Online Petition to President of India - Secularism and Civility under threat in J&K

The petition
To, The President of India, Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi – 110001 5 Respected President, Decision to revoke the allotment of 40-hectare forestland to the Shree Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) for development of facilities for pilgrims is a complete surrender to the fundamentalist and separatist forces. By revoking the allotment of this land, the Congress party has demonstrated that it is one with the fundamentalists in creating a theocratic environment in the Kashmir valley. Our petition to Your Excellency with great concern at the fast deteriorating socio-political situation of the state. Of particular concern is the rabidly communal stance and statements of the frontline political parties like PDP, the National conference, the CPI (M), in tango with separatists parties and the militant groups, has caused stern alarm to Crores of Hindus across country. An innocuous activity like Shri Amarnath Yatra has been mired into controversies and in effect hurdles are being created in its smooth conductance. Shri Amarnath is one of the most sacred pilgrimage centers of Hindus since times immortal. In the past since the eruption of militancy in the state hundreds of Yatris have sacrificed their lives and have fallen to terrorist bullets if that has not deterred the determination of Yatris to visit Shri Amarnath, now it is in the from of ideological opposition to the yatra been seen. The protagonists of this vicious tirade dub the holy Amarnath Yatra as a cultural invasion of Kashmir affecting its ecology, cultural identity and demography. To this effect these people have been issuing highly inflammatory communal statements causing hurt and anguish to a billion Hindus world over. Ecological damage Kashmir has suffered is as a result of illegal felling of trees by land mafia in connivance with corrupt administration over the years. The systematic reclamation of water bodies and continuous flow of waste materials into lakes like the famous Dal Lake and uncontrolled construction activity rather than the Amarnath Yatya. The much touted Kashmiriyat stands thoroughly exposed which is nothing but a smokescreen to camouflage the communal fangs. In so far as the so called demographic change of Kashmir is concerned, yes it has taken place; the entire population of Kashmiri Hindus was driven out on the basis of faith making them refugees in their own country. Your Excellency Congress is the ruling party it has remained mute spectator to the happenings around. The gains of our valiant security forces are being frittered away at the cost of political pragmatism. Your Excellency in this hour of crisis your personal intervention alone would save the democracy, secularism and civility are under serious threat in Jammu and Kashmir. Yours Truly Kalhan Pandit

Neelam Razdan Wali
Shame on Congress Party?
352
Ayush
The surrender of GOI to fascist Islamic forces exposes that Hindus are taken for granted in their own country. When thousands of acres of land can be given to churches and Mosques, why are only the rights of temples targetted ? this is a wakeup call to all Hindus.
353
Dinesh Kumar Gupta

354
Anonymous

355
Vijay Konnanath

356
Rishabh Kaushal
Abject surrender to anti-Indian and separatist forces in J&K ....
357
Sanjila Dhar
Its high time now to change the step motherly treatment towards Hindus in their own country.
358
Vijay Kaul
I am deeply disappointed with J&K Govt. and the Govt. Of India for siding with the separatists, communalists and the terrorists of J&K who first ethnically cleansed the Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus) from Kashmir in 1990 and now have denied facilities for a Hindu Yatra to Amar Nath. Govt. Of India creates facilities for Haj pilgrims and Hindus don't protest. Are Muslims of Kashmir so intolerants to a faith that belongs to Indians for last 5000 years and conversion to Islam should not mean disrespect to faith of ancestors?
359
Rahul Razdan
Kashmiri Muslims in particular have always been fundamentalists. The unfortunate part is that whole Indian country is keeping a blind eye to it. Amarnath is one of the most sacred worship places for hindus. It is our right to have some land around the path for building facilities for the yatris (worshippers to undertake the journey to reach the sacred cave and pray). The fact that local muslims oppose this, clearly shows thier scant respect for anything non-muslim. And, we thought India was a secular country. Kashmiri Muslims always argue that the religious character of Kashmir should not change, which in other words means - muslims should grow and all other religions should diminish in Kashmir. In India, the rate of growth of Muslims has been many times the rate of growth of all other religions. Should the hindu majority states in india follow suit and stop muslim growth and take back all land given to muslim instituitions? This is a very sad state. India is playing into the hands of separatists. This should not be tolerated. Let India continue to be secular and give rights to Hindus also. Such irony - Hindus in india have to beg for basic rights!!!
360
Anonymous
Save Kashmir From Militants....
361
Eshan Dhar
I thought India was secular but maybe the definition of secular has changed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
362
Pratima Joshi

