Religious polarisation has never been so sharp in Jammu and Kashmir. With controversy shrouding the ongoing Amarnath pilgrimage over the issue of environment pollution and transfer of land for setting up pre-fabricated structures for pilgrims on temporary basis, many in Jammu have started raking up the issue of large-scale damage caused to the rich flora and fauna on Pir Panjal due to the construction of Mughal road connecting border districts of Rajouri and Poonch with Shopian in the Valley.

Right from the ruling People’s Democratic Party to separatist leaders, belonging to both hardline and moderate Hurriyat Conference, everybody has joined the issue against the two-month-long pilgrimage and transfer of land to Amarnath Shrine Board for raising structures for pilgrims, enroute the cave shrine. While Hurriyat leaders have demanded cancellation of transfer of land to the Shrine Board, PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has asked the state legislature to take a re-look at its own legislation that led to the creation of a separate Board for the yatra in 2000.

The heat generated over the yatra in the Valley has reached Jammu and even New Delhi. Various political and social organisations have staged demonstrations against the Hurriyat and the PDP. BJP leader L K Advani has attributed the controversy to the nature of the ruling Congress-PDP coalition.

The sudden turn of events over an annual pilgrimage, which has been there since decades, has surprised many as religious polarisation had never been so sharp in this militancy-infested state. People from both the communities have lived in complete harmony even during peak militancy days, when thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were compelled to migrate from their native places in the Valley.

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