Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 24: Taking serious note of the move of the J&K Tourism Department to name Hari Parbat as Koh-e-Maran (Persian version for “Mountain of Serpents”) in their advertisements on Kashmir Fort Festival, a contingent of Panther activists spearheaded by Harshdev Singh, chairman of the party and Yashpal Kundal, State president Young Panthers staged a protest demonstration against the State Government for making an attempt to establish ethnic homogeneity in Kashmir at Exhibition Ground here today.
While addressing the media persons, Harshdev Singh disclosed that Hari Parbat is a hill overlooking Srinagar which has notable religious dimensions for the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. He said that the historical hill besides a popular tourist destination reflected the secular culture of Kashmir as it hosted famous Sharika Temple, two shrines of Sufi saints and Chatti Patshahi Gurudwara.
NPP leader said that naming of Hari Parbat as “Koh-e-Maran” by the State Government as the venue for ‘Kashmir Fort Festival 2016’ in the official brochures, advertisements and hoardings all across Srinagar had stoked a controversy which appeared to be a dangerous design to alter the names of Hindu shrines and places in Kashmir. Dubbing the profane attempt as a deep rooted conspiracy, Harshdev wondered at the criminal silence of the BJP over the sinister venture of the State Government and lambasted the Saffron party for allowing the secessionist agenda to push Kashmir towards radicalization.
Recalling few similar attempts to erase the heterogeneous cultural diversity of Kashmir, Mr Singh revealed that there were several occasions when Anantnag was named as Islamabad by the Kashmir media and the certain Government elites which was anti-national, provocative and vexatious. While flaying the geographical renaming of sites in the valley aimed to flare tension, Mr Singh further mentioned that there were persistent attempts made by certain communal, divisive and secessionist forces to rename Shankracharya Temple as “Takht-e- Suleiman” in Kashmir. He said that Panthers Party condemned such perfidious moves and pledged to uphold the secular ethos at all costs.
Mr Kundal expressing anguish over the recent episodes in Kashmir, said that the State Government’s posturing and BJP in particular on NIT Kashmir row, denying separate colonies to Kashmiri Pandits , refusal of Sainik Colony to ex-servicemen and their families and now renaming of Hari Parbat as “Koh-e-Maran” only depicts the nefarious intentions of the dispensation on the lines of separatist forces and Hurriyat leaders. He warned the BJP-PDP coalition to desist from such acts and work on fulfilling the aspirations of the people who had voted them to power.
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