Time to move on

The BJP8217;s attempt to use the dispute over land use for Amarnath pilgrims as the basis for a national agitation is both dangerous and irresponsible. The new governor of Jammu and Kashmir has shown considerable dexterity in his first few days in office. Since the Shrine Board was having trouble making logistical arrangements for pilgrims 8212; the supposed reason for the land transfer 8212; the overextension of the board8217;s mandate under the previous governor was rolled back, and assurances have been made that shelter will be provided by local authorities.

This is an administrative matter. Land use in a state with little inhabitable area is in any case scrutinised more closely than elsewhere. Any additional sensitivity was originally a product of Kashmir8217;s peculiar constitutional status. Few similar problems have come to national attention before: New Delhi should be proud that it has largely resisted the temptation in the past to alter ownership patterns for short-term advantage in the struggle to determine the province8217;s future. An overtly communal tinge to this otherwise straightforward problem, however, was entirely avoidable: it was provided an impetus by the former, NDA-appointed, governor, and, if taken up opportunistically by the BJP, could prove to be disastrous.

The BJP8217;s threats to launch a countrywide movement 8212; its Sangh sibling, the VHP, has in fact already started one 8212; are thus astonishingly reckless. The party8217;s national leadership has tacitly accepted that the abolition of Article 370 is not worth much electorally; so, rather than discussing methods of creating an environment where Kashmiri exceptionalism can be scaled down, it has chosen to portray anger over the governor8217;s machinations as fundamentalist in origin, only solved by a few more divisions of the CRPF. This is as cynical as its spokesman8217;s accusation that the J038;K Congress conspired with the PDP to reduce its own government to a minority is ridiculous. It is vital to India8217;s national security that the Valley stay quiet: if the BJP wishes to claim that it is better than the UPA at keeping India safe and guarding the national interest, it has just done itself, as well as the nation at large, a tremendous disservice.