As Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani prepares for a stir over the reported establishment of Amarnath Nagar and construction of a macadamised road to the Cave Shrine in South Kashmir, both the government and other separatist leaders have been in a fix. Shabir Ahmad Shah, who is among the top most leaders of the Hurriyat headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, says Geelani should have consulted other separatist leaders before announcing the protest programme. “He has neither contacted us nor consulted others. In my opinion, he should have contacted others leaders as we are all fighting for the same cause,” said Shah who is the chairman of the Democratic Freedom Party.
Taking Geelani head on is perhaps due to two reasons, says an analyst, wishing anonymity. “The pan Hurriyat camp knows the importance of the Amarnath issue. And at the same time the support of ‘moderates’ has considerably dwindled. Therefore, it is a pivotal issue to make a presence and also not let Geelani take the entire credit.” But, sources in the Geelani camp are unrelenting. “We found the proof of scheduled construction. Where were they? They knew that the government was planning to start construction,” said a leader close to Geelani.
Geelani, while opposing the construction of road to Amarnath Cave Shrine through South Kashmir forests, had showed photographs of the construction ‘as a proof.’ This was in violation of local forest laws, he had claimed during a press conference. Threatening to launch a ‘massive stir’, the octogenarian leader accused the state government of trying to develop a colony named Amarnath Nagar for the pilgrims in the forest belt. “SASB, which maintains the Shrine, has become a state within a state and the local government is helpless before it,” the separatist leader claimed. He reiterated his demand that the annual Hindu pilgrimage should be handed over to and managed by the local Kashmiri Pandits.
The Supreme Court had directed Jammu and Kashmir government to take a decision on the measures to make the annual Amarnath Yatra safe. A bench of Justice BS Chauhan and Justice Swatanter Kumar had asked the state government to take a decision on the various recommendations made by a high-power committee appointed by it. The SC had on July 20 set up a committee to recommend measures to prevent the growing number of casualties during the pilgrimage, saying it had become a ‘regular affair’. The court had passed the order after taking suo motu cognisance of media reports on pilgrims’ deaths. The committee comprised secretaries of various departments, including those from the environment, home, health and child welfare ministries, besides the Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary. The court had asked the committee to visit the shrine and give the report to J&K Governor N N Vohra who is also the chairman of SASB.
Threatening to come up with a ‘protests calendar’, Geelani said state government did not ‘even engage’ a lawyer to represent it before the apex court. Sensing trouble, chief minister Omar Abdullah offered Geelani a helicopter ride over the pilgrimage route ‘to have a first-hand view’. “I will keep state helicopters at the disposal of Geelani to fly over Pahalgam-Amarnath track. He can select any photographer of his own choice and have a complete aerial view of the mountains and the track. Let him show us where macadam is being laid even over a metre of the track,” Omar said.
Geelani turned down the offer saying: “We have conducted a survey on ground. We don’t need to fly in helicopters to know the actual position. We have correctly presented our survey before the people. We have presented pictures of construction and have given them proof. We fully own our survey that construction is going on in the area.” Describing the offer of a helicopter ride as a ‘political gimmick’, he said Omar ‘has not responded to the proof which he had presented in support of his claim’. Geelani claimed that he had shown with proof how material for the construction of the road was being dumped there. “Hurriyat has also questioned the status and vast powers of the Shrine Board. Omar didn’t mention these things in his speech, but uttered the ‘Helicopter’ word to divert the attention,” he said.
Geelani’s refusal prompted the government to fly journalists along the Baltal route, but the separatist leader was not impressed. On the same day he formed a core group to seek opinion about how to go ahead with the protest programme. Meanwhile, the right-wing Hindu groups in Jammu are already up in arms and have threatened to launch a counter stir.