Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has demanded building of a 'Amarnath House' or 'Vaishnodevi House' for Hindus on the lines of 'Haj House' in Mumbai for Muslims.

"We are reiterating this demand of all Hindus," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana,' edited by Thackeray, said.

Full coverage: Amarnath shrine land row

"Several corporations have been set up for Muslims. Now, set up a corporation for welfare of Amarnath and Vaishnodevi pilgrims," the editorial said.

Srinagar, January 4, 1990. Aftab,
a local Urdu newspaper, publishes a press release issued by Hizb-ul
Mujahideen, set up by the Jamaat-e-Islami in 1989 to wage jihad for
Jammu and Kashmir’s secession from India and accession to Pakistan,
asking all Hindus to pack up and leave. Another local paper, Al Safa, repeats this expulsion order.

In the
following days, there is near chaos in the Kashmir valley with Chief
Minister Farooq Abdullah and his National Conference government
abdicating all responsibilities of the State. Masked men run amok,
waving Kalashnikovs, shooting to kill and shouting anti-India slogans.

After two decades of calm in large-scale popular movements, Indian-administered
Kashmir recently witnessed mass demonstrations and protests against the state
government's decision to transfer forest land to facilitate a Hindu pilgrimage.

The decision of the Jammu and Kashmir authorities to grant 40 hectares of
uninhabited jungle tract to the Amarnath Shrine Board triggered a furor in the
Kashmir Valley and brought life to a standstill for nearly two weeks, a
throwback to the 1988-1989 insurrection against Indian rule. So forceful was
the clamor that the state government had to eventually rescind the transfer
order.