Report : Same modus operandi
Amarnath pilgrims attacked at Baltal
The attack on Amarnath Yatra pilgrims at Baltal base camp on July 18 shows the pre-planned strategy of the jehadis to discourage Hindu pilgrims visit the shrine in Kashmir Valley. It becomes clear again that the State government has turned a blind eye to the safety of the pilgrims and the radicals have a free hand in the State. The attack basically shows a pattern of communal violence taking place in some other parts of the country for some time.
A seemingly minor quarrel started after some mule owners misbehaved with a woman pilgrim. On being opposed by the members of bhandaras, the argument led to a fight. Subsequently, the ‘locals’ were soon called in and what happened next was a frightening turn of events. In the massive violence that ensued, 150 tents were burnt down, 70 cylinders exploded in the fire endangering the lives of everyone around. All this, in addition to physical violence on pilgrims, while the local police was simply watching as mute spectator of the entire carnage. It’s only after the CRPF guards intervened that the situation was brought under control. However the same rioting 'locals' themselves complained against the CRPF jawans. Thereafter the local police was quick to arrest the CRPF guards as well.
The Amarnath Cave has been a place of worship since times immemorial. Pilgrims from all over the world visit the holy site during the 45-day season around the festival of Shravani Mela in July–August. However, the yatra has time and again been opposed by some radicals in Kashmir and though they can't stop it in its entirety (yet), they make sure some untoward incident happens that discourages the pilgrims and scares them away for the want of their family's safety. The pilgrimage suffered a setback in year 2000 with the massacre in Pahalgam of 30 people by Kashmiri separatists. Most were yatris on their way to Amarnath. Lashkar-e-Taiba was said to be behind the killings.
In a country that claims to be secular, it’s the so-called minority that’s present everywhere to lead the people to violence and chaos. We've seen this violence in Rae Bareli, Hyderabad, Muzaffarnagar, Kishtwar and on a daily basis in West Bengal. The modus operandi is same—force a scuffle and escalate the tension by bringing in their ‘local mob’. Burn and thrash everything on the way. Pelt stone at security forces; abuse the nation and its people. The same happened once again on July 18 at Baltal.
Since the Amarnath Yatra is not an easy pilgrimage and it is marred by difficulties all along the route, various voluntary organisations set-up food supply and resting tents called pandals/bhandaras en route the shrine. The State government shows reluctance to the well-being of the pilgrims, let alone provide any luxuries to comfort them. It is high time the people and the government should take a serious note of the issue and these recurring trends and take appropriate action to thwart the radicals which are adding fire to the already exiting rift between the communities with such chaos and violence.
—Pramod Kumar
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Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad on July 19 staged a protest at Jantar Mantar protesting against the attack on the Amarnath pilgrims. They burnt the effigy of Chief Minister and demanded immediate suspension of the Governor NN Vohra. Addressing the protesters Bajrang Dal training chief Manoj Verma said whenever the holy yatra begins, the radicals become active at the behest of those who do not want the yatra to continue. Expressing deep concern over the incidents State VHP president Shri Rikhab Chand Jain said the attacks were pre-planned and the Union Government should take immediate efforts to protect the yatra. VHP central secretary Shri Koteshwar Sharma, regional organising secretary Shri Karuna Prakash, State secretary Shri Vijay Prakash, also joined the protest.
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