363
Ashok Chowgule

364
D.C. Nath
The Patriots' Forum would like to urge the President of India for early intervention so as to restore faith in India's secular identities and age-old tradition of tolerance of all faiths and religion.
365
Anonymous
Please raise your concern and forward it to as many people as possible.
366
Ravi Mathur
India is paying for development of J&K, & even for Haj pilgrimage etc. for Muslim pilgrims.This 40 hectare land is nothing compared to the goodwill that India is doing. Please take some action and stop this one sided "India -only for privileged treatment for a certain set of people" attitude! Thanks
367
Dr Chaitanya.S.Gulvady
My blood boils at the action of the Kashmir Govt succumbing to the fanatically communal Islamic Kashmiri parties demand for revoking of the land to the Amarnath Shrine Board.How were facilities at Amarnath going to change the demography of Kashmir? At the cost of a temporary peace,the hands of these elements have been strengthened.These very separatist elements were responsible for the flight of the Pandits from Kashmir valley and their sorry plight today.Why are we Hindus so adept at hitting the axe on our own feet.Don't we realise that this is all going to harm our very own Hinduism in the long run.These Islamic terrorists will not stop till the reign of Nizam e Mustafa is established in India and all the vestiges of Sanatana Dharma are wiped off the face of this land.Can't we see what has happened to our people and shrines in Pakistan,Bangladesh & Afghanistan.Are we to be wiped out like the Parsis? Add to this the electronic media is blaming the Hindu Right for communalising the issue,instead of castigating the Islamic parties of Kashmir.The Hindus in the NC,PDP and the Congress should desert these parties en masse and join the Hindu parties which will safeguard Hindu interests.
368
chaitanya aggarwal
I fully endorse the contents of the above write-up. I look forward to the establishement of a true rule of law in our country based on equality as enshrined in the constitution.
369
G.D.Prasad
I strongly protest, unfortunately India has declared itself secular, this is the only reason muslims are making thier way and taking full advantage. we Hindus are so weak that we cannot even unite for the cause like this where muslims unite and they will get full support from their leaders to protest like any thing. We have to feel shame on our part being a Hindu majority country, we can't even practice our religious rights completely or full fledged. It is the failure of the leaders who are there at the time of Independence, where Pakistan has declared it as Msulim country why cant we are not able to declare our country India as Hindu country. We have to think about this and make efforts to declare, so that other religious people wouldnt dare enough to do or participate against Shree Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) for development of facilities for pilgrims. or any religious activities.
370
n.srinivasan
once upon a time kashmimiriat was synonymous with seculaism. it is a sad day that so many years of association with india has resulted in kashmiri people becoming communal. certainly the politicians and not the people of india or kashmir have to be blamed. i hope that the next general elections to the union will mend the matters before permanent damage to the relations between the two countries. jai hind. n s
371
Radha Vijaykumar

372
M.N.S.Nampoothiripad
Seculariam cannot mean heads we win and tail you when it concerns muslim vote bank.
373
mn.srinivasan
it is distressing to note that party (ies) in or sharing power at the center and the state are more interested in loaves of office than true national interest. let us hope that these parties and their leaders will bite dust in the ensuing elections so that the secularism and nationalism that pervaded (when 1n 1946 nehru courted arrest in srinigar ro get sheikh abdullah released) returns to bharath which includes kashmir. n.s
374
Vikram
For Hindus, it is high time to start the second war of Independence. India is the only country where the majority community is suppressed and even denied the basic rights. If the government continues to do the same, we the Hindus will be forced to take the arms again to eliminate the evils who stand against Hinduism.
375
Anonymous

