[Reader-list] Amaranth Yatra

[Pawan Durani]

Dear Shuddha ,

While I may trust your belief in ecological fallout , i completely disagree
with your understanding that the issue is not about the resentment towards
hindu pligrims.

It is all about that , non tolerance towards so called hindus or what they
love to call...."Kufr".

Pawan




On 6/30/08, Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net> wrote:
>
> Dear Pawan,
>
>
> Just because a terrain does not have trees, or that the altitude it is
> located in happens to be above the treeline, does not mean that it is not
> ecologically sensitive.
>
> Often, it is precisely terrain of this nature, such as for instance is at
> the vicinity of the mouth of the Gomukh glacier above Gangotri,(again above
> the treeline) that is extremely fragile and needs very careful nurturing.
>
>
> I know for a fact that the ecosystem of the Gomukh glacial region is very
> badly threatened because of the completely haphazard way in which access to
> this region (and the logistics of pilgrimage and tourism) has been managed.
> I can very easily see that something similar can happen in the case of
> Amarnath.
>
>
> I would urge you not to make the discussion of this question into a 'Hindu'
> question. It is not one, it is about the way in which State managed, so
> called, 'Temple Development Boards', enter into schemes to grab land, and
> about the ecological consequences of their land-grabbing propensities.
>
>
> You might recall that some months back you tried to pose the question of
> the building of a shipping canal between India and Sri Lanka as a matter of
> hurting Hindu sentiments. I endorsed your opposition to the so called
> 'Sethu-Samudram Shipping Channel' scheme, because to me it represented a
> threat to a fragile marine ecosystem, not on the basis of its alleged injury
> to Hindu sentiments. I also pointed out to you and to others on the list
> that the protectors of Hindutva, while proposing a Panama Canal style
> waterway cutting through the apex of the Deccan peninsula as an alternative
> to the 'Sethu-Samudram' plan were  also proposing what was certainly a
> blueprint for an ecological disaster.
>
>
> Opposition to the proposed (and now rescinded) land grab proposal by the
> SASB in the Amarnath case does not automatically translate into partisanship
> across the Hindu-Muslim question in Kashmir. Those who translate it as such,
> whether they are Hindu, or Muslim, are needlessly confusing a
> straightforward matter by bringing their own secterian biases to bear on the
> issue. No one should be misled by such attempts at confusion.
>
>
> best
>
>
> Shuddha
>
>
>
>
>  On 30-Jun-08, at 4:44 PM, Pawan Durani wrote:
>
>  Hello Shuddha ,
>
>
> Lemme just inform everyone that , the land may have belonged to Forest
>
> Department , but there is no single tree over there.
>
>
> Even when you reach Amarntah , there are no trees over there , becuase of
>
> high altitude.
>
>
> I visited the site, Baltal , two years back.
>
>
> Unfortunately the issue is not about ecology ..... the way it has been
>
> treated is a pure indicator that anything related to Hindus is not
> tolerable
>
> in Kashmir, and proves once again that it is not "freedom" but Islamic
>
> fanaticism which rules the shot in Kashmir.
>
>
>
> Pawan
>
>
>
> On 6/30/08, Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net> wrote:
>
>
> Dear Sonia, Dear Rashneek, dear all,
>
>
> Thank you, Sonia and Rashneek for the debate on the Amarnath Yatra
>
> issue. The question of temple boards and their closeness to power,
>
> and their lust for acquiring forest lands is not unique to Kashmir.
>
> It also happens, as you will see below, (see the report - Sabarimala:
>
> The Faith in Spate, by K.A. Shaji) in distant Kerala. The ruling left
>
> front government in Kerala is as involved in this game as anyone
>
> else, because 'Temple Boards' are gold-mines and no state government
>
> wants to close an operation that earns them the gold that can be
>
> mined in these gold mines. I am appending below a report on the
>
> question of the Sabarimala Temple boards desire for even more
>
> reserved forest land. The story is remarkably resonant of the
>
> Amarnath issue. A local, highly culturally specific, syncretic
>
> pilgrimage turning into the road-show of a revivalist 'Hinduism',
>
> with lucrative revenue spin-offs.
