Col B S Nagial (Retd)
When the Instrument of Accession was signed between the Maharaja Hari Singh of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and the Union of India on 26 Oct 1947, then the state became an integral part of India. Sheikh Abdullah, who had launched a political movement in Kashmir Valley against the Maharaja of J&K, was bestowed with political powers to run the state. Sheikh Abdullah, the front runner of Jawahar Lal Nehru, was against Maharaja, but his political outfit-Muslim Conference was pro-Maharaja. The old bitterness between the Dogras and Kashmiris resurfaced after the dramatic reversal of their roles when the Dogras rule ended after ruling for almost one century in 1947.
The reluctance of Maharaja Hari Singh to accede to either India or Pakistan before 14 Aug 1947 and acceptance by Jawahar Lal Nehru to hold a plebiscite due to personal affection for Sheikh Abdullah made the problems of J&K more complicated. Why such decisions were taken is a matter of further inquiry.
Thus the word plebiscite became a catchphrase and landed as a trump card in the hands of Sheikh Abdullah. At the same time, the person responsible for winning the plebiscite for India sadly used it for his selfish motives. He even accused Maharaja Hari Singh of the massacre of Muslims in the Jammu region in the wake of partition. He even told Jawaharlal Nehru that it was difficult to win the plebiscite due to the presence of Maharaja Hari Singh.
Sheikh Abdullah rode the crest of a widespread wave with the full backing of Jawahar Lal Nehru and worked against the interests of the people of the Jammu region and the Dogras. Jawahar Lal Nehru once remarked that no satisfactory way could be found in Jammu and Kashmir except through Sheikh Abdullah.
The transformation of Kashmir-centric politics into crookedness and swindling was played against the interests of Jammu. In every basic principle, insecurity and inconsistency were interwoven. Most Kashmiri politicians were adept at speaking with two voices: one for Kashmir and the other for Jammu.
The first and foremost action against the people of the Jammu region was the expulsion of Maharaja Hari Singh from the erstwhile state of J&K even after signing the instrument of accession. This sharply contrasted with Nizam of Hyderabad, who continued to stay in his state even after defying the new Indian republic. People of the Jammu region felt very bad about this decision. Sheikh Abdullah made much drama of abolishing the monarchy from J&K. He launched a crusade against the Dogras of Jammu, which is continued even today.
The Congress and other Central Governments colluded with regional Kashmiri political leadership to safeguard the so-called national interests. However, they neglected the people of Jammu. Instead of challenging the negative influence of Kashmiri leaders’ separatist and communal ideology on the state polity, especially in Jammu, they dangerously respected it. This resulted in widespread inequalities between Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions. National interests also suffered in the bargain.
Jammu region was allocated 37 assembly seats, whereas Kashmir got 46 out of a total of 87 contestable seats. After the delimitation report 2022, the total number of seats has been increased to 114, including 24 under Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK); now, Jammu has 43 seats, and Kashmir has 47. Through Roshni Act 2001, it was proposed to take possession of land 4.44 lakh kanals in Kashmir and 16.02 lakh kanals in Jammu.The demographic and security threat of illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis in Jammu has reached a boiling point. Locals allege a well-funded and politically-backed conspiracy to settle them across the province and trigger Hindu migration, as already reported from some villages. This is another serious issue engineered to change the demographic pattern of the Jammu region.
It was a historical accident that different ethnic groups were brought under the Dogra rule in 1846. There are geographical, language, ethnic, religious, and cultural differences among Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The common dominion to control them was the autocratic authority of Maharaja. At the time of independence, a wise and farsighted political leadership could have blunted the rough edges of ethnic differences and laid a road map for the inclusive growth of all state regions. But sadly, this didn’t happen. Conversely, under the peculiar brand of democracy dominated by the majority in J&K resulted in religious and regional tensions. After 1947, the people of Jammu felt aggrieved, and their legitimate rights and interests were sacrificed for the sake of the Kashmir region.
Since there were frequent agitations in the Jammu region, in 1967, the Government of J&K appointed the Gajenderagadkar commission to look into the matter and suggest remedial measures. The Commission examined the regional disparities in detail and recommended various measures to solve the problems. It advised to set up Satuatory State Development Board and Satuatory Regional Boards for Jammu. Kashmir and Ladakh. The Commission also observed that Jammu and Ladakh were the victims of political neglect. Most of these recommendations were either not implemented or half-heartedly implemented by the Kashmiri political leadership dominated by the majority of the state. In 1978, regional resentments erupted in Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri. On 26 Dec 1978, an All-Party Jammu Action Committee was formed, which launched the agitation for over three months. Again the govt of J&K set up a commission under the Chairmanship of Justice S. M. Sikri in 1978 and gave its report in 1980, but it met a similar fate-no action was taken.
After 27 Oct 1947, a strong feeling grew over the Jammu region that political domination of J&K by Kashmir Valley-based political leadership instituted grave injustices to the people of the Jammu region. It is believed that Central political leadership have taken decisions to appease Kashmiri leaders at the cost of the people of Jammu.
On 05 Aug 2019, the Govt of India repealed Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian Constitution. Allegedly, they were the root causes of separatism, alienation and regional disparities. The people of Jammu rejoiced. But Kashmiri political leadership felt the heat of it. They got together and signed the ‘Gupkar Declaration’, a political movement by parties like the National Conference, Indian National Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Communist Party of India (M), Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference and Awami National Conference. They all resolved to reinstate the draconian Articles 370 and 35-A.
The ideology of Kashmiri political leadership, dominated by the majority of the J&K, created a mess and worked wholeheartedly against the interests of the people of Jammu. Various initiatives taken by the Government of J&K and the Central Government, including the bulldozer on the illegal holding of land, have irked the self-centric politicians. They have all spoken in one language that if they come to power, they will redo all the actions of the BJP, including reinstating Articles 370 & 35-A.
Indeed, meaningful actions have been taken by the Prime Minister Narender Modi to improve the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir, including ameliorating disparities faced by the people of Jammu. However, there is a need to undertake more drastic steps to bring visible change. The aspirations of the people of Jammu can’t be ignored anymore.
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