The allotment and cancellation and re-allotment of 40 hectares (about 100 acres) of barren land to the Shri Amaranth Shrine Board, which sparked the recent round of unrest, ostensibly over environmental, demographic and national concerns, is neither here nor there. But there is a method in the madness that has claimed over 20 lives besides putting the clock back for a good while.

Just when economic development was gathering pace, tourism was at record high, the Valley reverbrating with the famous Junoon group's songs of Indo-Pak friendship and composite culture, and Kashmir valley seemed to be rediscovering its image as the Paradise Valley, suddenly the land allotment firebomb was thrown into the summer revels. More bombs came in rapid fire from political opportunists waiting to raise their party and personal stakes.

Who lobbed these firebombs? Naming names may not be politically correct but there are times when a spade has to be called a spade. To start with there was no need to allot the 100-acre patch to anybody. The existing arrangements for the Amarnath shrine (snow lingam cave) pilgrims were working pretty satisfactorily with the Hindu yatris or pilgrims being looked after by traditional Muslim helpers and wage earners and promoting religious brotherhood in the bargain. After all, the 12,799 foot high altitude cave shrine itself was discovered hundreds of years back by a Muslim shepherd named Bota Malik. The Maliks from the nearby Bota village have been helping the devotees at Pahalgam all along until some Hindu activists, encouraged by top officialdom, decided to set up the shrine board in the year 2000 and replacing the Muslim helpers with their own chosen Hindu workers and volunteers and expanding facilities for much larger number of pilgrims than the terrain's harsh climate would safely allow. Militants of Harkat-ul-Ansar were not behind in calling for ban on pilgrims, citing alleged repression of the local people.

Knowing full well the past history and recent developments, Lt.General (Retd.) S.K.Sinha, the former governor, egged on by his theological backers, made the last straw announcement of allotment of land at Baltal base camp to the shrine board managed by outside executives with vested interests. Had the land allotment gone through without attracting too much attention, it would have been hailed as the personal victory of Sinha and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) backers in New Delhi. He and his backers thought they were on their way to winning Hindu votes in the coming state and national elections. Never mind the flames into which the state has been plunged, the former governor's political ticket, the prize for ideological services, is assured. Whether it will help the BJP leadership, who want to turn the Amarnath shrine land controversy into another Ayodhya temple movement to regain political power, is anybody's guess. History rarely repeats itself but that is a lesson seldom learned by blind opportunists.

Next in this roll call of dishonour stand high the names of People's Democratic Party (PDP) leaders Mufti Muhammed Sayeed and his daughter Mehbooba Mufti. The father and daughter duo's secular democratic image lies totally shattered. It has been exposed beyond any camouflage. After all it was their party member and chosen minister of forests who cleared the land allotment to the shrine board for pilgrim shelters. And just when the political wind started blowing the militants' way, the PDP family took a somersault and repudiated any link with the affair. Godbye secularism, goodbye Kashmiryat and all its history. What matters is politics of the moment. One wonders whatever happenend to that 'healing touch' sentiment which Mufti Sayeed had once voiced for the Kashmiri Pandits when he was anointed the chief minister of the Congress-PDP coalition government, which he has unceremoniously dumped in the hope of winning the next election.

What a change of heart! Coming from the former chief minister of the state and former home minister of India, it's a bit rich, too rich. His daughter PDP president Mehbooba's recent song of praise for Pakistan's ex-president Musharraf's 'out of box' options like troops withdrawal, joint control and dual currency for Kashmir comes as no surprise. Nor does her threat to join the 'people's movement' surprise anybody. She has already joined her chosen people, the separatists. The majority of ordinary people will remember that — at the elections when they are held.

But top honours for repudiation of Kashmiryat belong to the Hurriyat alliance of 13 or more factions, with leaders like Kashmir's young chief priest Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, JKLF president Yasin Malik, and the old diehard Syed Ali Shah Geelani who has denounced even General Musharraf's well-meaning dialogue with India. Geelani sahib has carved a niche image for himself as being more of a king's man that the king himself (more Pakistani than Musharraf himself)!

Duped into this quagmire is none other than the outgoing Congress chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad who had acquired the reputation of being a smart operator, smart enough to reach almost the end of his three-year coalition tenure. But he fell at the last trap laid by former governor Sinha through the land allotment to the shrine board. Perhaps he too was blinded by the prospect of winning more votes in the coming state elections through appeasement of shrine board activists. Azad tried to backtrack by cancelling the allotment. But too late!

Standing unsullied by all the communal mudslinging and blood spilling is Kashmir's National Conference, whose young chief Omar Abdullah saw through the BJP and former governor Sinha's game. Just as he pulled himself and his party away from the BJP and its strange bedfellows, the Communists, on the vote over the nuclear standoff in national parliament, Omar would have no truck with the BJP-inspired doings in Kashmir. He too has added his voice to Pakistan's efforts (under Musharraf) for dialogue with India, all in good faith. In fact, Omar went bolder at the height of the Hurriyat agitation by declaring in a television interview on Karan Thapar's Devil's Advocate programme early last month on the CNN/IBN channel that azadi or independence for Kashmir is 'not a feasible or viable proposition.'

In unambiguous words he explained: 'I believe you can give Kashmir independence but you cannot give Kashmir freedom under the circumstances that prevail within the subcontinent — India, Pakistan and China . Even if India and Pakistan were to somehow decide and give the state its independence, it will never be really free.'

Asked if he would say that in public in Srinagar, he showed his quality as a young leader with a vision when he said: 'Be that as it may, it's not my job to follow the popular mood. It's my job to tell the people what I believe is in their interest and I sincerely believe that it is not in their interest. It is not a viable alternative to suggest azadi or even accession to Pakistan.'

He was equally candid on the loss of the 'single window' opportunity to solve the Kashmir issue during General Musharraf's regime in Pakistan. The General offered a 'golden opportunity' and 'India flunked it,' Omar asserted.

Whatever the internal obstacles, the General could have struck a deal and pulled it off. The new president has a fair way, even a long way, to go to put his stamp on Pakistani politics before he can take any courageous steps. The blast at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, from where this writer too had reported a couple of times on the Indo-Pak dialogue, has shaken Pakistan to its roots. But President Zardari must be helped, particularly by India, to pursue the Indo-Pak dialogue with prompt practical measures like opening up trade across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir and the rest of India on generous terms. Opening up of trade across the LoC in Kashmir will additionally take the wind out of the sails of the jihadis on both sides.

Unmindful of the bloody turmoil they are stoking, the United Jihad Council from Muzaffrabad and the Coordination Committee in Srinagar are unrepentant, all in the name of democracy and azadi or freedom. With autocratic leadership and a penchant for intolerance, these jihadi outfits are the known allies of the Taliban and Al Qaeda fundamentalists operating in Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere. That their allies are working in India too is no secret. If allowed azadi or free hand they aim to destabilise the entire region. But the vast majority of people of India and Pakistan want azadi too — from the jihadis and theocratic mullahs. The struggle may be difficult, prolonged and costly, but you can abandon it only at your own peril.

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