Another row, more poll fodder

The records of the Hajj and Auqaf ministry clearly indicate that the government had taken up the cases of waqf encroachment in Jammu seriously in 2006. In fact, the minutes of a meeting held by the then Principal Secretary, Revenue and Hajj and Auqaf, reveal that the government has been aware of the scale of these encroachments across Jammu, majority of it carried out by the government8217;s own departments like Education, Health, Rural Development, Public Works and Police. The minutes of the meeting also reveal that the government had issued directions to the encroachers, asking them to vacate the Jamia Mosque at RS Pora and return it to the Waqf. However, there has been no serious headway in these encroachment cases ever since.

Why has the issue of Waqf land encroachment come up now? The reason is that the assembly elections are just four months away. The latest controversy was triggered by outgoing Governor S.K. Sinha8217;s letter to the state government demanding the establishment of an independent development authority controlled by the Amarnath Shrine Board. Subsequently, the Azad government8217;s decision to transfer forestland to the Board turned it into another major controversy here.

Political parties have started exploiting this situation. Chief Minister Azad is silent over the Amarnath land transfer issue while his coalition ally, the Peoples Democratic Party, has openly accused the Congress of blackmailing their ministers and forcing them to accept the controversial land transfer.

The Amarnath Shrine Board, meanwhile, has become an emotive issue in the Hindu-dominated districts of Jammu where both the Congress and its archrival, the BJP, are trying to exhibit their Jammu-centric credentials by supporting the Shrine Board as well as Raj Bhawan. This story, in fact, goes back to 2004 when the state government opposed Raj Bhawan8217;s plan to extend the yatra to two months. Then chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had turned down the Raj Bhawan proposal which soon turned into a major political crisis with four Congress ministers from Jammu resigning from the government. The issue has, in fact, polarised the J038;K Congress party and while the Congress leadership from Jammu supported the Raj Bhawan, its Kashmir-based leadership preferred to remain silent.

The opposition National Conference8212;which was responsible for bringing the legislation empowering Raj Bhawan to run the Shrine Board in 20018212;has been trying to distance itself from its earlier decision. This is because the party is trying to regain its traditional base in Kashmir, where the PDP has come up as their serious competitor since the 2002 assembly polls.

In fact, this controversy suits the vote-bank politics of both the Congress and the PDP. The Congress banks on Jammu votes and is expecting to gain in the Hindu-dominated province. Now the controversy over the Waqf Council will provide fodder for mainstream political parties in their poll campaigns.

The separatists too are uniting because these two issues8212;Amarnath land transfer in Kashmir and Waqf property encroachments in Jammu8212;have provided them a chance and an emotive subject to revive their base across Kashmir.

Politics and pilgrimage

2000: J038;K State Legislative assembly passed Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Act, making the Governor the chairman of the board. Till then, the shrine was administered by the Prohit Sabha, and the Mattan and Dashnami Akhara.

2004: J-K Government and Raj Bhawan differed on duration of Amarnath yatra. The Governor wanted the yatra to be extended to two months from the traditional month-long annual pilgrimage. Then Chief minister, PDP8217;s Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, refused, citing additional burden on security. The issue assumed a communal dimension as four Congress ministers from Jammu resigned.

2005: Shrine Board decided to bring in commercial helicopter service to ferry pilgrims to Amarnath. J-K Tourism Corporation insisted on using state helicopters but the shrine board termed it interference in its work. The issue was settled in the High Court.

2007: A top PDP minister refused to let the Board construct a motorable road from Baltal to Amarnath, citing 8220;disastrous environmental implications8221;.

2008: State government rejected a report of an advisory committee which had recommended transfer of land in Baltal to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board for construction of road and raising hutments at various points.