The state govt failed to curb Hindu militants’ provocative actions
JEDDAH: The then Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Gen. (retd.) S.K. Sinha, his Principal Secretary Arun Kumar and former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad are to blame for the recent turmoil in the state over a land dispute between Muslims and Hindus, said a senior leader of People Democratic Party (PDP).
“While Sinha showed little respect for local Muslim sensitivities, Azad also failed to realize the implications of the land’s transfer to Amarnath Shrine Board, precipitating a crisis, which turned into a calamity,” said Rafi Ahmad Mir, a member of the state legislative council.
The Kashmir government recently transferred nearly 40 hectares of forestland in the Baltal area to the shrine board. The land transfer issue snowballed into a full-blown controversy. The move drew sharp reaction across the political spectrum. “The land was already being used by the shrine board and there was no need to transfer it to the board. The governor had recommended thrice that the land should be given to the board when Mufti Muhammad Sayeed was the chief minister, but he turned it down,” Mir said.
He said when Azad took over as chief minister, the governor again sent the proposal to the government and to please Congress party’s Jammu vote bank, Azad decided to give the land to the Hindu trust. But the whole issue backfired. The PDP withdrew support to the Azad government resulting in the fall of his government and imposition of the president rule, Mir said.
Mir was disappointed that despite large-scale protest the land was handed over to the board. “Our party is strongly opposed to it. Moreover, there is a Supreme Court ruling which says that no forest land should be given to anybody without environmental clearance. But even the highest court’s guideline was not followed and the land was given to the board in a hastily taken decision,” Mir said.
Blasting both, the state and the central government for not handling the issue effectively, Mir said, “The state government allowed the situation to slip out of its hands. It failed to curb Hindu militants’ provocative actions that resulted in a counter protest from Muslims and several lives were lost in the violence. The central government also did nothing except forming committees,” Mir said.
The whole Kashmir Valley was under economic blockade imposed by Hindu militants for several days but no concrete actions were taken by either of the governments, Mir said.
An economic blockade enforced by militants led by Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jammu had hit the supply of essential commodities in the the Kashmir Valley and Muslim majority areas of Poonch, Rajouri and the Doda regions of Jammu division.
“Now we demand that the alternate trade route that is Rawalpindi Road or Poonch-Rawlacoat Road should be opened for Kashmiris so that they are not dependent on Jammu-Srinangar Highway which is always blocked by Hindu militant groups,” Mir said. The PDP leader also said that the trade and commerce activities should be promoted among Kashmiris on both the side.
Asserting that militancy is just one aspect of the Kashmir problem, Mir said, “The main problem is the alienation of the masses. If we are able to address this problem, I think we will go a long way.”
Speaking about the prospect of the PDP in the next state elections, he said, “Our party will form the next government in Kashmir on its own. We will be judged on the basis of our performance when Mufti Muhammad Sayeed was the chief minister for three years. A lot was done during that period to provide healing touch to the suffering masses of the state and to give them a sense of pride and dignity.”
To address Kashmir problem, the government of India should talk to all shades of opinion that are there. “They should talk to Kashmiris, even Pakistan because talking only to elected representatives is not going to solve the problem,” Mir said.
