What was the need to form this Samiti? Was it just the Amarnath land row?
Of course, taking back the land allocated to build facilities for Amarnath pilgrims was a great insult and was the spur for the movement. Now it has become an expression of accumulated anger against the (Kashmir) valley's discrimination for the last 60 years.
In every walk of life, Jammu is treated like a pariah, a discardable part just because we are patriots and lay our lives for the tricolour. As far as the land for Amarnath pilgrims is concerned, it has to be noted that we had not demanded it. It was the government which felt the need and passed the order to allocate land to another government body -- the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board.
Still under pressure from the separatists, the government took back its order, which was earlier signed by ministers belonging to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's People's Democratic Party and the Congress. The state government was hesitant to give facilities to the yatris from the beginning.
Also this year, the governor, who is the ex-officio head of the shrine board, was changed midway through the yatra, resulting in confusion and mismanagement.
After the PDP and National Conference opposed the allotment of land, the new governor, N N Vohra, who is an old confidante of Sayeed, unilaterally took back the letter for land allotment to the SASB and handed over the organisation of the yatra back to the state tourism department on June 29.
The same day we decided enough is enough and took a vow to wage a battle till the land was given back to the SASB.
Did you anticipate this kind of response?
No, this has become the largest-ever mass movement I have ever seen. It's beyond my imagination. Children, old men, ladies and youngsters, all are on the road and it has become a self-propelled agitation growing every day. People are using novel ways and innovative methods to make it more effective.
Image: Demonstrators protest in Jammu. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images.
Also read: Jammu is not for burning
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