New Delhi: People of Jammu and Srinagar have displayed an enormous capacity to be active, demonstrating and venting their anger against each other during the last two months.

The basic issue that sparked off the demonstrations was the transfer of 100 acres of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, mainly in Baltal, to set up pre-fabricated structures for the use of pilgrims. But the controversy has now grown beyond the issue of the transfer of land.

Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the Chief of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, has been candid enough to say that he and his associates are no longer bothered about the land issue. What they want is that the State should become a part of Pakistan.

Another set of demonstrators like Yasin Malik is clear that what they want is Azadi and the right to self-determination.

In Jammu, the agitation started for the revocation of the order permitting the use of 100 acres of land by the Amarnath Shrine Board. The Amarnath Shrine Sangarsh Samiti spearheaded the agitation in Jammu. The Samiti was perhaps surprised that their agitation received spontaneous support from a majority of the people in the region.

In fact the pent-up feelings of the people of Jammu, who have accepted a ''secondary role'' in the State ever since Independence, erupted. They have fewer seats in the State Assembly, even though they are greater in number. They feel that politicians from the Valley dominate the State government and the funds earmarked for development are mostly spent on projects in the Kashmir Valley

The people of Jammu decided that they should no longer keep quiet but tell the people of the Kashmir Valley that they want their rightful place in the affairs of the State.