AMARNATH LAND ROW: IS IT ABOUT THE LAND??


Has anyone wondered how come just a piece of land can cause so much unrest amongst the otherwise peace loving population of Jammu, so much so that despite many efforts to suppress the movement, it refuses to die down... Is it only about the Land…..??
NO, IT IS NOT, it is about EQUALITY!!!! The Amarnath Land Row is a classical example of a revolution that takes place when the elasticity and flexibility of society to accept discrimination and exploitation is stretched to its limit over a period of time. Since Independence, People of Jammu have been met out a step motherly treatment and discrimination which ranges from day to day life to major policy decisions. People of Jammu are very peace loving and patriotic people with max percentage of them representing the Armed Forces and other security agencies. Jammu boasts of producing many brave sons of the soil who have laid down their lives for the motherland in past and will continue to do so. The love for the Tricolor and spirit of India is always visible amongst the people of Jammu. Even the protesters in the present Amarnath Land row carry the Tricolor on their shoulders with pride and love. The spirit of nation can be seen in Jammu when India wins a cricket match against Pakistan. People come out on streets with the Tricolor's and fire crackers are bursting every where, giving it a semblance of Diwali. And what happens in Kashmir? The scene is exactly the same, only if Pakistan has won the cricket match and the flag out in the streets is not the familiar tricolor but a Pakistani flag…. crackers are bursting all over, just like Jammu and the genuineness of the happiness is not hidden, it is more than evident. Over all these years since Independence the people of Jammu have loved their Nation and people of Kashmir have always been demanding Azad Kashmir, siding completely with the Pro Pakistani stand. The entire nation knows, that if ever a Plebiscite is held in Jammu and Kashmir what will be the outcome. The Kashmiri’s would go with Pakistan without any doubt and people of Jammu will always stand by their Tricolor. I ask, even when the majority people of Kashmir have a Separatist and a Anti National Stand why the patriotic people of Jammu have been suppressed and only the voice of Anti National Kashmiri's and their parties like PDP and National Conference is heard, even at Delhi? Why the Policy of Appeasement is followed by Center towards the Anti National Leaders like Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah? Why the people of Jammu don’t really matter and their voice is not heard even when they shout and on the contrary, even a whisper of Kashmiri’s is heard without fail? Even in the present land row it was visible. It just took three days of protesting by Kashmiri people to get the order for land transfer reverted and here on the other hand it has been more than a month and even after a loss of seven lives that the voice of Jammuites is not heard. It was only yesterday the Prime Minister called for a meeting of parties on this issue after more than a months time has elapsed and seven lives have been lost but still the reason is not Jammu, it is Kashmir again. Because so called economic blockade of Kashmir valley has taken place and the essential drugs are not reaching the beloved valley, the beloved anti national people of Kashmir are in discomfort. The Kashmiri’s have even threatened to open the Muzzaffrabad axis if the road to Kashmir through Jammu is not opened. They have no problems with Pakistan, it is their beloved nation, their loyalties are with Pakistan and it is visible in this stance of theirs. I ask, Can any true Indian belonging to any other region or state of India even think of such an option of resorting to opening of a route through Pakistan???

It is not that people of Jammu believe in regionalism, but the fact is that they have been forced to speak out because enough was enough and the years long suppression and regional discrimination at the hands of Kashmir based leaders and Kashmir based State Government could not be taken any longer, the elastic had been stretched too much and it was forced to break….. People of Jammu do not believe in Fanaticism of any kind either. It is visible from the fact that despite emotions running high over incidents of violence against Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir recently, there was no religion based rioting in Jammu. The fact is that it is not even a political issue and no political party really matters for an average Jammuite as far as this issue is concerned. Jammuites stand united on this issue, cutting across all party lines. The Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti which is leading this cause, constitutes of leaders and members from all parties including Congress. It is a people’s movement where the people of Jammu stand united for the first time since Independence and they have raised their voice as a community. These people will not be pacified and can not be muted till their demands for equality are met. “Please do not take our silence for granted and don’t push us against the wall….. Please do not alienate the patriotic people of Jammu” this is the message of a average Jammuite.

