Long live JK

The recent Intifaada against transfer of forest land to the Amarnath Shrine Board has evoked severe reaction from extremist Hindu organizations in Jammu and elsewhere. They have started sending `suicide squads’ to Jammu to disrupt peace and harmony.  One such squad comprising more than 500 fanatics tried to enter Jammu via Lakhanpur the other day. However, timely action by the police prevented them from entering the state. But some managed to sneak into the state territory and addressed the media persons in a hotel.  They disclosed that more squads would enter the state in the coming days. “We shall give a memorandum to the governor and if he does not accept our demands within 72 hours, agitation shall start’, they told the newsmen. The unfortunate part of the story is that a few misguided  locals have been extending cooperation to the so-called suicide squads. It has been reliably learnt that they have donated money and ornaments to ensure  prolonged  stay of the miscreants in the city of temples. This has sent wrong signals to various quarters. The administration cannot just ignore it. The issue has to be taken very seriously and appropriate measures to ensure peace and harmony in the region have to be taken now. This is not the first time when extremists professing a particular faith have entered the city. In 1947 thousands of persons from various cities and villages of the neighbouring Punjab entered Jammu with evil designs. This was not checked by the then state government and ultimately the whole of the region was turned red with the blood of innocent people. According to rough estimates more than 2 lakh people got killed and around a million were forced to migrate to Pakistan and Pakistan administered Kashmir. The Valley maintained its cool in 1947 and during the recent Intifaada they made it amply clear that the agitation was not directed against Yatra, yatries or any religion. The generous people of Kashmir rose to the occasion once again and offered food and shelter to the yatries who had been left on their own by the government. The yatries  even chanted slogans against the government and the Shrine Board and thanked Kashmiris for their hospitality and generosity. The chairman Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq while praising the people of Kashmir for their tolerance urged the Jammu people to learn lessons of harmony from them. The people of Jammu also realized the gravity of the situation and  called off their strike. But some miscreants have been trying to communalize the situation for their petty interests.  The people of the state have lived together for centuries. They have shared moments of joy and sorrow together. Any attempt to create a wedge between them in the name of religion shall fail. But, the people of Jammu have to keep their eyes wide open this time. Let them not fall prey to the machinations of the vested interests. Let nobody exploit them in the name of religion. Meanwhile, the police have to maintain strict vigil in the region and at Lakhanpur. The so-called suicide squads should not enter the state at any cost.  They must be treated as intruders and dealt accordingly.  Some feeble voices have also been demanding separate statehood for Jammu region. But the people of the state have to show that the state shall survive and sustain as a single unit. Long live Jammu Kashmir.