A Chronology of the First Massacre

by R M Nair

Compensation SRINAGAR: The State Govt has announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed in the militant attacks in the   State on August 1. It has released Rs 48 lakh to the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for distribution. Of those killed, 48 belonged to these States.

          As the Amarnath yatra caught up momentum, the news came of four pilgrims dying of various illnesses. They were Sarawati Bhai of Gujarat, and Dev Raj Gulati, Anil Jain and Ramesh Padroo, all of Delhi. On July 19, three more died due to cardiac problems while climbing. They were identified as Chabeel Dass of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Anand Kulkarni of Maharashtra and Prem Brama of Ahmedabad. Two other pilgrims, Ram Gopal and Bal Kishen, of Patiala, died when they were hit by a truck at Tekri on Srinagar-Jamu National Highway on July 26, taking the Amarnath casualties, other than the massacre, to 7.

          YATRA SUSPENDED: The yatra from Pahalgam and Baltal base camps was stopped on July 20 after heavy overnight showers made the tracks slippery. On a request from the State Govt, the Centre airlifted 300 tents from Jammu to Panchatarni to provide additional camping facilities for the pilgrims stranded due to unregulated rush and bad weather. The BSF and the CRPF pitched them up. Nearly 50,000 yatris were stranded at Jammu, Srinagar and en route. The damaged tracks were repaired as the rain stopped and the weather cleared up and the suspended yatra was resumed on July 26.

           In the background of this blockade, the number of spot registration centres was cut down to two from 7 in order to prevent further crowding of the tracks. The authorities tightened up screening to allow only those with genuine registration papers and to prevent unauthorised persons getting into the line.

          Touts had been active, supplying false registration slips to those who did not have registration for a fee ranging from Rs 500 to 1000. Those who had proper registration papers also were being duped by cheats trying to trap them by pointing out the need for additional formalities, while none was required. From the centres in various States also there were reports of unscrupulous travel agents giving registration through forged papers. A police case had to be slammed in one case in Delhi by the Jammu and Kashmir Govt.

          PROTEST DEMONSTRATION: The arrival of a large number of unregistered people with fake registration papers, those advancing their arrivals - all added to the confusion that followed the landslides which held up the yatra.

          Thousands of those stranded returned disillusioned. Those who had to overstay because of the suspension of the yatra had to pay inflated bills, sometimes selling off their personal possessions to raise money for the unforeseen expenditure. At several points en route, hotels and restaurants exploited the hapless, overstaying yatris.

          The Nitin Sengupta Commission set up after the 1996 tragedy in which about 300 people died in landslides and snow, had laid down the criteria to streamline the pilgrim traffic. It allowed a maximum of 3,200 yatris only per day.

          This time as the yatra got suspended and the situation deteriorated at Jammu, Pahalgam and other places en route, the yatris held protest demonstrations against the Govt at many places. They demanded accommodation and facilities like medical aid. The State Govt officials went to the extent of even insulting the pilgrims, asking them to better cancel their Amarnath yatra and go to a safer Vaishno Devi instead, according to reports appearing in the press.

          THE TRAGEDY STRIKES: A major tragedy was in store. It struck on the first night of August. About 100 people were dead across Jammu and  Kashmir - Doda, Kupwara, Anantnag and Pahalgam. At Pahalgam, 27 pilgrims and 8 others were killed in the reported militant attacks, first of its kind on pilgrims. According to eyewitnesses, it was a rain of gunshots directed at the pilgrim camps from 7 pm for two hours. Some say there was a return of fire by CRPF men. It is a mystery how did it happen even as the security was tight with even each pilgrim being frisked by the para-military forces. Most of the pilgrims came to know of the attack only in the morning as the firing took place at the outer camps.

          The army took control of the yatra thereafter. As the news spread across the length and breadth of the country, there were instant protests and bandhs were organised at many places. The army stepped up vigil and the yatra resumed, some daring to go and others returning. Halting time at various points was reduced as part of fresh security steps. Vehicles were not allowed to move after 5.30 pm and nobody was allowed to leave Chandanwari after 2 pm.

          After identifying with the help of I-cards, 20 bodies were sent to their places. The 7 which could not be identified, lay at the Indoor Stadium in Srinagar unclaimed and decomposed for several days on.

           By the close of the yatra with the arrival of the Charri Mubarak (Holy Mace) at the cave on 15 August, a record number of 1,77,518 pilgrims had darshan of the ice linga. A previous record was of 1998, when 1.5 lakh pilgrims visited the shrine.

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