>
>
> I live in an area in Delhi where I have witnessed every year, for the
>
> past few years - 'Chalo Amarnath Chalo' (Let's go to Amarnath)
>
> posters and banners being put up by local RSS functionaries. And
>
> there are active fundraising drives which culminate in a cavalcade of
>
> Tata Sumos with the local 'Youth' blaring 'bhajans' from their
>
> booming auto-sound systems taking off to go do 'darshan' of the
>
> melting lingam. I don't think they (the Sumo Pilgrims of my
>
> neighbourhood) really care whether or not the forests of Kashmir go
>
> up in smoke.
>
>
> I also know that the Sabarimala pilgrimage has been twisted out of
>
> shape in a similar way, both by Hindutva enthusiasts, and by
>
> construction contractors close to the ruling Left Front. Fragile
>
> forests can barely sustain the burden of so much sudden faith.
>
>
> Incidentally, revivalist Hindus are by no means alone in their
>
> disregard for the local heritage and environment. The ruling
>
> dispensation in Saudi Arabia has effectively turned the pilgrimage
>
> sites of Mecca and Medina into an air-conditioned cultural wasteland.
>
> it has systematically destroyed shrines that were considered holy by
>
> millions of Muslim pilgrims, especially from South Asia, and
>
> completely transformed the intricate urban fabric of Mecca and
>
> Medina. There is a long history of protest, including in India, by
>
> Muslims against the way in which the Saudi Government, in cohorts
>
> with the Wahabi establishment has wrecked the topography of Mecca and
>
> Medina. Similarly, the Israeli state's policy of expansion, through
>
> settlements, and building high security segregated roads that cut
>
> through the west bank of the Jordan river are often camouflaged under
>
> an appeal to scriptural sanction for 'Greater' or 'Eretz' Israel.
>
> There is a great deal of money to be made in pilgrimage, and it
>
> affords everybody an opportunity to make some quick transformations
>
> of the landscape in the name of 'infrastructure development'  and
>
> 'settlement' , both of which are euphemisms for speculation in real
>
> estate.
>
>
> I am also appending a detailed report on the environmental impact of
>
> what was proposed by the erstwhile governor Gen (Retd) Sinha of Jammu
>
> and Kashmir for the Amarnath Yatra by Gautam Navlakha that appeared
>
> recently in the website of a journal called Kashmir Affairs. Finally,
>
> it is not my case that the acquisition of land for the Amarnath Board
>
> (SASB) is wrong, and the acquisition of land for the so-called
>
> 'Mughal Road', which has been pointed out by Aditya Raj Kaul, in a
>
> recent post is wrong. Both are equally disastrous from the
>
> environmental point of view. And the silence of political formations
>
> (of all persuasions) on the environmental impact of the revived
>
> Mughal Road and their recent discovery of environmentalism (in the
>
> case of the Amarnath land transfer issue) does make their commitment
>
> to environmentalism somewhat suspect. The PDP's stance is
>
> particularly hypocritical, as the original decision has been ratified
>
> by its own minister, (for Forest) in the (Indian Held) J&K state
>
> government. Still, even if the commitment of all the protagonists is
>
> suspect, I must say that I have rarely seen a popular movement
>
> reverse a state-driven decision on an 'environmental' issue, and the
>
> recent success of the agitation in Kashmir (whatever be the motives
>
> that impelled it) which has resulted in a reversal of the Land
>
> Transfer issue is something to be grateful for.
>
>
> These are issues that need to be seen quite separately from secterian
>
> concerns. I hope this debate can help us see them in that way.
>
>
> best
>
>
> Shuddha
>
> -------------------
>
>
> 1. Sabarimala: The Faith in Spate
>
> by K A Shaji
>
>
> http://www.boloji.com/society/115.htm
>
>
> Legend has it that when Lord Ayyappa set out to seek solitude, he
>
> settled upon Sabarimala. Its sylvan surroundings and undulating
>
> terrain had made it an ideal retreat for the bachelor god. The
>
> pristine monsoon forests had wrapped like an ornament around his
>
> hermitage at the top of the hill. The Lord believed to have called
>
> the area with tranquil atmosphere as his poonkavanam (sacred forest).
