The signs by four

Leela Karan Sharma: The president of the Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti, which has been spearheading the month-long agitation...

Leela Karan Sharma: The president of the Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti, which has been spearheading the month-long agitation for restoration of land to the Amarnath shrine board, he says they have the support of all sections of the society, including Muslims of the region. Sharma does not favour dialogue with Governor N N Vohra till he clears his stand over the issue. 8220;What is the purpose of talking to a person who says that the Amarnath land row is a non-issue as the land was neither handed over to the shrine board nor taken back from it by state government,8221; he adds. Determined to continue the agitation peacefully till land is restored to the shrine board, Sharma often makes it clear in his speeches that their fight is not against any community.

Born at village Saketar near Domail on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, Sharma started out as a government school teacher. He did his law degree while in service and started practising in court in 1969. He was associated with the RSS and is a founder director of the Citizens Cooperative Bank, Jammu.

B S Salathia: The president of the Jammu Bar Association and a Congress sympathiser, he resigned as Additional Advocate General before lending his support to the Amarnath agitation. He says the land row stir shows the pent-up feelings of Jammu residents at being discriminated at the hands of successive Kashmiri rulers. Salathia is confident that the protests will not fizzle out and will last till land is restored to the shrine board as it is backed by youths who feel discriminated against.

Hailing from Gurah Salathia, he also believes that the agitation is just the start of a continuous process of fighting against the hegemony of one region over the other.

Dinesh Bharati: A firebrand VHP leader and the mahant of Dharmal8217;s Radha Krishna temple, 30-year-old Bharati settled in Jammu 16 years ago. He has been calling upon every local youth in Jammu to become a Bhagat Singh and be ready to sacrifice their life for the Amarnath issue. Bharati has also been urging people to stop supplies to the Valley as well as boycott Kashmiri goods.

However, he says, he doesn8217;t believe in people committing suicides. 8220;Ab nar bali dene ka nahin, nar bali lene ka samay aa gaya hai It8217;s not time to give life but take life,8221; he says while addressing large gatherings, adding that the time for Gandhian protests was over. Almost all his addresses begin with patriotic songs like Mera rang de basanti chola. 8220;My aim,8221; he says, 8220;is to awaken the dead spirit of Hindus to live with dignity and honour.8221;

According to some reports, he was born in Delhi and had his initial religious education in Hardwar and later at BHU.

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Ashok Gupta: The president of the Jammu Kashmir Shiv Sena Bal Thackeray, Gupta8217;s pet hate is the Centre and state government8217;s 8220;policy of appeasement8221; towards the Valley. He asks why peaceful protestors in Jammu are being forcibly pushed back while the administration takes a lenient view of those unfurling Pakistani flags in the Valley. 8220;It is time to wake up and raise your voice against continued discrimination in all spheres of life at the hands of successive Kashmiri rulers,8221; he says at his public gatherings.

Gupta was general secretary of the ABVP during his school and college days. He was also associated with RSS Nagpur, before floating the Shiv Sena unit in Jammu and Kashmir. Highly critical of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other senior party leaders, Gupta criticises Governor Vohra for his stand.