Though the official investigating agencies have yet to determine the cause of the June 25 fire at Srinagar’s Sunni Dastagir Sahib shrine, an overnight alleged act of arson at a Shia place of worship in neighbouring Budgam district has not only added to the already existing tension in the Valley but also given credence to the general belief that these could be part of a “conspiracy” to stir up religious and sectarian disturbances in Kashmir.
These incidents have come close on the heels of two more sacrilegious acts in which copies of the Quran were allegedly torc-hed or torn off by unkn-own persons at two different places. Though the Valley has remained calm, the latest incident has only caused apprehensions in the local population.
People see two possible motives behind the perceived design: either vested interests are bent on disrupting the blooming tourist season or someone wants to sow the seeds of sectarian discord among Kashmiris and push them into civil war for political reasons.
Also, the incidents have occurred prior or during the Amarnath yatra. Chief Muslim cleric and chairman of his faction of the Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and other separatist leaders have pointed their finger of suspicion at government agencies in the belief that “they seem to be desperate to see the unity with which the resistance movement has been carried forward is spoiled”.