>
>
> A shrine inside the forest and a deity who chose the calm ambience of
>
> hills and valleys has few parallels in the country and outside. But
>
> now, it seems, all of the glories of Sabarimala were a thing of the
>
> past. When mythology meets present-day reality, Sabarimala is no more
>
> a chosen abode of the hermit God. During January-February each year,
>
> more than 50 million devotees, as claimed by the temple authorities,
>
> are thronging this forest temple for annual pilgrimage, putting the
>
> fragile ecology of the region under severe stress. Now, the holy hill
>
> is a synonym of increasing inflow of pilgrims, inadequate
>
> infrastructure, a devastated environment and a hapless wildlife.
>
>
> While the entire hill and the adjacent river Pampa, the third largest
>
> river in Kerala, are stinking due to sewage pollution and
>
> accumulation of garbage, the situation is not much different in the
>
> administrative and spiritual circles of the hill shrine. First, it
>
> was a controversy involving Kannada film actress Jayamala and a group
>
> of orthodox Hindus, who questioned her claim of touching the idol of
>
> the bachelor god defying the barricades meant for preventing sexually
>
> active women from entering the hill shrine. Then one of the highly
>
> revered traditional priests of the temple was robbed of a large
>
> amount of money and gold ornaments during his visit to the house of a
>
> woman engaged in flesh trade by a mafia gang. And now, it is the turn
>
> of aged father of a senior priest to allege that his son is under
>
> influence of a powerful Ezhava community leader with shadowy nature
>
> and the leader's followers are using his son to pocket the temple
>
> money. In the meantime, the Left Front Government has disbanded the
>
> existing administrative body of the temple citing corruption at high
>
> level and is preparing to enact a legislation to keep the corrupt
>
> community leaders out of the administrative body forever.
>
>
> On monetary grounds, the temple is the third largest in the country,
>
> standing very close to Tirupathi and Guruvayur. The cash-strapped
>
> Kerala Government, despite its leftist moorings, is depending very
>
> much on the income from the temple to meet salary needs of its
>
> employees. In order to increase the revenue, the successive
>
> governments and the so-called proponents of development are
>
> vociferous of implementing multi-crore construction plans in
>
> Sabarimala clearing forests and building a concrete jungle in its
>
> place. But nobody in the spiritual and administrative levels of the
>
> temple as well as the government establishment are apprehensive of
>
> the increasing level of pollution and the extreme level of
>
> deforestation. Their focus is entangled only in the growing number of
>
> controversies and the commissions to be available after the beginning
>
> of the construction work.
>
>
> Located about 467 metres above sea level, the Sabarimala temple is
>
> surrounded by 18 hills and situated inside Periyar Tiger Reserve, one
>
> of the few safe havens for tigers in the country. According to bird
>
> watcher B.Sethumadhavan, as many as 2000 species of flowering plants,
>
> endemic and medicinal, have been identified among the region's flora.
>
> `` About 63 species of mammals, some of them endangered like tigers,
>
> elephants and lion tailed macaque live here. So far, 223 species of
>
> birds and 45 species of reptiles including King Cobra have been
>
> identified in this area,'' he said. The ever- expanding number of
>
> pilgrims and mindless construction works are posing severe threat to
>
> their very survival. Devotees of a Lord, who believed to have loved
>
> the flora and fauna and their safekeeping, are now on a rampage in
>
> the name of development forcing the wildlife to move out of their
>
> traditional habitat.
>
>
> As per legends, the vehicle of Lord Ayyappa is tiger. But,
>
> astonishingly, neither the tiger nor the surrounding evergreen
>
> forests do not come in the list of priorities before the |Travancore
>
> Devaswam Board, which administers the shrine. ``There was an increase
>
> of 35 per cent in revenue while comparing with last year during the
>
> November-December period. In the number of visitors, the increase is
>
> of 19 per cent. These figures show the need for immediate
>
> developmental works in Sabarimala. But there are agencies like Forest
>
> Department which cry for tigers and forests,'' alleges G.Raman Nair,
>
> outgoing president of the board.
