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My aunt is seventy-three years old. She lives with her family in a small town in Maharashtra near the Karnataka border. She is a pious woman who makes a padyatra from Pune to Pandarpur every year covering the distance of over 250 kilometres in 2 weeks. But, when she told me a few days ago that she planned to make the trip to Amarnath this year, I panicked.
The specter of a terrorist attack flashed through my mind. Hadn't the terrorists just blown up the Bridge no 2 at Chandanwari that formed a part of the route to the cave temple on May 24? I expressed my apprehension but she replied in a calm, determined voice that she would go to Amarnath and that her God would protect her. But the question in my mind is: Will the Indian State protect her? Has the Indian State done everything it can to protect the right of the Hindu to worship in India vis-à-vis the Amarnath yatra? A nonsensical and fantastical query with a hint of Hindu chauvinism at the outset, but one which reveals a harsher truth when examined closely.
My other motive in narrating this incident is to emphasize the importance of Kashmir with its innumerous holy Hindu shrines to the common Hindu people of India, like my aunt who lives thousands of miles away. No part of India is an island. Centuries of tradition and culture have woven this land into an interlocking entity with no one people or individual being able to claim exclusive ownership of any part of it despite being a numerical majority in that region or area. It belongs to one and all as long as they conform to the pluralistic principles of our nation.
Located at a height of 13000 feet above sea level and tucked away among the mountains of the Himalayas, Amarnath is a cave temple that houses a naturally formed ice structure that is worshipped by Hindus as a form of Shiva. Amarnath has been a revered holy shrine for Hindus for more than three thousand years. The first recorded pilgrimage to Amarnath took place in 1000 BC and has continued uninterrupted till the early 1990's when terrorists began to target this yatra.
In 1994, the Harkatul Mujahideen forbade pilgrims from visiting this shrine. Despite all the talk of Kashmirayat, no Muslim group or the Hurriyat came out strongly against this diktat. However this threat failed to dissuade the common Hindu from visiting this shrine. In fact the number of Hindus visiting Amaranth has steadily increased since then. Last year a total of 1.5 lakh pilgrims trekked up to this mountain shrine- a testimony to the grit and courage of the common Hindu.
The Islamic terrorists followed up their initial warning with actual acts of violence in the subsequent years. Attacks on innocent pilgrims became routine with each episode becoming more ghastly and callous than the preceding one. In 2000, two militants armed with AK-47's emerged from the jungle lining the route, fired indiscriminately killing 30 unarmed pilgrims and leaving 60 wounded. What was even more despicable than this barbaric act was that the terrorists indulged in a macabre dance of evil joy at the conclusion of their satanic mission. The next year, another terrorist attack left 12 people dead including 7 pilgrims and 5 workers. And in 2002, in a pre-dawn terrorist attack on the Nunwan camp en route to the shrine, eight more people were killed and many more injured.
In addition to the environment of fear that challenges the pilgrim, logistic roadblocks, albeit well intentioned, also abound. A cumbersome registration process has become the rule and inconvenient time restrictions for the duration of the yatra have been imposed in the guise of security demands and off all the reasons pollution concerns. Every year sees a public spat between Governor S K Sinha, the chairman of the Amarnath Shrine Board and the state government regarding the timing of the yatra. This year has been no different with the state government even approaching the high court to resolve the issue. So what should be a peaceful journey for spiritual solace turns out to be an onerous task fraught with uncertainties and anxiety.
For a moment step back and analyse this scenario objectively. For a moment forget the fact that these pilgrims are Hindus and this is a Hindu yatra. Substitute the word Hindu with the name of any other religion. Wouldn't you conclude that there is a blatant attempt to curb the religious freedom of this people? Yes there are extraneous factors and these are unusual circumstances. But it is precisely in such adverse situations that the strength of a government and the moral convictions of a people are tested. Now let us look at who should bear responsibility for this sorry state of affairs. Pointing a finger across the border cannot absolve us of our responsibilities to protect our citizens against the nefarious ventures of alien forces. I am willing to accept that the central government has shown a sincere resolve, by deploying increasing number of security personnel despite claims to its ineffectiveness. Even the shenanigans of the state government can be dismissed as arising out of genuine concerns. But what about the role of the local population?
There have been mass demonstrations by the Kashmiri people against the so-called atrocities of Indian security forces. I have no argument with that as protest is an integral part of democracy. But has there been even a single mass demonstration against this wanton killing of unarmed Hindu pilgrims? Has the Hurriyat told its militant partners in no uncertain terms to desist from interfering with the Amarnath yatra? Has anyone issued a fatwa against the killing of innocent pilgrims? No. On the other hand the Hurriyats formal condemnation of these acts has often been combined with distasteful innuendos directed against the Indian government. After the Nunwan massacre, the Hurriyat called for an "impartial investigation" and stated: "Pilgrims have been attacked in the past and though the government had ordered an inquiry once, its report was not made public, nor any action was taken against those found guilty", suggesting that the Indian government had something to hide with regard to these incidents.
Every citizen has a defined role in a society to ensure peace and harmony. This is not the exclusive responsibility of the government establishment alone. Further, the majority community has a responsibility towards the minority community and also vice versa. Has this principle been fulfilled when we look at the issues related to the Amaranth yatra and the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri pandits?
Foreign terrorists cannot succeed in their evil designs without the tacit support of the local population and therefore the local Muslim population must bear some responsibility for these sordid acts.
On the lines of this reasoning let us look at the rest of India. The media in India is quick to pillory the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and the RSS and portray them purely as merchants of religious hate. If this were really so how difficult do you think it would be in an overwhelmingly Hindu country, for these groups to impose informal sanctions on non-Hindus from visiting their holy places in India similar to what is happening with Amarnath? Easy. Right. But then how come there is not a single instance of a Muslim or Christian being prevented by fear from paying obeisance at his or her holy site of worship? My purpose in making this point is not an arrogant claim to moral superiority. But it is to ensure that events be viewed impartially and objectively, so that right efforts are made in the right direction. Only then can we have a just and honest society.
*Note: The views expressed here are those of the writer and not necessarily those of Expressindia's.*
*The author is an academic and freelance
writer based in the US.
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