Controversy over Amarnath land allotment poll gimmick?

I do not usually post others' writings on this post, but the article below deserved its place here.

SHYAM

Controversy over Amarnath land allotment poll gimmick?by RAJEEV DESHPANDE,Times of India, 28 Jun 2008,

NEW DELHI: The storm in the Kashmir Valley over allocation of 100 acres of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board seems to have seen PDP and hardline separatists coming together to paint a plan to build temporary pre-fabricated shelters for pilgrims as a devious plot to alter the state’s "demographics". ( Watch )

Violent protests in the Valley have seen police opening fire on protesters demanding that the land allotted to the Board be withdrawn.

Apart from Hurriyat factions fuelling protests, what has added to tensions is the role of PDP, which despite being a partner in the government, has joined the stir.

Given the populist sentiments sweeping the Valley, almost all political outfits have had to echo the militant line that giving land to the Board would pave the way for "Israel-type settlements" aimed at diluting the Muslim majority character of the state. Former governor Lt-Gen (retd) S K Sinha has been attacked for having authored the plan during his recently-concluded tenure.

Sources close to the general point out that the proposal was neither recent nor unique. And that though Gen Sinha had energetically backed the move, the intent was to improve facilities for pilgrims who have had to make to do with primitive amenities like trench toilets separated by gunny bags. The area in question at Baltal was the last base camp, 14 km from the shrine.

While PDP leaders Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and his daughter Mehbooba were claiming that they had been in the dark, the Board’s request was before the government for three years since 2005. The proposal was examined by the law department and an empowered committee of the Supreme Court. Not just that, the current forest minister and his predecessor were both from the PDP.

The state cabinet had considered the proposal and forest minister Qazi Afzal and deputy CM Muzzaffar Beig did not raise any objections. Yet now the Mufti and Mehbooba have sought to put chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in the dock. Just as the "ignorance" plea was an afterthought, environmental arguments also appear to be belated attempts to build a case against the land transfer.

It is pointed out while a threat to a nearby wildlife sanctuary had been quoted, no such concerns were aired with regard to the construction of the "Mughal road" expected to connect Poonch and Rajouri sections with the Valley. "There are something like 10,000 trees that will be felled. The plot at Baltal in comparison is bare, with no trees. The agenda of those opposing the Amarnath case is obvious," the sources said.

The theory that setting up facilities for pilgrims was actually a covert attempt to settle non-Muslims stretches credulity. The area is hardly hospitable and it would be hard to persuade any population, however deprived, to settle in the area. The Board wanted to construct bunds, besides the shelters, to keep snow slides from damaging equipment.

The pre-fabricated shelters are also not a new proposal. In fact, the base camp has been in regular use for several years. Pilgrims have been put up there before the arduous last leg of the journey to the Amarnath cave, which is open to pilgrims two months of the year.

The well springs of the current agitation seem to lie in PDP’s poll calculus and a certain unease among separatists and their jihadi backers over the success of initiatives like the recently-opened centre for South Asian studies and the reception accorded to Pakistani band Junoon despite a boycott call. With elections round the corner, PDP is looking to strum up sentiments in the Valley while putting Congress in a fix as withdrawing the land order could result in a backlash in Jammu.

It is apparent that Azad, who unlike the Mufti did not object to the transfer of land to the Board, is in a bind. Congress relies on its presence in Jammu while the fight in the Valley is largely between PDP and National Conference.

The PDP leadership, which has chaffed at having to hand over power to Congress in mid-term, is finding it expedient to use the Amarnath controversy for its ends.

Communalising the issue suits separatists and Pakistani agencies as this leads to an upsurge of an "us versus them" sentiment. A lack of a clearer appreciation of facts has clouded the debate. Transfer of forest land is not rare. This has been done for private telecom operators and railways.