Prof Suresh Chander Map of Jammu Division J ammu’s neglect has been recognised ever since the power in the State of Jammu and Kashmir exchanged hands in 1947 from Maharaja Hari Singh to the National Conference headed by Sheikh Mohd. Abdullah. The Jammu’s voice at that time was represented by Praja Parishad. It launched an agitation ‘Ek Vidhan, Ek Nishan, Ek Pradhan’ in early 50s. Perhaps the leadership of Praja Parishad thought that once their demand of ‘Ek Vidhan, Ek Nishan, Ek Pradhan’ is met then all regions and its people will be treated equally under the constitution of India. Unfortunately the agitation did not have a logical end in spite of supreme sacrifice of Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee in this cause. This perhaps was due to weak opposition and the general ignorance about Jammu in the rest of the country at that time. In public perception and in political discourse the State of Jammu and Kashmir meant the valley and valley alone. On many occasions from the Jan Sangh days, the Jan Sangh did not support the separation of Jammu from the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmiri leadership till mid 70s, under Sheikh Abdullah, could have accepted Jammu’s separation as he by and large was happy with his fiefdom of the valley. His private offer to separate Jammu is said to have been rejected by the Jan Sangh. There was always a passive movement about descrimiantion with Jammu people irrespective of their religion. Thus Gajendragadkar commission was announced to address the grievances of various regions of the state. Memorandums were submitted to the Commission by various organisations and individuals including the present author. Surprisingly the Jan Sangh did not present any memorandum highlighting the injustice being done to Jammu and its people. Before the formation of Gajendragadkar commission, Balraj Puri launched the Autonomy Forum in Jammu for regional autonomy for the various regions of the state. Number of public meetings and seminars were held in Jammu. Some of us instead offered support for separate Jammu. The argument at that time, perhaps even today, was that Jammu should remain a bridge between the valley and rest of the country. A bridge is used to be trampled upon without any independent existence of its own. The Autonomy Forum didn’t catch the imagination of the people of Jammu. During the past half a century, a lot of water has flown down the rivers Tawi and Vitsata. The world has changed. So has the geo-political situation and the world order. The Kashmiri Pandits have been expelled from the valley. The Technology has changed the lives of a common man and it has also given rise to terrorism. Jammu and Kashmir is suffering due to it. Once peaceful valley is reverberating with the sound of guns. Kashmiri leadership including the civil society that was bitterly opposed to the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh and was critical of Amritsar Treaty of 1846 now swears by the State of Jammu and Kashmir as existed on 15 August 1947. This shift in the stand of Kashmiri leadership has largely gone unnoticed. This change appears to be due to the economic potential of the Jammu region in its vast hydro-electric resources. The Kashmiri leadership irrespective of their political affiliations wants to treat Jammu as its colony and use the resources of Jammu for themselves and the valley like any colonial power. The abolition of Articles 370 and 35A and resulting bifurcation of the erstwhile state in two Union Territories of Laddakh and Jammu & Kashmir by the Modi led Government at the center has resulted in paradigm shift. It has snatched the Zamindari like status of the valley leadership. Abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A was like the abolition of the Zamindari system. It is the abolition of their Zamindari that seems to have united various parties in the valley to form the Gubkar Alliance. The demand for a separate State of Jammu is essentially due to neglect of Jammu in share of Government jobs and neglect of Jammu in every sphere – particularly infrastructure development and non development of numerous tourist spots in the region. Certain corrective steps are being taken by the Central Government to correct this imbalance. But a lot more remains to be done to bridge the gap. The rate of unemployment in Kashmir is less than 30 per cent, as against over 69 per cent in Jammu province. According to Haseeb Drabu, ex Finance Minister, “Out of a population of 1.25 crore, 5 lakh people work as Government employees in J&K”. Lo and behold about 4 lakh employees are in Kashmir division and only about one lakh in the Jammu division whereas both the divisions have almost equal population. Area of Jammu Division is 26,293 km2 as compared to 15,948 km2 area of Kashmir Division. Logically, to administer Jammu with an area almost 1.65 times the Kashmir Division and equal population should have had more employees. These are only some of the issues and many more can be enumerated to highlight the descrimintaion against Jammu. These imbalances even with the best of intentions of any administration can not be bridged easily. The alternative seems to be bifurcation of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. No doubt it has many political overtones. The new state of Jammu should be based on inclusion of various linguistic, ethnic and geographical regions. The bifurcation will not be to the disadvantage of Jammu Muslims. On the contrary, it will free them from the patronage of Valley leaders – they will be masters of their own fate and will no longer have to depend at the mercy of valley leaders – the interests of hilly areas and nomadic communities will have to be addressed. The new state of Jammu can become a model state in which its citizenry has equal opportunities for everyone. Thus bifurcation of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir is a fit case for the Union Government’s consideration. However it needs wider discussion among various stakeholders. (The author is former Head of Computer Engineering Department in G B Pant University of Agriculture & Technology) feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com
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