Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, June 15: In the wake of tension following a sacrilegious act in Roop Nagar area of Jammu, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today cautioned against politics of religion and said that separatism and communalism were two faces of the same coin.
“Communal politics in Jammu region could have equally disastrous effect as that of politics of separatism in Kashmir and we should not fall prey to the forces, which are trying to disturb peace in the State,” she said while addressing a function in connection with inauguration of newly constructed additional block of the Examination Wing in Jammu University today.
Terming Jammu as most secular place, the Chief Minister said that she would not allow the State to be highjacked by the extremist forces. “Some elements are hell on creating communal tension in the region but the people of Jammu, irrespective of their religion, must unite and fight the nefarious designs of such forces,” she said.
Mehbooba further said that time and again people of Jammu have shown their secular credentials and it was evident from the fact that the region gave shelter to people who came there while migrating from militancy-hit areas. “It was secular character of Jammu that my father Mufti Mohd Sayeed was elected for the first time from R S Pura Assembly constituency despite of him being a Muslim and from Kashmir,” she said.
Citing the example of Gulf and other Muslim countries facing the disastrous consequences of extremism and politics of religion, Mehbooba said that Jammu Muslim have never been part of separatism in the State. However, at the same time, she cautioned that incidents of communal politics do create alienation among people of other religion and the same was disastrous for peace. “For me, separatism and communalism are the two faces of the same coin and they ultimately divide the society and the country,” she said.
Stating that J&K has external as well as internal challenges, Mehbooba said that decision of her father to align with BJP was aimed to bridge gap between Jammu and Kashmir regions, J&K State and New Delhi, Hindus and Muslims as well as India and Pakistan.
In her speech, the Chief Minister favoured political activities by the students in Jammu University and said that it was their legitimate right. “Students are most welcomed and it is their right to have political activity because University is the nursery for the leaders of tomorrow. This is the place where from we are going to get the leaders of tomorrow. My humble request to students is that they are our future. Please go for political activity. Do whatever you want to do but don’t mix it with religion and extremism,” she said.
Earlier, Prof Amitabh Mattoo, Advisor to the Chief Minister, drew attention towards former Chief Minister late Mufti Mohd Sayeed’s vision for higher education, which include ‘expansion’, ‘commitment to excellence’, ‘autonomy and accountability’ and ‘delivery to the society’ as thrust areas.
While explaining, he said that research works confined to laboratories have no utility for society, which needs to be delivered at the ground level and the university has to seriously think over it.
Vice-Chancellor Prof R D Sharma, in his address, highlighted the achievements of Jammu University and new courses as well as infrastructure added to the institution.
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