>
>
> However, environmentalists and forest officials are countering the
>
> allegation. ``The development works so far at Pampa have made it
>
> impossible a soul-filling holy dip in river Pampa. At least, two
>
> scientific studies conducted by Government's own agencies had found
>
> that landslips and tremors would take place at the holy hillock any
>
> time largely because of the extensive concrete flooring at the temple
>
> premises. The devaswam is only interested in money making. It has no
>
> concern for the impending dangers for both nature and devotees,''
>
> pointed out Sumesh Mangalassery, a member of the environmental group
>
> Kabani.
>
>
> According to Sumesh, a panel of Kerala Legislature on environment led
>
> by RSP leader A V Thamarakshan had submitted 32 proposals to the
>
> Devaswam Board to protect Sabarimala around five years back. But none
>
> of them were acceptable to the board. Even the suggestions of Kerala
>
> State Pollution Control Board to minimise the pollution of river
>
> Pampa were paid scant regard by the board. A visit by Tehelka to
>
> Sabarimala found that river Pampa continues to remain the main victim
>
> of the callous attitude of the authorities. It gets choked in the
>
> temple area as solid waste including human excreta; plastic bags,
>
> empty water bottles and coconut husks block the free flow of water.
>
> About 35 million people took a holy dip in the river between November
>
> and January, which is the major source of drinking water for three
>
> districts.
>
>
> According to a study by the pollution control board, the total
>
> coliform count recorded at the river portion close to Sabarimala is
>
> about 1,14,000 per 100 millilitres (ML) during the peak of
>
> pilgrimage. Just before the pilgrimage season, it is merely 380 per
>
> 100 ml- well below the permissible limits of 500 per 100 ml.
>
> According to local people, the overflow of human faeces from sceptic
>
> tanks around the temple stands the major reason of the pollution of
>
> the river. ``More than 3,000 temporary toilets are functioning close
>
> to the temple in addition to about 600 permanent toilets. The
>
> capacity of the sewerage treatment plant is very limited,'' pointed
>
> out K.Anirudhan of Sabarimala Samrakshana Samithy.
>
>
> Most of the experts, who had conducted studies on the pollution and
>
> environmental problems prevailing in Sabarimala, point to the need of
>
> regulating the ever- increasing number of pilgrims. ``Sabarimala is
>
> bursting at the seams with millions of devotees now. Thirty or forty
>
> years ago, only around 50,000 pilgrims visited the temple. Today, the
>
> number is fifty million and is rising at the rate of 20 per cent
>
> every year. The ever-swelling flow resulted in a major mishap on
>
> January 14, 1999, when 100 pilgrims died in a stampede at the site.
>
> Indications are that Sabarimala is a disaster waiting to be happen,''
>
> warns noted Kerala based environmentalist P K Uthaman. According to
>
> him, almost two thousand tonnes of human waste are deposited in crude
>
> earth pits and outside in Sabarimala every year. These wastes are
>
> finding their way into not only the river Pampa but also to river
>
> Periyar by underground as well as over ground rivulets, posing a
>
> threat great health hazard for the pilgrims as well as those living
>
> downstream.
>
>
> In addition, the lack of post pilgrimage cleaning drives often result
>
> in unabated flow of hazardous waste into the rivers. The temple area
>
> has already been converted into a concrete jungle where guesthouses
>
> and other structures are constructed haphazardly all around. They are
>
> meant for temple officials, priests, VVIPs and police personnel.
>
> According to M.Gopal, a pilgrim from Bangalore who visited Sabarimala
>
> this year, human excreta and plastic waste were found strewn just
>
> outside the Sannidhanam (the main building of the temple). As per
>
> data available from forest department, over 2.5 lakh empty plastic
>
> bottles of packaged water were collected from inside the tiger
>
> reserve. The number of tetra packs collected would come around 4.5
>
> lakh. The temple complex of the hermit, who believed in renunciation
>
> of earthly attractions, is now filled with commercial shops selling
>
> products ranging from gold ornaments to dress materials. All these
>
> shops were constructed by clearing forests.
>
>
> ``The total time available for darsan as of now is a total of 1431
>
> hours, i.e. 515160 seconds. If a darsan goes on one at a time basis
>
> and a devotee gets a second, the total strength of the pilgrims can
>
> only be 5,15, 160 per year. If ten people could somehow cluster
>
> together per second for darsan, the maximum number would be
>
> 51,51,600,'' points out a document prepared by |School of Social
>
> Sciences at Mahatma Gandhi University on behalf of Kerla Forest
>
> Department. The document also questions the claims of the board that
>
> over 50 million people visit the temple annually. But anyway, the
>
> number of pilgrims' visting Sabarimala is many times more than its
>
> capacity.
