| Jammu & Kashmir |
By Abhishek
Amarnath and Assembly elections disturb the valley
Amarnath Land Row
It all started on May 26 with the transfer of 40-hectare forest land in Baltal to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board for the use of the Hindu pilgrims. But soon the ruling Congress led government had to face the ire of the people of the valley. People came out on the streets of Kashmir opposing the state government’s decision tooth and nail while people of Jammu region opposed the Kashmiri protest.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) withdrew support from ruling government resulting in the fall of Ghulam Nabi Azad government. The state came under President’s rule and was governed by NN Vohra who replaced former Governor SK Sinha who was accused of transferring Kashmir land to Amarnath Shrine Board, overlooking the region’s autonomy.
The land transfer sparked off violent protests all across the state, forcing the revocation of the land which in turn led to another controversy and resulted in angry protests- this time by Hindu groups. As a result, Section 144 was imposed in Jammu. Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti along with other Hindu groups came out on the streets opposing the cancellation of the land transfer. As many as six people, including a Hurriyat leader, were killed in the clashes between protesters and police forces.
The controversial land transfer issue boiled for over two months before J&K Governor NN Vohra, after several round of talks, worked out a deal with the conglomerate of Hindu groups. The deal reached said that the land transfer would be on a temporary basis and would be used by the Amarnath pilgrims during their pilgrimage only.
Assembly Elections
After speculation that elections may be called off due to the Amarnath land episode, the month of November saw the declaration of the seven-phase Assembly elections in the state. Despite separatists’ call for the boycott, elections were conducted peacefully. The voters turn out percentage was also encouraging with people defying not only boycott appeals, terrorists’ threats but also the weather- much to the surprise of separatists.
J&K Assembly elections» |
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