I was searching for information over the net about the recent Amarnath Land Row, and found a lot of websites with articles related to it. All were kind of trying to present a neutral face to the issue, but is the problem really that. Is the problem Religious,Separatist,Political or is it 
something Else?
The State of J&K is a special state under the Constitution of India, which has been defined under the Article 370. The Article 370 states that the
Central government cannot enforce laws in the state until it has been approved by the State Legislative Council barring laws relating to
Defence, Communication and foreign affairs. Thus the state's residents live under a separate set of laws, including those related to citizenship, Ownership of property, and fundamental rights, as compared to other Indians. One such law is that a non resident cannot own property in the State. This special article has come into force because India has not yet conducted the Plebiscite under UN; as one of the pre-conditions for the same Was that Pakistan should withdraw all Military forces from Kashmir and stop its proxy war with it, was never met.
Now Amarnath Shrine is managed by Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), which was constituted by an Act of the State Legislature in 2000 with His Excellency the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir as its ex-officio Chairman. The Amarnathji Shrine Board is responsible for smooth and trouble free Pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine. Assisted by a Chief Executive officer who is a senior IAS officer and eight distinguished Board Members, the board is Constantly working towards making this journey the most cherished one. One of the responsibility of the board is to undertake for the benefit of Worshippers and pilgrims:
The construction of buildings for their accommodation
The construction of sanitary works; and
The improvement of means of communication.
For that purpose the state government decided to allot 39 hectares of land to the SASB (which is also a State Sponsored dept.) for the above
Purpose. For years the yatris lived in tattered tents with no proper sanitary facilities and the danger of wild animals and terrorists. So the SASB decide To built proper living quarters with Sanitary, security and Medical facilities.
And an Issue that now threatens the sovergnity of our country is born.
The land was allotted around June 08 and people got to know of it. A movement started from Kashmir and then spread throughout Jammu. Police had To control the rioters with water cannons and curfews. These people demanded that the land allotted to the SASB be taken back. The reason given was That the move threatened the Eco-system, and the law that only Kashmiri can hold propety.In the back of all these were the signals that the rioters Believed that BJP wanted to change the demographics of the state as was suggested by an Israeli Minister on a state visit very recently.
When you think a little while on this issue you see that how funny the issue really is and how it caused the state government to fall and de-allot the Land. The land belongs to the state government (which is completely barren) it gives it to a state department so that facilities to visitors can be made, The land will be held by the state yet such violent protests.
Who loses if the land is allotted to a state department which will provide lodging facilities to tourists on minimal costs or even free????
think,think,think,think
You might have heard that there are terrorist attacks in the Kashmir
valley which are a common thing but have you heard that the Amarnath yatris have ever been attacked? Why?
Do you know the revenues earned by the people and businesses near the routes of the Amarnath yatra??
Why would religion come in the way? Who discovered the Amarnath Caves??
In the volatile situation of the state this land diversion was presented as if the land has been sold to the Shrine board. As of now the economic activity generated due to yatra is one of the major sources of income for Muslims en-route, and with SASB taking over many of these services, a perception was created that those regularly associated with yatra services will be sidetracked and it will now become an exclusively Hindu affair.
The Amaranth yatra is rooted in one of the most syncretism-mixed support structures. The cave where shrine is located was discovered by a Muslim Shepherd in 1850s, since then the pilgrim started. The descendents of the Muslim shepherd and sahdus managed the yatra till 2001 when the SASB took over and is trying to increase its hold on the arrangements.
Remarkably the yatra went on smoothly even at the peak of militancy in Kashmir, barring of course few aberrations here and there.
"The spontaneous breaking out of protest in valley was used by elements, like Syed Ali Shah Gilani, belonging to the extremist faction of Hurriat
Conference, in the valley politics, who went on to fan the fire of separatism during the agitations and further aggravated the situation by calling for boycott of polls to be held in October." says a senior journalist.
