09-17-2007, 03:49 AM
<b>Ram controversy reaches Kashmir</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Srinagar, Sept. 16: A controversy over the legend of Ram is simmering away from Adamâs Bridge at the opposite end of the country: Kashmir.
<b>The Jammu and Kashmir government is building up a village in Budgam as the place from where Ravan had abducted Sita. The name of the village, Sutti Haran, is a distortion of Sita haran (abduction of Sita) and the local population firmly believes in the Ramayan link</b>.
The village is quietly being developed as a tourist resort, leading to fears that it could fan communal passions. Critics of the tourism project believe that Sutti Haran will ultimately be turned into a pilgrimage centre, with Hinduism usurping what is now a revered Muslim site.
<b>âThere is a shrine of the Kashmiri Muslim saint Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali (popularly known as Sheikh-ul Alam) in the village. The projectâs opponents argue that the village will now emerge as another Hindu symbol,ââ </b>a tourism official said.
Controversies in the name of Ram have raged for years in the heartland, and more recently in the countryâs southern tip over the Sethusamudram ship canal project. In Muslim-dominated Kashmir, it would be a first.
<b>Hakeem Yaseen, a state minister who represents the Khan Sahib Assembly constituency in Budgam, said: âWe are developing the village as a tourist resort because it is believed that Sitaâs abduction happened there. We hope it will be a big attraction for the people and will have economic spin-offs.â</b>
The government has prepared a project report that mentions the construction of a guesthouse and a park in the village, the tourism official said.
âIt may cost us around Rs 1 crore but in addition, the government is laying a road to the village and the adjoining meadow of Tosi Maidan, which will cost crores more,ââ he added.
<b>The official said the Amarnath shrine board was encouraging the project, but the boardâs director of public relations, Madan Mantoo, insisted: âWe have nothing to do with the project.â</b>
According to Valmikiâs Ramayan, Ram had travelled south from Ayodhya, settling for periods in forests of central and southern India.
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<img src='http://www.telegraphindia.com//1070917/images/17maps.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
<b>The Jammu and Kashmir government is building up a village in Budgam as the place from where Ravan had abducted Sita. The name of the village, Sutti Haran, is a distortion of Sita haran (abduction of Sita) and the local population firmly believes in the Ramayan link</b>.
The village is quietly being developed as a tourist resort, leading to fears that it could fan communal passions. Critics of the tourism project believe that Sutti Haran will ultimately be turned into a pilgrimage centre, with Hinduism usurping what is now a revered Muslim site.
<b>âThere is a shrine of the Kashmiri Muslim saint Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali (popularly known as Sheikh-ul Alam) in the village. The projectâs opponents argue that the village will now emerge as another Hindu symbol,ââ </b>a tourism official said.
Controversies in the name of Ram have raged for years in the heartland, and more recently in the countryâs southern tip over the Sethusamudram ship canal project. In Muslim-dominated Kashmir, it would be a first.
<b>Hakeem Yaseen, a state minister who represents the Khan Sahib Assembly constituency in Budgam, said: âWe are developing the village as a tourist resort because it is believed that Sitaâs abduction happened there. We hope it will be a big attraction for the people and will have economic spin-offs.â</b>
The government has prepared a project report that mentions the construction of a guesthouse and a park in the village, the tourism official said.
âIt may cost us around Rs 1 crore but in addition, the government is laying a road to the village and the adjoining meadow of Tosi Maidan, which will cost crores more,ââ he added.
<b>The official said the Amarnath shrine board was encouraging the project, but the boardâs director of public relations, Madan Mantoo, insisted: âWe have nothing to do with the project.â</b>
According to Valmikiâs Ramayan, Ram had travelled south from Ayodhya, settling for periods in forests of central and southern India.
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<img src='http://www.telegraphindia.com//1070917/images/17maps.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />