‘Statement misleading; doesn’t reflect people’s aspirations
Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Jan 6: Cabinet Minister Javed Rana today said that Jammu and Kashmir has already faced multiple divisions and further fragmentation is neither demanded by people nor sustainable.
Rana told reporters here in response to a question on the remarks made by a BJP legislator suggesting separate statehood for Jammu and Kashmir divisions.
The Minister said that the issue was serious and needed to be viewed in its historical context.
“There was a time when Jammu and Kashmir was a full-fledged state. Its boundaries extended up to the borders, and people across regions were emotionally connected,” he added.
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Rana said that Jammu and Kashmir had already been divided in the past. “One part was given to Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan went to Pakistan, and Ladakh was separated. Now what remains is Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.
The Minister said it was ironic that those responsible for earlier divisions were now speaking about creating new states. “The people who divided Jammu and Kashmir earlier are now talking about making areas like Kishtwar-Ramban-Doda (Chenab region) or parts of Jammu a separate state,” he added.
He dismissed statements advocating further bifurcation as “imaginary and misleading,” saying they do not reflect the aspirations of the people. “Tell me how many people are in Pir Panjal region? How many are in Chenab region? There is no such demand coming from these areas,” he said.
He added that if any region genuinely demanded statehood and it happened through a democratic process, it would be a different matter. “If Jammu or the Chenab region becomes a state through such a process, then who can stop it?” he said.
The Minister said he believes in a united future for the region. “I have said this earlier as well, the day is not far when Ladakh will again come together with Jammu and Kashmir, and there will be a united Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
On tribal welfare, Rana said ensuring the rights of tribal communities was a top priority of the Government, with education at the centre of its efforts. “Our biggest focus is education. How do we remove the deficiency in tribal education? Tribal hostels are working for that,” he said.
He said tribal hostels, which were earlier under the Social Welfare Department, would now be directly overseen by the Tribal Affairs Department. The move covers communities such as Gujjar-Bakarwals, Pahadis, Shinas, and Baltis, with funding from the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Rana said a new scheme, Dharti Aaba, had been introduced this year to further strengthen tribal development initiatives.
The minister said the Government was also focusing on ecotourism, homestays, and border tourism, noting that “a large number of tribal people live in border areas.”
Referring to the Forest Rights Act (FRA), Rana said its implementation in Jammu and Kashmir had earlier been weak. While the Tribal Department is the nodal agency for FRA across India, he said the Forest Department handled it in Jammu and Kashmir, leading to confusion. “There was a lot of commotion because the Act was not implemented properly,” he said.
To address this, Rana said district-level Forest Rights Committee cells were being set up to ensure proper implementation of tribal rights. He also said the government was working to preserve tribal languages, art, and culture and would establish a Project Monitoring Unit for the Tribal Research Institute.
Responding to questions on drinking water shortages, particularly in Srinagar, Rana acknowledged the seriousness of the issue. He said work under the Jal Jeevan Mission began in 2019, when liabilities were around Rs 400 crore, but had since risen to nearly Rs 1,500 crore. “We have not received funds from the centre for more than a year, but the Jammu and Kashmir government is still working,” he said.
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