Last Friday on May 27, a sea of people swarmed on the roads of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir demanding the revocation of the land transfer.  Around 40 hectares of forest land in Baltal area have been transferred to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) for Rs 2.31crores (23.1 million rupees).

The people’s mass movement was ensured after Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, I G Sahai made a statement that police has been asked to exhibit restraint. Sahai’s statement came four days after street protests and clashes with police and CRPF left three people dead besides hundreds wounded.

Tens of thousands of people came out in one of the biggest demonstrations in recent years shouting pro-freedom slogans. The demonstrators including men women and children marched through streets in Srinagar and ultimately gathered at Lal Chowk (Red Square) in city centre.

The youth hoisted green flags over a historical clock tower in the Lal Chowk of Srinagar, where authorities hoist national flags on independence and republic days in tight security vigil.

Lal Chowk drowned in the sea of people and reverberating with slogans made the gun wielding CRPF personnel who have a post at the base of the tower to watch the unusual ceremony as mute spectators. However, none from the mob tried to clash with these personnel nor did they bother to hinder. People watched the scaling of clock tower by youth with much jubilation and intermittently clapped in affirmation.   

“This is for the first time that people have been able to hoist the flag of resistance in broad day light. That is enough a message that should stir New Delhi. Now it’s a people’s movement. No militants, no Jehadis, we are Kashmiris and that is our verdict,” said a protester Muzamil Ajaz from down town locality of Srinagar.  Ajaz has come to city centre along with his cousins. Friday protests reminded people of the 1990s protests. Large-scale processions were common in Kashmir in the early 1990s soon after the outbreak of an anti-India armed insurgency in the region. However, a strong police presence later made such processions almost impossible.

Clock tower in Lal Chowk has been a symbolic. Paramilitary troopers have been occupying it since 90s. Earlier the space around it was encircled by piled up sandbags and net but of late the decline in militancy related incidents made security officials to relieve the place to ensure free traffic movement.

Friday’s episode culminated without any violence but people met the resistance on Saturday after they tried to come again to register the similar protest. This was followed by an undeclared curfew by authorities in parts of city to confine people inside the houses.

Flags were also hoisted outside radio station in Srinagar and main traffic intersections.

The mass participation of the people took amy people by surprise and reminded them of the 1990s.