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| Jazia on Amarnath pilgrims: Is J&K a secular polity? | | |
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, June 4: That the State Raj Bhawan and the State Government are doing everything to subvert the cardinal principles of secularism and create hurdles in the way of Shri Amarnath Yatris or discourage the Holy Amarnath Yatra by imposing several taxes, including on those who would set up free Langars en-route the Amarnath Cave, should leave nobody in any doubt that the authorities have scant or little regard for the Hindu community and its religious sensitivities and that they are there in the Raj Bhawan and the Civil Secretariat only to appease the fanatics like Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
A number of socio-religious organizations during the past one month or so have registered their emphatic protest against the imposition of what they call Jazia hoping that the authorities would respect the sentiments of the Hindus across the country by reversing its communally-motivated decision. But all these activities have failed to move the "vindictive" and "communally-motivated authorities." It appears the authorities would not reverse their most irrational decision. After all, their policy of religious discrimination kills two birds with one stone - it allows the State Government and the State Raj Bhawan to fleece the Hindu Yatris and it discourages Yatris to undertake Yatra to the Holy Shrine of Baba Amarnath.
But the question is: What are the so-called Jammu-centric and Jammu-based parties like the BJP and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) are doing to make the authorities see reason and wave off the Jazia condition? The question is: What is the so-called RSS doing to mobilize the public opinion against the arbitrary decision of the State Raj Bhawan and the State Government to impose Jazia on the Amarnath Yatris and on the free Langars? The question is: what is the Bar Association Jammu (BAJ), which says day in and day out that it always fight for the genuine cause of the people of Jammu and that it played a significant role during the 2008 agitation in Jammu over the Amarnath land issue, doing to mobilize public opinion against the imposition of Jazia on the Amarnath Yaris?
The BJP and the RSS, which suffered humiliating defeat during the last Lok Sabha elections because of their negative role during the agitation on the Shri Amarnath issue, have gone in the hibernation. It has not come forward to join hands with those opposing the imposition of Jazia.
It needs to be underlined that the angry people of Jammu province had inflicted a crushing defeat on the RSS-BJP-sponsored candidates Leela Karan Sharma (former convener of Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti) and former state BJP president Nirmal Singh. The people punished both these leaders because they were fully aware of their antics, as also aware of the fact that Leela Karan Sharma had taken an oath that he would never contest any election and that he would only fight for the cause of the people of Jammu province. As for Nirmal Singh, he had ensured the elimination of the one who had been told by the party high command that he would be the party candidate for the Udhampur-Kathua parliamentary seat. The people knew everything about these two BJP candidates, as also about the fact that "Nirmal Singh and Prof Amitabh Mattoo had", insiders reveal, "worked together to derail the Amarnath land agitation in Jammu, and, hence, they defeated the RSS-BJP-sponsored candidates."
That the senior BJP leadership is least interested in the issue could be seen from the fact that it has asked the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) to take this issue. This shows how non-serious the BJP senior leadership is? It appears that the state BJP is again standing solidly behind the State Raj Bhawan and the State Government with a view to facilitating their anti-secular agenda.
As for the RSS, less said the better. It is directionless and confused. It talks about the Hindu interests, but asks the like of Inderesh Kumar, former J&K Prantiya Pracharak, to hobnob with the fanatics. He was the same person who had to face a rough weather during the press conference in Jammu and had to leave the venue in a huff. It may be recalled that Leela Karan Sharma had organized a press conference. Inderesh Kumar was also present. However, it was Inderesh Kumar who wanted to dominate the show. Several media persons objected. They told him that it was Leela Karan Sharma, who was the convener of the Sanghrash Samiti and, hence, they would want him to answer their questions. It was this that left Inderesh Kumar clueless and he virtually walked out of the press conference. Several media persons had questioned the presence of Inderesh Kumar because the RSS had conveyed an impression that it had nothing to do with the agitation and that it was the people's movement. However, the truth was that it was the RSS-BJP combine that had founded the Sangharsh Samiti. (To be continued)
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