>
>
> ``The authorities must find out some mechanism to regulate the
>
> alarming increase in the number of pilgrims. Sabarimala is not only
>
> an environmental but also a social disaster,'' opined Dr.Rajan
>
> Gurukkal of School of Social Sciences. Now a day, the uncontrolled
>
> flow of pilgrims from various entry points is resulting in people
>
> swarming all around the protected sanctuary leading to man –animal
>
> conflicts. Recently, an elephant trampled upon one pilgrim. Then it
>
> was found that the pilgrims were sleeping in the corridor used by the
>
> elephants for going to the river to drink water at the night. A large
>
> number of such corridors were already disrupted due to the
>
> construction works undertaken in the recent past.
>
>
> According to Sedumadhavan, the authorities are even paying scant
>
> attention on the safety of pilgrims. As many as 12,000 litres of
>
> diesel are being stored just above the sannidhanam without any
>
> storage licence or safety parameters. They are also keeping a large
>
> number of crackers near the sanctum sanctoram without any safety
>
> concern. The only solution on the part of Trvancore Devaswom Board
>
> for all problems plaguing Sabarimala is denudation of nearby forests
>
> and setting up new amenities. According to Rajan Gurukkal, such an
>
> attempt would be disastrous as all the existing problems of
>
> Sabarimala can be viwed as the after effect of deforestation.
>
>
> The devaswam board has already ruined about 55.09 ha of forestland in
>
> the name of sabarimala development. In the opinion of
>
> environmentalists, they demand more forests to cut and smuggle out
>
> precious trees and construction of further concrete strctures with
>
> ulterior motives. Maintaining the sanctity of the shrine and the
>
> precious eco-system never appeared a priority before them. So far,
>
> the devaswam board was constituted once in five years by nomination
>
> of people with no administrative acumen at the behest of successive
>
> governments.
>
>
> Rajan Gurukkal and his team at School of Social Sciences have
>
> prepared a long-term action plan for saving Sabarimala from the
>
> sequence of disasters in the offing. But the lobbies of corrupt and
>
> communal elements are not allowing the devaswam to look into them.
>
> Even the small step of Left Government in disbanding the existing
>
> devaswam committee is being interpreted as an attempt by atheists to
>
> interfere in Hindu religious matters. The move by left government to
>
> appoint experts in place of politicians at the board also facing
>
> opposition from Sangh Parivar organisations, who claim as custodians
>
> of Hindu places of worship.
>
>
> The board and its corrupt administrators were not able to get their
>
> hand on the forest so far due to stringent central acts and Supreme
>
> Court rulings. But even the outgoing members are repeating their old
>
> slogan of `no development in Sabarimala would be possible without
>
> deforestation.' Unless the authorities change their attitude from a
>
> revenue-centred approach to a pilgrim centred aprach, there is not
>
> much hope. But they still repeat that development (read
>
> deforestation) could not be stopped for the sake of a few birds and
>
> animals. ``The board had neither faith in environmental protection
>
> nor in religious sanctity,'' opines Rajan Gurukkal.
>
>
> Decongestion of base town Pampa by increasing facilities at a
>
> relatively distant town of Nilakkal, demolition of unauthorised
>
> concrete structures at Sannidhanam and Pampa, cleaning of the river,
>
> better waste disposal facilities and provisions of basic facilities
>
> for pilgrims without affecting ecology are the urgent needs of
>
> Sabarimala. The tigers and elephants must be protected.
>
>
> If there is no mechanism to check the number of pilgrims, that would
>
> increase to two to three crores within years. Moderate elements among
>
> the Hindu community are favouring a statutory body for Sabarimala in
>
> line with Tirumala-Thirupathy Devasthanam and Amarnath temple. Such a
>
> body consisting of experts from different fields can change the
>
> course of priorities of the forest temple.
