A day after J&K Government’s spokesman and Education Minister in the coalition government Naeem Akhter announced that the Abhinav Gupt yatra would not be allowed, the BJP reacted strongly by terming the decision “unfortunate” and the differences cropped up between coalition partner PDP due to the pressure of separatists and other Kashmir-centric groups. The BJP ministers, however, have maintained a guarded silence to avoid any controversy. However the ongoing controversy has not interrupted the yatra that entered Kashmir valley on June 3 and it has so far covered nearly 38 temples in the area. Interestingly, separatists and other groups are opposing the entry of the yatra to the Beerwah cave but the organisers of the event have claimed that the cave does not come in the route of the yatra. The yatra is being undertaken not to undermine the Muslim majority character of the Valley but to highlight the glorious cultural and intellectual movement of Kashmir which has been internationally recognised. The opposition to the yatra is indicative of a narrow and biased mindset of certain elements in the Valley. The mainstream politicians should not make an issue out of nothing on a yatra which was never in lime light before the controversy raked up. Unlike the annual Amarnath Yatra this yatra has not got the bigger profile where separatists and other leaders feel threatened about the cultural invasion. People should stop opposing the yatra for appeasing a handful of separatists, who despite enjoying all the privileges have developed a habit of making a mountain out of a molehill to prove their loyalty towards their handlers sitting across the Line of Control. A New Delhi-based organisation, Acharaya Abhinav Gupt Sheshadri Samroh Samiti, headed by Art of Living Foundation founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, along with some Kashmiri Pandits’ organisations has taken out the yatra which is scheduled to conclude at the Kheer Bhawani temple.
