Blasphemy in Paradise
POLITICS | August 7, 2008 | Share
While the political circus during the trust vote was catching the eyeballs of all the news channels, a gorier reality drama was taking shape in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The battle of the land, over which many lives have been lost in the name of religion, has transcended political lines and assumed dangerous proportions.
No party has the unanimous ability to subside the riots and protests, and the Congress at the Centre is busy beseeching the BJP to calm the sentiments of activists and rioters who are involved in the violent demonstrations throughout Jammu and its adjoining areas,. They have successfully targeted Kashmir’s lifeline by blocking the Jammu-Srinagar highway. Not that Jammu is rich in essential commodities;. it too is facing shortage of daily necessities, including medicines. But since religion, as always, seems to come before civic and humane consideration to the chosen ‘people of God’, these protestors will stop at nothing less than having their demand fulfilled. They want a complete and permanent transfer of the land, earlier allotted to the Amarnath Shrine Board and then later revoked, much to the ire of the Hindu population in the state. The consequences of the entire episode have been equally unfortunate, a fact which anyone in touch with the daily news will affirm.
An erstwhile peaceful state has finally fallen prey to indigenous religious extremism. Even while it had special privileges by virtue of being a disputed state over which major international wars have been fought, the Paradise on Earth had retained its peace and scenic beauty post 1947. This tranquil phase had an early demise in the 1990s with new found terrorist activities finding expression and driving away Kashmiri Pandits from their homes in the valley. Even today, the rural ruins are reflected in the burnt or half-constructed abandoned homes. So, while terrorism has wreaked havoc in the valley since the 1990s, Jammu (which, as many people are unaware, has a distinct identity from Kashmir) has remained the more peaceful of the two capitals. Till this recent communalist flare up that is; this is one of the most violent episodes in recent times. It has now reared its head to prove who the King is It is a rather collective ‘Hindutva” endeavour to fight till the last drop of blood has been shed and to not settle for anything less than compete and permanent transfer of land.
As the matter seemed well settled in early July, when the Shrine Board and the State Government were willing to reach a compromise on the land transfer issue, all one had to do to withhold the protests from subsiding was commit suicide over the case. This inflamed the passionate hearts of religious zealots, who would not let this sacrifice go waste. Not only did this prick religious sentiments, its consequences also elicited the uglier side of religious strife.
What seems conspicuous in the whole episode is the clash of ardent religious sentiments. Though this is nothing new for India, but it does make one ponder for the zillionth time about the idea of peace and harmony that has been propagated by these religions when interpreted in their purest form, and its completely antagonistic expression in religious riots. So while we learn parables in school, like “United We Stand Divided We Fall” and the story of the fight between two Cats with the monkey running away with the bait, the episode has left no stone unturned in defying these morals and exposing the immaturity of the people and the parties.
The earlier clash of differences between the Jammu side of the State and the Valley, though visible mostly through culture and topography, is now displayed in the form of full blown violence and hatred from both the Muslims in Srinagar and the Hindus in Jammu.
Ultimately, we must remember that it is not the land of the Shrine Board that had been taken away by the Government and returned (thus justifying its transfer) but the Government’s land that was given to the Board and then taken back. Environmentalists were those who initially opposed the land transfer since the Shrine Board would be building permanent settlements on those premises. This took a political turn when the parties in the valley charged the land transfer with the intent to change the Muslim majority of the area. Well, responding to this were the parties in Jammu that would not step down on this issue. Politics and religion has again proved a potent combination that has exacerbated into a full blown conflict. Bringing religion only inflames orthodox views of the great Hindu-Muslim divide that will never be bridged, in the waking memory of anyone. So forget Pakistan and calling for support from the International community against terrorism in India which is supposedly eventually funded through Pakistan, the sustenance of the state is threatened from within itself and the ‘enemy’ cannot be blamed for picking on these raw wounds, eventually leaving Jammu and Kashmir vulnerable when faced with indigenous strife.
Charulata Somal
(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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The amarnath land row has taken a serious toll on the serene valley.The people of kashmir have been conducting the yatra since hundreds of years not considering the independence of the country..and during this period it is the humble population of the valley which has conducted the sacred pilgrimage and not the jammu population.
The land which had been issued to the amarnath shrine board was forest land for the construction of ammenities for the pilgrims.But construction of buildings on forest land is prohibited as it disturbs the ecological balance.So in order to revoke the land order the people of the valley started demonstrating and finally got it repealed but accompanied by the death of a few people..but then as soon as the land order was revoked the people of jammu went on agitating violently saying that the kashmiris consider The sacred amarnath yatra to be a burden on themm but i think the people of jammu really need a wake up call since when have they really cared about the yatra?? They have been agitating for over 3 weeks now..but how can kashmiris stay behind???? The people of kashmir are fighting tooth and nail for the land issue but now at this stage the issue has become a free for all battle and the basic issue is lost..the communal parties have now brought religion into the the matter which was in no way connected to the issue…Now the land issue has taken a back seat and now finally thanks to god the kashmiris have arisen from their deep sleep and are finally looking for a way out or a solution for their mother land….Their is no end to the violence in kashmir..if ever suppression and killings have taken place it has always been kashmir and not jammu ,even in the years of trumoil its always been kashmir who has veeb badly hit where as jammu has eveer since being developed?
The land row has just added a large amount of fuel to the embers………the spirit has revived itself…the people now want justice ,…they are just fishing for a solution not the land issue..witjh death toll just rising to about 35…its 10:35 pm in the evening and people are out of their houses protesting against the injustice carried out thorught the day by the indian army…houses were plundered , windows broken,cars set ablaze,,mosques destroyed..people flogged…but alas the rock solid kashmiris are not going to break thsi time..we surely are out of essential supplies like medicines,vegetables,newspapers have no papers,,fruits our industries are the worst hit but still we are going to carry out our protests no matter what happens ..i being a kashmiri feel proud of the mass awakening that has finally helped us to realise our dream….i just want to convey a message with over 35 deaths in kashmir till now in just past 3 days (ha the total bein 120,000 since independence of india) only one person has died in the jammu region and that too he just killed himself..what is the crpf doing there?? or is it that only kashmiris have to suffer…being grown in turmoil i just pray that the momentum of thsi movement is not lost so that we now have a solution for our paradise!