BJP’s memorandum to Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Amarnath pilgrim deaths can easily be described as a sheer vandalism of historical facts. What BJP has produced in the name of a memorandum is simple distortion. Only a bigoted mindset is capable of creating such an evil agenda.  As facts stand testimony that the Amarnath yatra is barely a 150 year old tradition.  Day in and day out, we are told that during the period of Dogra king Gulab Singh, a Muslim namely Buta Malik had accidentally discovered the holy shrine. Lo and behold the BJP believes that the yatra is as old as 3 BC. In the very beginning of the memorandum itself BJP is trying to build a non-existent historical context of the yatra. The purpose is clear, BJP is more than keen to make the yatra a round the year affair and in that endeavour it is hell bent upon to fabricate a historical context. Even if for a moment BJP’s contention is to be believed, folklore can never be accepted as a proven historic fact.
In the absence of any historical tradition fascist forces always manufacture facts to carry forward their divisive agendas. That’s not the only industrial manufacturing of the history; hold your breath, BJP in its memorandum further claims that the yatra earlier used to be for a period of “120 days”. As they say lies have no legs to stand, the memorandum at a different place mentions that “Literary evidence indicates that in 1950s it used to last for about four months, and the number of people, who used to visit the shrine, was about 35 to 40”. How disgusting is the BJP’s assertion, nevertheless it efficiently debunks its very claim about the longer duration of the yatra, movement of few Sadhus in the higher Himalayas-- a traditional way of mountain wonderers or saints--- can never justify the claim of a organised yatra. Based on this false claim BJP now wants to buttress the demand of 365 days yatra: “The Muhurt and duration of the Yatra should be determined as per the Hindu Astha and tradition, which speaks of the Yatra running throughout the year”.  What is more alarming is the demand made in the memorandum: ‘As the hills and mountains at Tirupati and Mata Vaishno Devi have been designated as ‘Sacred Hills’ and ‘Sacred Mountains’, on similar lines the Amarnath Mount and the area surrounding it and also covering all possible conduits leading to it should be declared as Sacred Sri Amarnathji Area. This fully exposes the game plan and leaves nothing for any explanation. 
During the 2008 unrest many informed columnists had projected the sinister plan of Amarnath Nagar, BJP’s memorandum in every respect confirms those very fears. And in a purportedly secular democratic country how BJP can put forward a demand like that “about 70% of manpower on the Shrine Board is non-Hindu, which is against the time-honored universal principle that people not identifying with or not subscribing to the school of belief, faith and worship of the Shrine or a place of worship or a religion must not be considered to be on a Board or Trust created to look after the Shrine.” What does that mean a non Hindu implying the local Muslims should not even to be seen in the proximity of BJP purposed ‘Sri Amarnathji Area’? Does this not reveal a sinister design of converting the Muslim character of the valley? The 2008 unrest and immense sacrifices of the youth had put brakes on the plans of Amaranth Nagar albeit temporarily. Those plans have been revived rather with greater vengeance. The hue and cry on the unfortunate deaths of the pilgrims seems to be a well thought out strategy to carry forward the hidden agendas. As claimed by the memorandum to cater the requirements of one million pilgrims in near future, BJP demands that “Master Plan should be put in place immediately to address the issues of putting up Permanent as well as makeshift Yatra Houses en route including adequate supply of power and water, widened and paved roads, big as well as small Hospitals, etc”. And ridiculing the statements of some well meaning environmentalists that the yatra is an ecological disaster in the making, BJP demands the ouster of those members from SASB who rightly maintain that the yatra “endangers environment and accelerates melting of the glaciers”. The BJP has its own way of dealing with the critical ecological concerns; it claims that “while the fact is there is no glacier there”. The reality of glacier today is undeniable. What BJP connotes by denying the presence of glaciers, is the prophesy that the glaciers are bound to melt due to wanton abuse of ecology.  No glacier, no existence. What an efficient way of dealing with the rebelling Kashmir.

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Lastupdate on : Fri, 27 Jul 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 27 Jul 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 28 Jul 2012 00:00:00 IST