Once again we have proved how fragile religious amity is in our country; Jammu and Kashmir are on loggerheads over the land given to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Yatra Board and then revoked. Undoubtedly Omar Abdullah made a fine and passionate speech in the Lok Sabha on how Kashmiris have looked after the Amrnath yatris for long years and will continue to do so. “But we will not part with our land”, was his refrain.

If Kashmiris have such large hearts as he said - and undoubtedly Kashmiriyat as we know it and as it existed … yes, sadly enough, I feel I have to use the past tense … was a quality that encompassed secular values, a modern outlook not hindered/clogged by the cobwebs of religious dogma, and which essentially encompassed a universal outlook on life and people - then why balk at tranfer of some acres of forest land?

One could understand if he or other Kashmiri leaders had said  they don’t want to hand over the land to this particular Board but  the State government would itself take responsibility for putting up the shelters for yatris.  For how long can any group of pilgrims be expected to make do with makeshift facilities in a region with weather conditions as harsh and unpredictable as Kashmir?

One wonders why our leaders have become so petty… why nobody wants to yield an inch of space… would that be considered a sign of weakness? I dont think so… generosity and compassion do not come from the weak… they never have. As I said in my edit-page column in Business Line last week,  the rage and violence in Jammu, even though fanned by the BJP which is eagerly waiting to gain political mileage from this in the next general election, has to do with a sense of suppression and injustice dating back to the all imortant year of 1989, where trouble began in the Valley.

In 1990, Kashmiri Pandits were virtually chased out of the Valley and many of them have been forced to live in Jammu, which they don’t consider ‘home’ at all. How could they; they are after all Kashmiris. What is most frightening is that one flashpoint like this, and Kashmiri Muslims, egged on by the Hurriyat Conference and the PDP of the Muftis, start waving Pakistani flags and want to take their fruit laded trucks to Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK. As if Pakistan, in such a horrible state itself,  is the panacea for all its problems.

One last thought… our people are so ready to march, protest, rave and rant when it comes to an issue of religious identity.. or rather divide. Why don’t we Indians get angry and anguished when it comes to issues like corruption in public life, denial of simple and efficient services to us like decent and pothole free roads? Power shortage, clogged and overfowing drains and sewers, lack of piped water supply in so many areas…. food for thought!