>
>
>
> -----------
>
>
> 2. Amarnath Yatra: The Pilgrimage to Eco Disaster
>
> Gautam Navlakha
>
> http://www.kashmiraffairs.org/gautam_amarnath%20yatra.html
>
>
> Should one question the propriety of promoting pilgrimage in a
>
> ecologically fragile area or wink at it in the name of devotees right
>
> to free movement and worship? This question comes to mind when
>
> looking at Amarnath Yatra especially the phenomenal increase in the
>
> number of pilgrims. This increase is not of few hundred or few
>
> thousand but runs into hundreds of thousands. There has been a
>
> doubling of the period for pilgrimage from one month to two this year
>
> as well as forty times increase in number of pilgrims, from 12,000 in
>
> 1989 to 450,000 in 2005 (this year it is set to cross 500,000) are
>
> cause for concern. In fact the actual period is longer because a
>
> fortnight before the official yatra is reserved for army men and
>
> their families to visit the Amarnath cave through ecologically more
>
> vulnerable Baltal route. Moreover, in order to provide security for
>
> pilgrims who come out in large number, the paramilitary forces have
>
> to be deployed in large number. The current deployment will be in
>
> excess of 20,000 for the entire period. Their presence and stay
>
> cannot but affect the rise in pollution levels. Inclement weather too
>
> is an issue because rains in the plain means snow in the higher
>
> reaches. This results in crowding at the camps, straining services
>
> including disposal of waste. But worse things can happen as in 1996
>
> when unexpected heavy snowfall resulted in death of 243 pilgrims and
>
> injuries to hundred more due to avalanche.
>
>
> The State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), recently in a 37 page
>
> report warns that generation of waste by pilgrims, absence of waste
>
> disposal sites, open dumping of garbage, air pollution, sewage
>
> generated by hotels, yatri camps and local residential areas makes
>
> its way into Lidder river. The SPCB warned that waste generated by
>
> pilgrims more than the local average and primarily contains plastics,
>
> polythene and leftover food packets all along the route. According to
>
> their calculation 55,000 kgs of plastic waste is generated every day
>
> during the pilgrimage. Besides, thousands of open toilets erected
>
> along the banks of Lidder river ensures that effluents enter the
>
> river. Thousands of vehicles ply up and down the mountains around
>
> Pahalgam all the way up to Chandanwari spewing carbon monoxide. The
>
> Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which came into existence on
>
> February 21, 2001, has been dismissive of such claims. They assert
>
> that 230 pre-fabricated toilets being raised in Nunwan base camp and
>
> human waste disposal off in leach pits with micro-organism technology
>
> using Bokaslin powder and other chemicals would take care of the
>
> problem. However, the issue is more than the supposedly effective
>
> modern methods to manage waste. The sheer presence of large mass of
>
> people is a cause for concern. Department of Science and technology
>
> through its principal investigator on glaciology has argued that "the
>
> ecology, the environment and health of the glacier can be under
>
> severe threat in case the Baltal route to the Holy Cave was
>
> frequented by thousands of pilgrims". And pointed out that "depletion
>
> and degradation (of glaciers) are the result of human breath, refuse
>
> and land erosion". (The Tribune July 5, 2005).
