Srinagar (J&K): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday hoisted the tricolor flag amid tight security at the Ghanta Ghar (Clock Tower) at Lalchowk in Srinagar during a bike rally to Ladakh's Drass to mark Kargil Vijay Diwas. For decades, the clock tower has been a silent witness to the political crisis in Kashmir and any political or even a quasi-political development around it is in itself a big statement.
According to experts, the politics of Kashmir is a half-printed book without the mention of Lal Chowk as the two have a historical connection. "Lal Chowk is an area of Srinagar city where some of the most important political events of the past seven decades have taken place and become part of the history of Kashmir," Dr Saleem Beg, convenor INTACH, told ETV Bharat.
"Lal Chowk has been named after the 'Red Square' of Russia during the tenure of the then popular leader of Kashmir and the founder of the National Conference, Sheikh Abdullah," he said, adding, "Later, a clock tower too was erected to the glory of Lal Chowk and gave it a distinctive identity like the big cities of the world." The tower, built by a private company in the year 1979, has witnessed several historical meetings.
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Pertinently, India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was welcomed by Sheikh Abdullah at this place on his visit to Kashmir. While Nehru gave his historic address here, Abdullah uttered the line from Amir Khusro Sufi verse "Mun tu shudam, Tu mun shudi" (I am you and you are me). Interestingly, in 1992, BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi and Narendra Modi tried to hoist the tricolour, but the then administration did not allow the ceremony to be held completely.
At that time Joshi was holding the post of BJP president and Narendra Modi was the convener of the Ekta Yatra. After the 90s, when militancy erupted in Kashmir, the Ghanta Ghar became a hub of separatism. The pro-separatism slogans and functions were conducted near the clock tower on a daily basis. Since the abrogation of Article 370 by the ruling BJP-led government on August 5, 2019, several flag-hoisting ceremonies have been held at Ghanta Ghar.
In recent months, the army has hoisted the tricolor several times during the "Akhir Kab Tak" programme and now the BJP has made Ghanta Ghar its political base. The BJP says Lal Chowk is important to them because everyone from Murli Manohar Joshi to Anurag Thakur has hoisted the tricolour here. "Separatism used to flourish here, there was no space for the mainstream. We have changed the perception now," Arun Prabat, a BJP leader said. The saffron party says that Lal Chowk is being chosen for the flag hoisting ceremony because they want to "erase the stain of separatism on it".