Now the Hindu extremist have jumped on the bandwagon and a small issue like jealousy of the oldies against the government has become a nationwide headache. The separatist have now got a new rope to tug on and pull the prevailing peace down.
something Else?The State of J&K is a special state under the Constitution of India, which has been defined under the Article 370. The Article 370 states that the
Central government cannot enforce laws in the state until it has been approved by the State Legislative Council barring laws relating to
Defence, Communication and foreign affairs. Thus the state's residents live under a separate set of laws, including those related to citizenship, Ownership of property, and fundamental rights, as compared to other Indians. One such law is that a non resident cannot own property in the State. This special article has come into force because India has not yet conducted the Plebiscite under UN; as one of the pre-conditions for the same Was that Pakistan should withdraw all Military forces from Kashmir and stop its proxy war with it, was never met.
Now Amarnath Shrine is managed by Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), which was constituted by an Act of the State Legislature in 2000 with His Excellency the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir as its ex-officio Chairman. The Amarnathji Shrine Board is responsible for smooth and trouble free Pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine. Assisted by a Chief Executive officer who is a senior IAS officer and eight distinguished Board Members, the board is Constantly working towards making this journey the most cherished one. One of the responsibility of the board is to undertake for the benefit of Worshippers and pilgrims:
The construction of buildings for their accommodation
The construction of sanitary works; and
The improvement of means of communication.
For that purpose the state government decided to allot 39 hectares of land to the SASB (which is also a State Sponsored dept.) for the above
Purpose. For years the yatris lived in tattered tents with no proper sanitary facilities and the danger of wild animals and terrorists. So the SASB decide To built proper living quarters with Sanitary, security and Medical facilities.
And an Issue that now threatens the sovergnity of our country is born.
The land was allotted around June 08 and people got to know of it. A movement started from Kashmir and then spread throughout Jammu. Police had To control the rioters with water cannons and curfews. These people demanded that the land allotted to the SASB be taken back. The reason given was That the move threatened the Eco-system, and the law that only Kashmiri can hold propety.In the back of all these were the signals that the rioters Believed that BJP wanted to change the demographics of the state as was suggested by an Israeli Minister on a state visit very recently.
When you think a little while on this issue you see that how funny the issue really is and how it caused the state government to fall and de-allot the Land. The land belongs to the state government (which is completely barren) it gives it to a state department so that facilities to visitors can be made, The land will be held by the state yet such violent protests.
Who loses if the land is allotted to a state department which will provide lodging facilities to tourists on minimal costs or even free????
think,think,think,think
You might have heard that there are terrorist attacks in the Kashmir
valley which are a common thing but have you heard that the Amarnath yatris have ever been attacked? Why?Do you know the revenues earned by the people and businesses near the routes of the Amarnath yatra??
Why would religion come in the way? Who discovered the Amarnath Caves??
In the volatile situation of the state this land diversion was presented as if the land has been sold to the Shrine board. As of now the economic activity generated due to yatra is one of the major sources of income for Muslims en-route, and with SASB taking over many of these services, a perception was created that those regularly associated with yatra services will be sidetracked and it will now become an exclusively Hindu affair.
The Amaranth yatra is rooted in one of the most syncretism-mixed support structures. The cave where shrine is located was discovered by a Muslim Shepherd in 1850s, since then the pilgrim started. The descendents of the Muslim shepherd and sahdus managed the yatra till 2001 when the SASB took over and is trying to increase its hold on the arrangements.
Remarkably the yatra went on smoothly even at the peak of militancy in Kashmir, barring of course few aberrations here and there.
"The spontaneous breaking out of protest in valley was used by elements, like Syed Ali Shah Gilani, belonging to the extremist faction of Hurriat
Conference, in the valley politics, who went on to fan the fire of separatism during the agitations and further aggravated the situation by calling for boycott of polls to be held in October." says a senior journalist.
Now the Hindu extremist have jumped on the bandwagon and a small issue like jealousy of the oldies against the government has become a nationwide headache. The separatist have now got a new rope to tug on and pull the prevailing peace down.