376
lakshmi.p.k.
complaining abt the situation in kashmir has nothing to do with parties including bjp ,( since bjp was not among the accused , i assume that the sender has a affinity or membership in bjp. ), as everyone knows kashmir is not a region exclusively meant for a religion, cast or party. the history and the people of india, including nri s give unnecessary importance to such issues as religion and ethnic culture. the truth is that v r not ready to share food , education , shelter and the basic human needs to our own people - and that is not just in kashmir , but everywhere , be it kollangode or kashmir. well ,indeed , it is way beyond the commonsense of any citizen of india , that when some religions or casts get special packages and discounts for their religious purposes - pilgrimage or celebration - most of the others , who r silent tax payers , do not get any such privileges. and why is that the churches and mosques dont open their bhandars and accounts to the bank personnels , where as the income in temples r headlines of newspapers - and that too , the churches and mosques get hundreds of crores every year? let us work towards a cultural identity of our own - time and /people - that is, let us concentrate on humanitarian approach - god is nothing but goodness personified. and v r facing a crisis of cultural identity. the only way is to accept and act towards a better india - v r indians , not christians , muslims and hindus. first of all major religions should work towards betterment of their individual issues among themselves - of equal status , education and helping themselves become proud of being good in everyway. and there is no god without happy and contended people. there is no short cut to happiness than to accept people as they r , develop love and respect among ourselves and do not indulge in anything which wld make ourselves ashamed , in the future. jaihind. thank u.
377
Anonymous

378
nandhitha
the pilgrims must be provided with needed facilities. are we not giving hajj concessions even though the mecca had declared fatwa statingaccepting haj concession is prohibited
379
Anoop Mantoo

380
MOHAN SETHI
IS THIS THE COUNTRY WHAT WE CALL OUR BHARAT OR OUR HINDUSTAN? WE DO NOT EXPECT OUR POLITICIANS TO RAISE A VOICE AGAINST THIS INJUSTICE BECAUSE IT HURTS THEIR VOTE BANK MANEOURING....OUR SUPREME COURT IS THE ONLY RESORT TO BEHOLD THE IRONY OF OUR TIMES.
381
amit kothari
Pratibha Patil will not listen dis..c is slave of roman catholic sonia..so they will not do anything..and signing petiosn will not help..this is time..for picking up weapons..and slaughtering the muslims..for whatever they hav done to hindus in last 1200 years.
382
ashok pandit
Protest
383
Mohan Kunnath
I fully support the pettition and urge The President to act in haste.
384
Prakash Nair
I fully agree to the petition
385
nandhitha
the pilgrims must be provided with all required facilities
386
narendran

387
Anonymous
Muslems enjoy benefits, Sikhs enjoy so many benefits. But questions always arise in India regarding Hindus, as they are tolerant always. I guess, political parties in India are not secular in anyway. CPIM is a fundamentalist force as they put importance on muslems (specially those who come illegally from Bangladesh)!!
388
N.Y.Choudhary
The similar thing started right from when Mahatma Gandhi came on national scene. During Tilak era and before that such attitude of political party was unheard off. We all are being mis lead by the biased, insufficient and improper documentation of Indian Freedom Struggle. The existing propoganda is much similar to that of made by Dr.Gobbles during Nazi regime. It is irony that our educated classalso falls prey to such propoganda. We all must stand together to confront such situation of national importance. The present stand taken by the democratic government is the perfect reflection of such attitude which requires refinement by removing such people from the seat of power through the most powerful wepon of election till then right, appropriate, truth etc. such words will remain in dictionary only
389
Anonymous
Check this out: Click Here and face the Facts Haj Pligrims Vs Amarnath Pligrims http://thekashmir.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/haj-pilgrims-vs-amarnath-pilgrims/
390
b.godhania

391
Anonymous

392
K.Venugopal
Muslims grudging improvement of facilities for Amarnath Yatra is in keeping with the intolerant nature of Islam. Their claim of having supported the Yatra for the last 150 years is misleading because they were actually enthralled only by the economic benefits it brought them. If the Shrine Board acquires 100 acres of land, the economic benefits accruing to the Muslims would diminish. Hence, Muslims opposition - both for religious and economic reasons.
393
R.Hariharan
This is a country where majority lives like a minority The interest of the minority Hindus in Kashmir is ignored while the minority Muslims in other parts of India are pampered.!! What a paradox ?? 80% of Hindus of India have less voice than the 14 % Muslims in a Secular India. Is this real secularism ?? Muslims going on Haj pilgrimage to Soudhi Arabia are given subsidy & speacial plane to go and come, but Hindus' security to Amarnath Yatra is taken lightly, inspite of earlier attacks by the militants.!! What a tragedy in Hindu India??