sikhs in the north-eastern suburb of Mulund. Saturday last saw Sikh mobs armed with lathis and swords attacking vehicles and trains and squatting on railway tracks, protesting the killing of a Sikh by bodyguards of the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda Sect, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. The latter was shopping in Mulund on Friday when Sikh protestors confronted him and one of his bodyguards allegedly fired killing a protestor. Ironically, the Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, infamous for taking issues to the streets is angry about the “open display of swords, assaults on innocent people, forced closure of shops and vandalizing property”. And, sees no reason why the common man and public property should be targeted. After all it was the “Shiv Sena which protected Sikhs in Mumbai in 1984 during the anti-Sikh riots”. Thackeray has warned that if the Sikhs repeated the act “we will hit back.” The question that he needs to answer is-- wouldn’t the common Mumbaikar be affected then?  

Jharkhand Goes International 

The tribals of Jharkhand are like the good old hindustani proverb ‘ghar ki murghi daal barabar.”  Even as their art goes unrecognized in their own country, its beginning to catch international gaze. For them all roads now lead to Rome. Indigenous art form of Kohvar and Sohrai paintings, from Hazaribagh district is not only being show-cased in the cultural capital of the world, Rome, but is gathering much interest and money. Over 100 replicas of the traditional wall and cave paintings, produced by mud-treated cloth and paper along with three lifestyle murals have become the centre of attraction at an exhibition in Luigi Pigorini National Museum of prehistory and Ethnography in Rome.  Thanks to the initiative shown by the Hazaribagh-based Tribal Women Artists Cooperative (TWAC) in taking the exhibition to Rome, there may be no looking back for the tribals hereafter.---INFA

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