>
>
> It is disconcerting to note that opening of Baltal route for pilgrims
>
> on foot and those using helicopters has crossed several thousand
>
> every day. Apart from the Department of Science and Technology of J&K
>
> government even the Nitish Sengupta committee, which was constituted
>
> to look into the deaths of 243 pilgrims in 1996 due to the snowstorm,
>
> had recommended that number of yatris be restricted to 5000 per day
>
> for a period of one month and the total number of pilgrims be capped
>
> at1.5 lakhs. According to them Baltal route should allow 1500
>
> pilgrims and Pahalgam 3500 per day. However, the General JR Mukherjee
>
> committee, which looked into the cause of death of 35 people, due to
>
> cross fire, during the 2000 yatra, focussed on security arrangement
>
> and wanted the duration of the yatra to increase as security scenario
>
> improved. But neither report looked at the environmental impact of
>
> the yatra. Thus when the SASB invokes the recommendations of the two
>
> committees what it does is to use it selectively and link the number
>
> of pilgrims to the issue of managing security for them. In this sense
>
> they underplay the question whether the eco-system can bear heavy
>
> influx of pilgrims. This emphasis on encouraging larger number of
>
> pilgrims shows its impact on the environment in unexpected ways. Such
>
> as the SASB contemplating "air conditioning" to preserve the shiva
>
> lingam from melting. The recent controversy over the pilgrims
>
> alleging that the SASB has been constructing the "snow lingam" is now
>
> being passed off as due to change in the course of the water channels
>
> after last year's earthquake and global warming. Without ruling this
>
> out human contribution to this phenomenon cannot be ignored when
>
> glaciers are rapidly receding. As a matter of fact yatra was never
>
> undertaken in June precisely because formation of shiva lingam does
>
> not always take place then. Incidentally the local people speak of
>
> "human" intervention in restoring what is a natural phenomenon, as
>
> something that has happened in the past too. This apart large number
>
> of pilgrims means that going gets tough as one draws close to the
>
> cave with traffic jam being the order of the day. At times pilgrims
>
> have to wait for hours for their turn. Increase in dust in atmosphere
>
> too is caused by crowds of people as well as helicopter service. The
>
> dust raised is visible from long distance away. All this also means
>
> that individual pilgrims, that is other than VIPs, are disallowed
>
> from spending more than seconds inside the cave. Above all carbon
>
> dioxide levels shoot up warming the area all around.
>
>
> It cannot be that the SASB is unaware of the environmental concerns.
>
> If it receives short shrift it is because the yatra has come to
>
> symbolise Indian government's determination to promote its claim in
>
> J&K. That pilgrimage is being heralded as victory against a movement
>
> demanding azadi from India is available in the news portal of Indian
>
> government, Press Information Bureau. It says that "yearning for
>
> moksha (salvation) can move the devotees to the challenging heights
>
> of Kashmir and will be a fitting gesture of solidarity with our
>
> valiant soldiers who have been fighting the enemy to defend our
>
> borders". (pib.nic.in/feature/feo799/f1507992.html). Thus what is
>
> otherwise merely a religious pilgrimage of the Hindus has been
>
> elevated to represent a patriotic enterprise. Besides, the SASB is
>
> headed by the Governor and his principal secretary is the CEO of the
>
> SASB. Thus the Government of India is clearly in charge of organising
>
> the yatra. And it is the SASB which has been pushing for larger and
>
> larger numbers of pilgrims and challenging the right of the state
>
> government from interfering in anyway with the schedule announced by
>
> the SASB.
>
>
> It is true that not everyone who goes to Amarnath accepts this
>
> association of religion with patriotism. But the fact of the matter
>
> is that official perception of pilgrimage as patriotic duty has
>
> allowed the communal fascist elements to join in organising their
>
> supporters. Little wonder that frequency of conflict between section
>
> of such 'pilgrims' and local population due to their obnoxious
>
> behaviour has shown an increase. What is equally disconcerting is
>
> that the SASB presided over by the Governor has also been engaged in
>
> controversial transactions. The CEO of SASB is the principal
>
> secretary to the Governor. Present CEO's wife, in her capacity of
>
> Principal secretary forest department granted permission to SASB on
>
> May 29, 2005 to use forest land. But this provision was not in
>
> accordance with the provision of J&K Forest Conservation Act 1997
>
> and, therefore, the state government withdrew the order. However,
>
> thanks to a stay order by a division bench of the J&K High Court the
>
> withdrawal of permission to occupy forest land, was suspended. Any
>
> visitor to Pahalgam can observe how this forest land is being cleared
>
> to setup camps for the yatris. In fact now the SASB has asked the
>
> state government to give them land in the radius of 5kms of the cave.
>
> This arouses local passions precisely because Indian security forces
>
> and other entities have transferred large tracts of land to house
>
> camps for security force personnel, or for central projects, as well
>
> as for schools which are run by army among others. Even a pro-Indian
>
> National Conference party has protested such transfers of land since
>
> 1989. Not very far from the camp for the pilgrims in Pahalgam, in
>
> Lidru (opposite Kulan village) what locals describe as one of the
>
> finest meadows, spread over 550 kanals (one kanal=one eighth of acre)
>
> in area, has been given to the army to run a school! Local population
>
> feels helpless at being unable to stop this. Therefore, when SASB
>
> wants large tract of land transferred to it under the claim of
>
> providing accommodation for lakhs of pilgrims it must be weighed
>
> against this local concern. Were the numbers of pilgrims to be
>
> brought down the pressing need for transferring large areas to SASB
>
> or for providing carpet security and thus deployment of force, can be
>
> brought down.
