Who rules or doesn’t is unimportant

In the backdrop of the gory incident in which seven innocent Amarnath pilgrims were killed and many others wounded, I strongly feel this is not the time to find fault in others or speak about security lapses. It is time for all of us to get together irrespective of our politics, faith or region. Nobody in Kashmir wanted the yatra to be attacked. This has been their genuine longing. The Amarnath yatra is a symbol of a built-in feature of Jammu and Kashmir’s composite culture and ethos. I think there is no match of such a secular activity when Hindu devotees are going to have darshan of a natural shivling in a cave and seek the blessings of Lord Shiva, and Muslims are facilitating their journey. This is also a fact that the Kashmir Valley’s Muslims have always protected the yatra even in hostile situations. They have suffered themselves but never went against the pilgrims or the pilgrimage. Now when this gruesome incident has happened, we have to ensure that the secular fabric of J&K is not disturbed. That should be our prime responsibility. I have no doubt in my mind that the July 10 act was a deliberate attempt to spread communal disharmony. Hence, the foremost thing we did the other day was to declare a bandh and get all communities together for a peaceful demonstration against violence.

All of us in Jammu are feeling the pain like the people in the Valley and the rest of the country. The civil society and other groups in the Valley came out on the streets to protest and express solidarity with the victims. It was not a usual condemnation but a genuine outpouring. We all are deeply hurt.

Terrorism has no religion. We should not try to cast aspersions on a particular religion or community. If we do that, it would be the greatest disservice done to the nation and J&K.

Right now, putting the blame on the PDP is not going to ameliorate the situation.

Unless and until we join hands to make an effort to resolve the issue of Kashmir we will be standing nowhere. The state will disintegrate. Already there is an effort on to create the narrative that J&K will be trifurcated. In this blind alley, I feel there is, however, an opportunity for motivation.

Whether it is the PDP, Congress or any other party, we all must join hands to defeat the evil. Even right-thinking people in the BJP who genuinely feel for J&K think along the same lines. Politics is just for electoral gains — one may win or lose an election, but everything should not be looked from the prism of electoral politics. Governments come and go.

Now it is time for Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and other leaders across the political spectrum to come together.

Let us not try to point fingers at each other, instead let’s give politics a break and evolve a consensus.

Who rules or doesn’t rule is not important.

A very sad incident has taken place. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. It has brought people from all faiths together. Let us not try to point fingers at each other, instead give politics a break and evolve a consensus.