RELIGIOUS TERRORISM -THE LATEST THREAT (JUXTAPOSITION OF JAMMU'S HERITAGE - LIVING AND VIBRANT VERSUS DEAD AND DECAYING)

The fabric of Indian culture is woven from the tangible and intangible cultural and built heritage of the country. Over the centuries the sharing of common history, customs, beliefs etc, has been giving the people of India a feeling of akinness and a sense of common identity. Therefore, the heritage sites which dot the country are of immense importance to the people of India. In spite of this it is often seen that the cultural heritage sites are ignored and neglected. The general lack of interest in the maintenance of the cultural heritage sites of India makes them vulnerable to threats from factors like population pressures, ill managed tourism, environmental degradation, vandalism, theft, religious terrorism etc. In this paper I propose to highlight the threat which is posed to the sites in Jammu region of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir by the recent phenomenon of terrorism fuelled by religious fundamentalism. I will also suggest measures which need to be taken or already have been taken to protect the sites from the depredations of such terrorists. The state of Jammu and Kashmir, also known as ‘Paradise on Earth’ , is situated on the northern part of India covering an area of about 22,22,236 sq km. 1 It is bounded by Tibet in the East, Pakistan in the West and Turkmenistan in the North and the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab in the South. It comprises three distinct geographical regions, differing in topography and culture - the foothills of Jammu; the valley of Kashmir and the starkly beautiful cold desert of Ladakh. Amongst the three regions Jammu, perhaps, offers the widest diversity of terrain, beauty and heritage sites. The Jammu region which derives its name from the city of Jammu, which is the winter capital of the state, is dotted with numerous heritage sites like temples, shrines, forts, palaces, etc. In fact, the temples and the shrines which dot the region are of two kinds – those that have fallen into disuse and are now merely historical monuments and those which have a hoary past but are still revered and worshipped by the people. In the following Paragraphs, I will be discussing 4 sites which are quite old but are still vibrant and living and 2 heritage sites which are now merely historical monuments. I will also discuss the threats which they face from terrorism, spawned by religious fundamentalism.