The Idea of Jammu

Kaladi Mahajan
Ever since Devendra Singh Rana veered away from the National Conference to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, a renewed debate has been rekindled on the issue of Jammu Declaration in particular, and the idea of Jammu in general. As soon as he reached Jammu on October 16 after joining the BJP, one could have seen their supporters vociferously chanting the slogans of ‘Jai Jammu, Jai Dogra’, which perhaps, was a novelty, at least for me. But I am still unable to comprehend what the idea of Jammu exactly is? Is this idea the conning of the latent aspirations of the Dogras only or does it have some wider connotations? These questions require a deep analysis and structural answers. This essay tries to answer some of these vexed questions while underscoring the need for a separate narrative for the Jammu province.
It’s not a hidden fact anymore that Jammu is a melting pot of different languages, cultures, ethnicities and religions diffused across varied and difficult terrain which ranges from 300 to 6500 metres. This pluralistic character perhaps, lends Jammu the desired vitality and sturdiness in the face of fierce radical Islamic onslaught that emanates from Kashmir. This tapestry of sorts that has naturally woven itself in the Jammu province is something that we must cherish and capitalize on, notwithstanding the monolithic Kashmiri narrative which has failed to grasp the aspirations and cultural moorings of the people south of the Pir Panjal. Such a narrow stance has invariably structuralized and strengthened the gulf between the two regions, ideologically and otherwise. The Gupkar declaration was proverbially the last straw that broke the camel’s back and ensured that Jammu remained at the periphery. Therefore, in this backdrop, it was necessary that Jammu which reflected the secular and plural ethos of India in Jammu and Kashmir to have taken up the gauntlet and ensured that Jammu too emerges as a pivot to this game of narrative building for this UT. This perceptual shift was long overdue and it’s heartening to see that someone has started to talk about it openly.
In this respect, I believe, that the ‘idea of Jammu’ is a need of this hour, which can substantially shape the unfiltered, cluttered and diffused voices of Jammu into a cohesive and a non-partisan manner in order to make them reach the right destination- the New Delhi. The idea of Jammu per se, was first mooted explicitly by Balraj Puri in his book titled ‘Jammu a clue to Kashmir Tangle’ in which he comprehensively explained the issues plaguing the Jammu province. Yes, one can argue that Puri’s assessment of Jammu emerges in relation to Kashmir and tries to put forth Jammu’s political position as a conduit for the peace and tranquillity in Kashmir, but it nevertheless, implicitly rakes up the issue of Jammu being a separate political entity of the erstwhile state. Puri states that “any policy of appeasing Kashmir at the cost of Jammu is wrong as also any surrender before illegitimate demands”. Even I argue that the real need for Jammu is adequate political power. Quibbling over share in services and development indicators are merely symptoms of the underlying restlessness. So, the idea of Jammu that must be encouraged is the one which stays anti-Kashmir, for anything that goes against Kashmir may very well hamper the initial footsteps that leaders may undertake, either by Srinagar or New Delhi, given the risks involved.
Jammu’s political emasculation primarily stems from its own weaknesses which the people of Jammu are not ready to accept. For one, the internal dissensions based on caste, creed, language, and religion have severely limited the scope of a mature political discourse in Jammu as most of the narratives remain confined within the boundaries of Shiwaliks and rarely do they capture the psyche of our brethren in some of the more pronounced geographies of this province. For another, the obligatory role that the people of Jammu have bestowed upon themselves as some sort of pressure valves to stabilize the recurring anger that comes out from Kashmir at the behest of Delhi by principally functioning as a subset of the latter deeply thwarts any attempt for demanding our accrued rightful share, political as well as economic, for this region. Additionally, Jammu functions as the game board of the national parties for their respective political agendas wherein they play different sides and test the waters to hedge their chances in Kashmir-from where the latter has always faced innumerable challenges, and then expect Jammu to clean up the mess.
Even historically, the character of Dogras was such that Britishers had to remark that “A Dogra is a shy, reserved man with a considerable strength of character. They have a high idea of honour, of self-respect and the duty of a capital soldier.” These traits, when extrapolated, psychologically, to a larger canvas, expose the grimness that surrounds our behavioural approaches towards the treatment, good or bad, that is meted to us, thereby ensuring that there remains no contravention between the land we are born in and the land which we fight for. I would be belying my role if I fail to comment on the lackadaisical and mediocre leadership that Jammu has produced. Puri says, Jammu could not throw up a leadership of not to speak of an all-state but even of an all-Jammu level. This is true even today, wherein Jammu doesn’t have a single pan provincial leader, who can take up the cudgels on the behalf of Jammu.
As aforementioned, I believe that Jammu being a plural territory has to chart out its course with utmost caution. It can’t really go on purporting to represent the interests of the Dogras synonymously with that of Jammu. Technically speaking, there can’t be a straight forward and one-sided idea of Jammu that we can propose today for the outside world because of the prevalence of several sub regions in Jammu which don’t necessarily align themselves with the predominant sentiment that situates itself in the Tawi Basin areas. Many of these areas have their mutual interests coalescing with the valley of Kashmir and in certain cases, they remain confined within that particular geographic zone, which may or may not have emerged as an anti-thesis to the Dogra centric polity of Jammu in general.
In Jammu, evidently, the prevailing fissures disallow leveraging a single causative agent for rallying people along unlike Kashmir, where language and lately the religion provides a major cover to various disparate groups for coming together for a common agenda, howsoever superfluous it may be. Apart from this, I see many people from places like Rajouri, Poonch, Doda, Kishtwar constantly alleging the step motherly treatment that they are subjected to at the expense of the Jammu plains and thence lies a consistent chasm between such sub regional groupings within the larger province. I’m discounting the interplay of other societal factors that create such divisions.
Therefore, it’s important that whosoever agrees to bite the bullet and proposes to put forth an idea of Jammu before the larger audiences must be amenable to accepting the wide range of diversified groups and their aspirations. Different political voices should be heard and collated so as to fuse them into a broader narrative that encapsulates the brimming idea of Jammu and fills the vacuum at a time when there, says Prof Rekha Chowdhary “lies in a mismatch between the reality of the region and its political representation by the political class in Jammu”. And only if, a push comes to shove, a separate state of Jammu can be asked for.
Lastly, I’d like to say that Jammu must come out of its self-imposed censorship and start to speak and argue about the issues that plague us. Now, when a leader has started to talk about Jammu Declaration, my hopes have definitely soared. As the Delimitation process is underway, we must remain hopeful for a fair and an unbiased report that grants Jammu its rightful share in the electoral seat share matrix. In the meantime, I’d love to see the contours of the purported Jammu Declaration that may theoretically underpin the future course of polity in Jammu. I conclude with the prophetic lines of Lt Gen Bhopinder Singh stating “Ignoring Jammu will continue, as long as partisan politics gets the better of emotions – real change happens when the ‘issue of Jammu’ becomes larger than political parties and their agendas.”

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