The Bhartiya Janata Party and its saffron brigade is going all-out to foment anger against Kashmiris on the forest land revocation issue. The BJP prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishan Advani in his speech in the Parliament on July 21st lamented the ‘grabbing of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board land’ in Baltal and the JK government’s ‘interference’ in the yatra. Kashmir has been literally choked by the blockade of Srinagar-Jammu highway. Only yesterday, the BJP announced a fresh India-wide agitation on the issue. But the BJP-led campaign is coinciding with something significant and relevant. Government of the same party in Uttrakhand is boasting on restrictions put on the Kavad yatra to protect Goumukh glacier from further damage because of the pilgrimage. Newspapers across India are replete with stories and paid advertisements, proudly announcing the restrictions. Same issue, two yardsticks! But the double-dealing is passing off silently. According to observers, the reason why the BJP is getting away with the arrogance towards Kashmir is the frailty of the mainstream political parties here. If these parties have no hesitation in advocating New Delhi in Srinagar, why do they falter when they have to make Kashmiiris’ voice heard in New Delhi, more so in times when a Kashmiri is being demonized and Kashmir virtually projected as a nation of terrorists. When slogans like quit Jammu, highway blockade are heard. When Kashmir’s horticulture produce worth crores of rupees is rotting in trucks and orchards. If National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party were vocal while supporting peoples’ agitation against land transfer in Kashmir, why don’t they publicly take a stand in Jammu and oppose the demand for restoration of land transfer? Why don’t they inform India that a record five lakh-plus yatris have already visited Amarnath last month, observers question. Kashmir watchers say both Omar and Mehbooba, unfortunately, limited their recent Parliament speeches to Congress appeasement, forgetting Kashmir advocacy. When whole India was watching, none exposed the BJP’s dual standards on a similar issue in two states, perhaps keeping their options open in case the present Leader of Opposition happens to be the Leader of the House next year. Now when the saffron brigade in Jammu is buoyed by a formal talks invitation from the government, the Kashmir bashing is sure to increase in scope and intensity. Although supported by only a section of people, the Jammu agitation is already intensifying. Many Kashmiris feel it is being helped covertly by some elements in police, bureaucracy and overtly by Indian media. In Kashmir, police answered slogans with bullets. In Jammu they are more discreet - water canons for petrol bombs! We don’t demand brutality there, but prudence here. According to a survey by Geological Survey of India, the Goumukh is receding at the rate of 40 metres per year because of the pilgrimage involving lakhs of people. In response, the state government has restricted the pilgrims to 150 per day, closed all dhabas along the road to Goumukh, banned ponies and horses in the area and imposed a fee to discourage people coming for the pilgrimage. If Uttrakhand can think of Goumukh, why Kashmiris have to forget Kolohoi? If a forest conservator can limit number of pilgrims in Uttrakhand, why can’t even a chief minister do the same in JK? If Uttrakhand can declare an entire forest area out of bounds for general public, why Kashmiris have to offer six lives for 800 kanals? When Uttrakhand can attribute water scarcity in the state to Kavad yatra, why in JK one can’t even inquire about the reasons of gastroenteritis epidemic in south Kashmir? Why government departments run in to dispel any connection even without a corroboration, when we all know the Lidder River takes the maximum brunt of pilgrimage pollution? Why it is conservation in Uttrakhand and ‘interference in matters of faith’ in JK? Why two yardsticks for two states? Questions are endless. Answers none. Political analysts say perhaps the answer lies in the ideology spearheaded by BJP and finding more and more buyers across India. Citizens have right to live and the right to protect their resources. Kashmiris have none.
(copied from the newspaper Greater Kashmir)
http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=2_8_2008&ItemID=47&cat=1
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