One has to understand that it is not about the land only. Land is only the issue that tipped it over for the Jammuites and the fact is that, there are so many issues that need to be addressed when it comes to Jammu and (or under) Kashmir. Take for example the famous Article 370. People of Jammu have been demanding removal of Article 370 for so many years now but to no avail. “If Jammu and Kashmir is part of India then why people from other States of India cant come and buy property in Jammu and Kashmir and settle down here?” I am sure that this question must have crossed minds of so many Indians. What is the relevance of this Article in our democratic and secular nation? Should it be there at all? By still continuing with this Article in Jammu and Kashmir are we not accepting that it is not a integral part of India? If that is so why sacrifice so many valuable lives of our brave men in uniform, in Kashmir? If we are accepting the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by continuing with Article 370, then Pakistan has every right go around telling the world that it is IOK (Indian Occupied Kashmir) or Azad Kashmir or whatever but least of all another State of India just like Punjab or Gujarat. The struggle for removal of this Article has been continuing for many years in Jammu. Many political parties have come and gone but none of the political parties including BJP (Which went to the voter with removal of Article 370 in its agenda) ever tried doing anything about it, even while they were in power. Sad but true, that there is not even a single political party in Jammu region which can meet the true aspirations of the people of Jammu. The irony of the situation is, that the Anti National parties like PDP and National Conference calls the shots in the state and also represent Jammu and Kashmir at the Centre, where as they actually represent only Kashmir and not Jammu or even Ladakh. There has been a constant and large scale discrimination against the Jammu region since Independence. One such glaring example of regional and political discrimination against Jammu, is the imbalance in distribution of Assembly Constituencies between Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu region in spite of having a larger area and population has been allotted 37 Constituencies where as Kashmir holds 46 Constituencies. Similarly the rationale behind allotting just six seats to Doda district (Part of Jammu region) which has an area of 11,000 sq km and the valley on the other hand with an area of 15, 000 sq km, being allotted 46 seats could never be explained. One can’t help but wonder what kind of logic or mathematics could explain such distributions. Maybe 2 + 2 = 5 theory could explain it. However if someone thought that “What’s the problem with these Jammuites?” Maybe some statistics and imponderables stated below could explain where exactly the shoe pinches.


Kashmir Jammu
1 Area 15948 sq.km 26293 sq.km
2. Govt (Revenue) 20% 75%
3. Voters 2288395 3059986
4. Assembly Seats 46 37
5. Lok Sabha Seats 3 2
6. Cabinet Ministers 14 5
7. Unemployment 29% 70%


SEE IF SOME LOGIC COULD BE APPLIED!!

1. Why the order of was revoked at the very first place? Govt could have stood by it. Was it a secular action on part of the Govt?

2. Why transfer of Land to Amarnath Shrine board not acceptable to Kashmiri’s?

3. Why cry for secularism only when Hindu’s raise their voice?

4. Are we really a secular nation? If yes, then is it the responsibility of only Hindu’s to be secular?

5. Why kill people those who are holding protests with INDIAN flags in their hands? Is British Raj back again?

6. Why a total black out of Jammu being attempted?

7. Why BAN on media? Is freedom of Press in Democratic India not applicable to Jammu?

8. Why BAN on SMS service?

9. Why Article 370 cannot be abolished?

10. Why Govt. tried to cremate the Body of Shri Kuldeep Verma at Night?

11. Why the land for Budh Shah Ghulam University and Islamia University was given without any cost? (Where as Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University had to pay Rupees 12 Crore for the same)

12. Why Govt cannot control Kashmiri hardliners? Why are we accepting non sense from Anti National leaders and people on our own soil.

13. Why those people who unfurl the Pakistan flag in Lal chowk are not arrested?

14. Why Omar Abdullah, was not arrested after he made the statement in the parliament that even one inch of land will not be given to Amarnath Board? Whose land was he talking about? Who does it belong to Kashmiri’s or India?

15. Why Kashmiri leaders threaten to use the Muzafarabad road?

16. What is the reason of appeasement policy of Central Govt. towards Anti Indians?

17. Are Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah really Nationalists? Does the entire India not know what these leaders actually are? Why are we accepting non sense from people who are Pro Pakistani’s and fanatics themselves?


Specific to the Amarnath Land Row, the issue has been mishandled by the State Govt and the administration right from the beginning and as a result it has blown out of proportions. God only knows how much of politics will be played over this issue in times to come and how much of a POLITICAL MILEAGE will be earned over the dead bodies of innocent citizens of the state. The order to transfer land to Amarnath Shrine Board was revoked just after few days of protests in Kashmir Valley. Why could that pressure not be withstood by the State govt?

I hope this issue of Amarnath land will be resolved peacefully without losing anymore human lives. I just hope the people who matter understand these undercurrents and do something about them rather than wishing them away. There are too many issues and unanswered questions when it comes to Jammu and Kashmir.