Separatists triumph as Kausar Nag yatra nixed
The Omar Abdullah Government's decision to rescind its support to a Kashmiri Pandit pilgrimage to the Kausar Nag glacial lake through south Kashmir has expectedly offended the community. However, what is more worrying is that the decision has seemingly been taken under pressure from separatists who oppose the yatra on the specious ground that it is part of a concerted effort to erode Kashmir's supposed Muslim identity. Radical separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has even gone so far as to the say that the Government seeks to convert the Valley into a hub of “Hindu religious tourism” so as to occupy it, “Israeli-style”, and make it “India's Gaza”. The absurdity of Geelani's statement notwithstanding, the fact remains that having driven out the Kashmiri Pandits from their ancestral homelands, it is the separatists who ‘occupy' the Valley. Moreover, now that the new Government at the Centre is looking to reverse the decades-old wrong by rehabilitating Kashmiri Pandits in the State, the separatists are on tenterhooks. The opposition put forth by these desperate characters is part of a larger pattern of stonewalling any alternative influence or activity in the Valley. They have for long grumbled even about the Amarnath Yatra, which in times of political tension becomes a potent weapon in the hands of leaders in Srinagar and Delhi alike, as much as it is a religious exercise for thousands of Hindu devotees. Similarly, the pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu has also come under threat with separatists raising a stink over the Government's efforts to provide better facilities for pilgrims.
The Kausar Nag yatra has gained political overtones for the first time this year. Usually a low-key affair done by small groups of devotees, totalling between 200 and 700 people, the pilgrimage was to be held on a much larger scale this year. The All Parties Migrants' Coordination Committee, an association of Kashmiri Pandits, organised the event for 4,000 people and also sought permission from the State Government to travel to the lake nestled in the Pir Panjal hills from Kulgam in south Kashmir. local authorities in Kulgam reportedly promised security for the pilgrims, but after the separatists threw a fit, the Government back-tracked. After protests and incidents of stone-pelting in parts of the Valley through the week, the APMCC was informed that it could only undertake the pilgrimage through the traditional Reasi route in Jammu. Since then, Shopian district authorities have prohibited the pilgrims from travelling to the lake while Kulgam officials are debating the virtues of a religious yatra versus. Thankfully, the Union Government has stepped in, with Union Minister Jitendra Singh (who represents Udhampur in Parliament) promising to look into the matter. Also, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the State Government for a report. But the core issue, which is the the State regime’s capitulation to separatists’ demands, will continue to rankle.