Maintain harmony, Amarnath Shrine Board appeals people

Srinagar, Jul 5 (PTI) Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) today urged the people of Jammu and Kashmir to maintain peace and calm, saying the annual yatra has been a shinning symbol of the deeply secular traditions and glorious ethos of this pluralistic state. In a unanimous resolution, the Board, which met here under the Chairmanship of Governor and chairman of SASB N N Vohra urged all segments of society to maintain harmony and brotherhood. The Board expressed the hope that the collective resolve and commitment of the people of the state towards peace and harmony will pave the way for a fruitful conduct of the yatra this year and fully restore the momentum of the very large number of people visiting the state. The Board also appointed the Principal Secretary to governor B B Vyas as its Chief Executive Officer. The Governor exhorted the Board officials to work devotedly for ensuring that fully satisfactory facilities are provided to the visiting pilgrims. He called for very close synergy between SASB and each of the concerned governmental agencies, which have been providing logistic support for various services during the annual event. PTI

Different yardsticks for Hindus and Muslims, allege Jammu bodies

Different yardsticks for Hindus and Muslims, allege Jammu bodies
Agencies
Posted online: July 04, 2008 at 1556

Despite the fact that the shrine board had offered to pay Rs 2.43 crore for constructing temporary pre-fabricated huts for the pilgrims, the chief minister reversed the government order, the Sangharsh Samiti said.

Jammu, July 4: Various political and social organisations spearheading the present agitation in Jammu alleged that Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is adopting different yardsticks for Muslims and Hindus in the state.

"Azad succumbed to the pressure of secessionists on cancellation of land transfer order to Amarnath shrine board, ignoring the faith of crores of Hindus," said L K Sharma, convenor of the Sangarsh Samiti, a conglomeration of various political and social bodies.

Despite the fact that the shrine board had offered to pay Rs 2.43 crore for constructing temporary pre-fabricated huts for the pilgrims, the chief minister reversed the government order, he said.

Sharma said Azad had provided free government land for setting up Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University and Islamic University in the state, but not for Mata Vaishno Devi University set up near Katra.

"This clearly shows that the government is adopting different yardsticks for Muslims and Hindus," he alleged.
editor@expressindia.com

More protests over Kashmir land

Hindus have held more protests in India against a decision not to transfer land to a Hindu shrine organisation in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Four people died in Indore, in Madhya Pradesh, when police opened fire during clashes between Hindus and Muslims, officials say.

They say that another person was badly injured in other clashes in the state.
There were also violent clashes between protesters and police for a fourth day in the Hindu-majority region of Jammu.

A curfew remains in place in the area - in the southern part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The state government rescinded its decision to grant land along a Hindu pilgramage route to the Amarnath Shrine board after several days of protests by sections of Kashmir's majority Muslim community.

Correspondents say that efforts by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party for a country-wide protest over the issue met with a relatively muted response.

In Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, strike supporters shut down transport and businesses. Some roads were blocked, cars were smashed and trains disrupted.

"The response to the strike shows the anger of the people against the government's attack on secular fabric of the country," Prakash Javdekar, a senior BJP leader, told the Reuters news agency in Delhi. source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7487609.stm

Land row: Protests continue in curfew-bound Jammu

Land row: Protests continue in curfew-bound Jammu (Lead)

Jammu, July 3 (IANS) Angered by the cancellation of the land allotment order to a Hindu shrine board in Kashmir, some activists of the ruling Congress here Thursday defied curfew orders and took to the streets protesting against their own government’s decision. Earlier, curfew was extended to other parts of the tense Jammu region as angry mobs demanding allotment of the forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) set ablaze a few abandoned houses in a town, forcing the authorities to deploy the army at communally-sensitive places.

Thursday was the fourth day of agitations in Hindu-dominated Jammu, where people continue defying prohibitory orders to take out anti-government processions.

Jai Singh, a Municipal corporator of the ruling Congress, came out with scores of his supporters defying the curfew order. He denounced the government’s decision. Congress activists have also at other places joined the protests, largely sponsored by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

Protests in Jammu were triggered after government Tuesday decided to cancel the land allotment to the SASB, ending a controversy but beginning another over an issue that has gained a communal edge.

Earlier on May 26, the government had allotted 40 hectares of forest land to the SASB, which organises the pilgrimage to the high altitude Amarnath cave shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. The land, according to officials, was meant to create temporary facilities to the hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims visiting the shrine every year.

The decision quietened the violent protests in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley where five people were killed in alleged police firing last week.

But it led to violent demonstrations in Jammu where at least 80 people, including several police personnel, were injured in unrelenting protests since Monday against the cancellation. The authorities were forced to clamp indefinite curfew on Jammu since Tuesday evening.

Rail traffic was halted at Kathua for sometime Thursday morning, while protesters blocked traffic movement on the national highway near Samba, Udhampur and Nagrota.

Reports from Vijaypur, a town 30 km south of Jammu, where protesters stopped trains Wednesday evening, said an agitated mob set ablaze a few “kullas” (huts) of Gujjars, who are up in the mountains with their cattle these days.

According to a report from Banihal, a town 180 km north of Jammu on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, a few Amarnath pilgrims were allegedly pulled out of their vehicles and beaten by some people, who also misbehaved with women pilgrims.

The BJP and the VHP have called for a nationwide strike Thursday to protest the cancellation order.

Authorities here claim they were trying to bring the situation under control.

“We are trying our best to keep the situation under control,” divisional commissioner, Jammu, the highest civilian officer of the province, told media.

“Every one is concerned over the situation. We are determined to protect the properties and lives of all citizens.”

Even in the few parts of Jammu not under curfew, normal life remained paralysed with people holding protests and demanding restoration of the land to the shrine board.

Some of the BJP leaders have either been held or kept under house arrest to prevent their participation in protests.

BJP’s state unit president Ashok Khajuria is under house arrest, while former president Nirmal Singh, and party spokesperson Romesh Arora were held while marching with protesters.
Women protesters have come out in large numbers in the border towns of Samba, Vijaypur, Bishnah and Ranbirsingh Pora raising religious slogans.

Angry protesters have rejected all appeals from the government to calm down.
“This is a government of Islamic fundamentalists, and we are not going to call off our agitation because (Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi) Azad says so,” said Ramesh Kumar, a student leader who led protests in Jammu’s walled city.

“We will continue with our agitation till the government restores the land to the shrine board.”

BJP claims a “wave of support” in Jammu

BJP claims a “wave of support” in Jammu
Special Correspondent the hindu
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday claimed a “wave of support” in Jammu for its demand that the order revoking leasing of land to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board be cancelled.

The police fired on “peaceful protestors” in Jammu at “four places,” and in the Kashmir Valley, the State government and the Centre “kneeled before” separatists and fundamentalists by revoking the “legitimate” order on land transfer, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
Mr. Javadekar pointed out that the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led government had been reduced to a minority with the withdrawal of support by the People’s Democratic Party.

In the Centre too, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was facing threat of withdrawal of support by Left parties.

Asked why the BJP was making a fuss now, when during NDA partner National Conference’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir, facilities were provided to pilgrims without transferring land to the shrine board, he said that at that time there was no proposal for transfer of land to the board.

Muslims were not against facilities being provided to those visiting the shrine. Only fundamentalists and separatists had created a dangerous situation in the Valley and the Centre had quietly caved in to their demands, he said.

The BJP expected a total “hartal” in the country on Thursday in response to a call given by it.