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Indian Troops on High Alert As Annual Hindu Pilgrimage Begins
PAHALGAM, India, July 2 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Security was tightened in Indian-controlled Kashmir Monday for the start of an annual Hindu pilgrimage that has been the target of repeated attacks by what Indian forces say Muslim separatist in the past.
More than 3,000 pilgrims left the Kashmiri winter capital, Jammu, on Monday morning on a tough 350-kilometer (220-mile) journey to Pahalgam, from where they must trek another 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the holy Armanath cave in the Himalayan foothills.
The pilgrimage is arduous enough without the constant fear of a possible militant attack, in the form of landmines or ambushes.
Nearly 12,000 soldiers, paramilitary troops and policemen were to guard the pilgrimage route, along which some 100,000 Hindus from all over the world are expected to travel over the next month.
"My boys are on the look-out for miscreants," said Saji Mohan, a senior police officer responsible for a particularly vulnerable stretch of the Jammu-Pahalgam road.
The pilgrims who left Monday in a caravan of buses, cars, jeeps and trucks were in high sprits, singing and chanting slogans.
"This is my 16th visit to the holy cave," said Bharat Bushan from New Delhi.
"I visited at the height of the insurgency in Kashmir and militant threats won't stop me this time."
More than 35,000 people have died in violence in Indian-held Kashmir since the launch of a separatist Muslim movement in 1989 to break away from what the separatists say is an Indian colonialism.
In Pahalgam, local shopkeepers were hoping that nothing would derail the pilgrimage.
"This is the only month when we earn some money," said shop-owner Abdul Gani.
Local police and paramilitary forces patrolled the area to prevent militants sneaking into Pahalgam -- whose picturesque scenery and snow-fed streams have provided the backdrop to many a song-and-dance routine in Hindi movies.
"We are taking no chances," said Muneer Khan, police chief of Anantnag district, of which Pahalgam is an important part. "We will try our best to ensure an incident-free pilgrimage."
Security is especially tight this year, as the peace summit between Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will take place halfway through the pilgrimage period.
There are concerns that militant groups opposed to the July 14-16 summit visit might register their protest with an attack on the pilgrims.
Last year 35 pilgrims and locals were killed during a shoot-out on August 1 in Pahalgam, which acts as a base camp for those making the trek to the cave.
This year, the authorities have shifted the camp site about one kilometer to an area they feel offers better protection against attack.
"Troops have been deployed all along the route," said a state tourism official based at Chandanwari, some 15 kilometers south of Pahalgam.
Security is not the only problem, as bad weather in 1996 claimed the lives of 240 pilgrims.
"Adverse weather can definitely pose problems for us," said state tourism minister Sakina Itoo, who flagged-off the pilgrims from Jammu on Monday.
To regulate the flow of pilgrims, a maximum of 3,500 pilgrims will be allowed to leave Jammu on any one day.
The Armanath cave is revered for being the abode of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction.
"Those going to visit god's abode, do not feel any threat from any agency," said Rajesh Aggarwal, a pilgrim from Bombay.
Muslim-dominated Kashmir was divided between India and Pakistan in 1947 but is still claimed by both. Many Kashmiris favor total independence.
Some 35,000 people have died since India started a violent crackdown against a 12-year old Muslim separatist movement in the Indian-held zone.
Human rights and separatist groups put the number at double this figure and blame it on Indian excessive use of force.
Hindu-dominated India accuses Pakistan of arming and training Islamic activists and helping them cross over into India. Pakistan denies the charge.
Pakistan, which controls the northern third of the Himalayan state, calls for a referendum so that Kashmiris can choose between India and Pakistan.
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