>
>
> This apart the SASB has also been involved in other controversial
>
> acts. One such was the recent attempt by the SASB to bring down the
>
> involvement of local people in the yatra. When on June 5, 2006 the
>
> local pro-India Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) claimed that SASB was
>
> ignoring livelihood of locals, the SASB countered by claiming that
>
> such criticism would generate controversy and thus "jeopardise"
>
> tourism in Kashmir. Quite apart from the fact that promotion of
>
> pilgrimage for commerce flies in the face of proclaimed concern for
>
> people's faith PDP pointed out that if local porters and ponywallahs
>
> can strike work at Vaishnodevi Shrine against the (mis)management of
>
> the Shri Vaishnodevi Shrine Board (SVDSB) and seek support from local
>
> Congress leaders then what is wrong if local people from Pahalgam and
>
> Kangan areas seek their help to protest against the practises of SASB
>
> which discriminate against them. In fact the Pithoo Workers Union at
>
> Katra have protested the suspension of six of their leaders, alleged
>
> manhandling by SVDSB officials and demanded recall of its additional
>
> CEO. Neither the Governor as head of SVDSB nor the Board issued any
>
> statement chastising the Congress party!
>
>
> Arguably, when yatra was halted between 1991-96 due to threat of
>
> section of the militants it played into the hands of the extreme
>
> right wing elements in Indian society who have since then become an
>
> integral part of mobilising large numbers of pilgrims. Thus a form of
>
> competitive communalism came into play. Thus when section of the
>
> militants represented earlier by Harkatul Ansar and now Lashkar-e-
>
> Taiyyaba or Jaish-e-Mohammed threaten to disrupt the pilgrimage it
>
> only gets the backs up of the devout Hindus opens them to vitriol of
>
> the rabidly anti-Muslim Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Shiv Sena etc.
>
> and accentuates the communal divide. However, it is equally important
>
> to note the actual fact that more people have died in yatra due to
>
> inclement weather and cross fire than at the hands of the militants.
>
> Besides, the main indigenous militant organisation Hizbul Mujahideen
>
> has always supported the yatra and has consistently demonstrated its
>
> opposition towards those who have tried to disrupt the yatra.
>
> Moreover, prior to constituting SASB the state government, local
>
> people and social activists provided aid and assistance to the
>
> pilgrims. However, threat of environmental damage has become a matter
>
> of utmost concern because the central government under the cover of
>
> SASB remains unrelenting in its pursuit of ever larger numbers to
>
> come for pilgrimage.
>
>
> In a way the Amarnath yatra illustrates the way in which the Indian
>
> government injects communalism in our body politic. And also
>
> represents how secularism in India has been perverted to mean state
>
> patronage of religion/s. This patronage is not equitably distributed
>
> since Hindus outnumber others by more than eight times. Which is to
>
> say that between un-equals equality ends up promoting Hindu religious
>
> practises. In Amarnath yatra, in fact, the India government even
>
> discarded its pretended neutrality by publicising the yatra as a
>
> patriotic duty! Consequently, the likelihood of Amarnath pilgrimage
>
> getting mired in controversy, over environmental damage and
>
> eventually feeding into further alienation of people because they can
>
> do little to save damage to their lived environment, has increased.
>
> Trouble is the Indian government cares little for people and prefers
>
> to pander to the extreme rightwing by projecting the yatra as a
>
> patriotic enterprise to boost the morale of the Indian paramilitary
>
> forces. The very same force which the local population regards as
>
> symbol of their oppression. Thus a bigger mess is in the making right
>
> before our own eyes.
>
> ---------------
>
>
> Shuddhabrata Sengupta
>
> The Sarai Programme at CSDS
>
> Raqs Media Collective
>
> shuddha at sarai.net
>
> www.sarai.net
>
> www.raqsmediacollective.net
>
>
>
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