With Sinha out, will the Amarnath yatra row be resolved?

Religious polarisation has never been so sharp in Jammu and Kashmir. With controversy shrouding the ongoing Amarnath...

Religious polarisation has never been so sharp in Jammu and Kashmir. With controversy shrouding the ongoing Amarnath pilgrimage over the issue of environment pollution and transfer of land for setting up pre-fabricated structures for pilgrims on temporary basis, many in Jammu have started raking up the issue of large-scale damage caused to the rich flora and fauna on Pir Panjal due to the construction of Mughal road connecting border districts of Rajouri and Poonch with Shopian in the Valley.

Right from the ruling People8217;s Democratic Party to separatist leaders, belonging to both hardline and moderate Hurriyat Conference, everybody has joined the issue against the two-month-long pilgrimage and transfer of land to Amarnath Shrine Board for raising structures for pilgrims, enroute the cave shrine. While Hurriyat leaders have demanded cancellation of transfer of land to the Shrine Board, PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has asked the state legislature to take a re-look at its own legislation that led to the creation of a separate Board for the yatra in 2000.

The heat generated over the yatra in the Valley has reached Jammu and even New Delhi. Various political and social organisations have staged demonstrations against the Hurriyat and the PDP. BJP leader L K Advani has attributed the controversy to the nature of the ruling Congress-PDP coalition.

The sudden turn of events over an annual pilgrimage, which has been there since decades, has surprised many as religious polarisation had never been so sharp in this militancy-infested state. People from both the communities have lived in complete harmony even during peak militancy days, when thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were compelled to migrate from their native places in the Valley.

Many attribute the current polarisation to the strained relations between outgoing Governor Lt General retired S K Sinha and Mufti Mohamamd Sayeed. Be it the issue of dissolution of panchayats, elected during the National Conference regime, demilitarisation, self-rule, or curtailing the duration of Amarnath pilgrimage, Sinha has always got brickbats from the PDP. In fact, the relations between the two had never been cordial even when Mufti was heading the coalition government. The first stand-off between Sinha and PDP came when the former declined the latter8217;s request for dissolution of elected panchayats, much before the expiry of their terms. Most of these panchayats had majority of panchs and sarpanchs owing allegiance to the National Conference.

The wedge between them got widened when Mufti opposed Sinha8217;s decision, as chairman of Amarnath Shrine Board, to have a two-month-long yatra. Sinha with the help of Congress, however, managed to prevail upon Mufti.

The differences between the two became bitter after Ghulam Nabi Azad took over as CM. Sinha openly started opposing Mufti8217;s each and every proposal 8212; be it demilitarisation or human rights violations.

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Many feel that Mufti is behind Sinha8217;s ouster from the office. The sequence of event taking place after the appointment of Sinha8217;s successor gives credence to this feeling. While Finance Minister Tariq Hamid Qarra said that Sinha would not be able to draw his June salary in view of the appointment of N N Vohra as new Governor, none from the PDP, including Mufti, was present at the farewell function hosted by Azad for Sinha.

With Sinha moving out of Raj Bhawan on June 25, many hope that things would get settled, especially with respect to Amarnath yatra during which over two lakh pilgrims from across the country and abroad trek treacherous hilly terrain to pay obeisance to the ice-ligam in South Kashmir Himalayas. Otherwise, it looks strange that for those who always wanted more and more tourists to visit the troubled Valley, these pilgrims are not welcome.