Similarly , portrayal of NC chief, Omar Abdullah's views in the house by some members of the media fraternity, perticularly the electronic media , as "riveting performance" or "passionate espousal of patriotism" and to suggest that it stood out from the rest is to suggest that the presentations made by other members in the house,cutting across their party lines , were either unpatriotic or not upto the mark. Let us not forget that Abdullah Jr. made some false statements in the house like (1)Amarnath pilgrimage is just a hundred year old or (2) no temples have been damaged in the past or(3) no Amarnath Yatri was attacked during or after the recent agitation of valley based sessionist elements headed by Hurriat , PDP etc and shockingly backed by parties like NC as well , demanding revocation of land transfer from SASB under the garb of ecological concerns.

The agitators and their patrons including Omar, should have been rather more concerned about the continued and rapid shrinking of great water bodies of the valley like the Dal and Wollar. The communal stand taken on this issue by various valley based outfits , including the National Conference, resulted in the Congress Govts' abject and meek surrender before the sessionist forces. The fresh euphoria of these anti-national forces , as witnessed in early nineties when an entire minority community of peace loving Pandits , numbering nearly four lacks, was forced out of their homes and hearths -lock stock and barrel , could well be guaged when the agitators fluttered, freely, Pakistani flags amidst bursting of fire crackers and shouting of anti-India but pro-"Azaadi" slogans , in the heart of the valley immediately after the then Azad Govt announced the cancellation of land transfer order to SASB.

Further it may be noted that :

(a) Pilgrimage to holy Amarnath cave is much older than the advent of Islam in the valley in 14th century AD. That the people, undertook the holy Yatra even two hundred years before the advent of Islam is well recorded in much aclaimed historical chronicle - " Rajatarangini " of Kalhan - written in 12th century AD.( Ref. Kalhan's Rajatarangini , translated from original Sanskrit by R.S.Pandit and with a Foreword by India's first PM , Pt.Jawahar Lal Nehru ; stanza - 267, taranga 1 ; Page -38 ) . The myth that the holy cave of Swamy Amarnath has been "discovered " by a Muslim ,at a later date, is far from the truth . And ,denying the existance of Yatra to the holy cave in the ancient times , prior to the advent of Islam , is to disregard the eastablished facts of history by those very forces who are out to Islamise the entire state of J&K by hook or by crook.

(b) Ministry of Home Affairs ,GOI , has on record confirmed that more than one hundred temples have been either partly / fully damaged or burnt in the valley by the Islamic fundamentalists during the last two decades alone.

(c) As per media reports , a number of Amarnath Yatries , women and children included , got injured , even couple of them got killed , when they were attacked at least at three places in the valley including at Banihal , Ganderbal and Gulmarg prior to the date of 'trust vote' when Omar spoke in the house.

Patriotic and secular credentials of politicians like Abdullahs and Muftis, can well be eastablished if the parties they represent fecilitate the demand of seven lac Kashmiri Pandits, now in nineteenth year of forced exile, to at least take control of their centuries' old religious shrines and places of worship in the valley and also by respecting the sentiments of crores of people of the country and devoties of Lord Shiva spread across the globe , who have been demanding the restoration of land back to SASB.

Responsible people and institutions , including the media , have a definite role to play in preventing villains from turning into heroes.

The writer is a senior activist of Panun Kashmir.

Printer-Friendly Version