Lt General Bhopinder Singh (Retd.)
In the over-simplified binary of J&K, ‘Jammu’ has undeniably diminished in the national imagination and conscience as a sovereign urgency, as compared to the restive ‘Kashmir’. Post-independence the epicenter of ‘durbar’ as it were, shifted from Jammu to Kashmir as the leadership from the Valley held sway, hereinafter – only to secede occasionally to ‘Delhi’ during the intermittent Governors-Rule, which too invariably insisted upon Kashmir, over the seemingly calm Jammu region. Ironically, this abandonment of the Duggar-land region is consistent with the historical bulwark and fortress that this region has played, against the waves of foreign invasions that lost their steam and force as they met with the first-line of defence, for what subsequently became, India. National history selfishly records the trials and tribulations that were borne inside the hinterlands of India – without adequate justice to those in the ‘frontiers’ like the plains of Duggar-land that bore the brunt and ferocity of foreigninvasions. This crucial aspect of historical significance and service was temporarily restored in the erstwhile Dogra Kingdom – which interestingly chose a more ‘inclusive’, progressive and assimilative approach for the whole of J&K that did not pander to any sub-regional assertions, and instead practiced democratic moorings, much before they were enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Sadly, Duggar-lands were soon forgotten, even as it bled more than other region in the wars of 1947-48, 1965, 1971 and has given more lives towards defending India, as compared to any other region in the country.
The insurgency in the Valley, which bore no real relevance to any perceived disgruntlement with ‘Jammu’ specifically, was to inadvertently perpetuate the fate of Jammu towards further diminishment. The brewing angst in the Jammu region was one of ‘lack of development’, and not begrudging the ostensible ‘packages’ and doles that were directed at the Valley – yet, Jammu paid the price for its inability to forcefully articulate its invaluable contributions and the decrement continued in terms of socio-economic recognition. The convenient and auto-reflexive instinct was always to put Jammu on the backburner, and this continued unabated. The dominant ethos and nobility of ‘Jammu’ was not in exclusivism of religious, castiest or ethnic denominations – but in the plurality of its cultural-diversity that always served as a model to the rest of India, as also neighbouring Kashmir, which unfortunately regressed from regional angst to a religiously-inspired insurgency. Jammu still harboured and behooved the finest instincts of the ‘idea of India’.
However, while the ’tilt of focus’ towards the Valley was inevitable given the stakes of managing the manufactured-distance and subsequent armed insurgency – the disproportionateness of the said ’tilt’ was to the extreme detriment of Jammu. Despite the repeated ‘secondement’, the fact that the Dogras kept punching above their weight in terms of national contribution in the Armed Forces, culture, fine arts and overall visibility – paradoxically, gave a false sense of normalcy that warranted no immediate correction. Meanwhile discontent within Jammu kept raging, and the apathetic situation was ripe for polarising politics, as an ostensible panacea for its perceived detachment.Suddenly the narrative became ‘us versus them’ that seemed to peg Jammu’s fate as inversely linked to that of Kashmir – it was a polarising expression, that distinctly strayed from the intrinsically secular, multi-cultural and profound dignity of the Dogra history. The oversimplification of the issue may have reaped political dividends for some political parties in the short-term, the essential fate of Jammu has remained unchanged. Herein, genuine societal concerns like the presence of many illegal Rohingyas or even the shameful Kathua rape case involving the Bakkarwal-Gujjars – somehow got contextualised into the Jammu-versus-Kashmir storyline, when neither the Rohingyas nor the Bakkarwal-Gujjars had any substantial interlinkages with the Valley insurgency.
Following suit, the abrogation of Article 370 was cheered as it ostensibly ‘joined’ the state with the rest of the country, but soon Jammu too feared losing land and jobs to supposed ‘outsiders’ – the hypocrisy and dichotomy of Jammu pegging its fate in inverse sentiments to the Valley, sprung forth. Fact is, Jammu has a very genuine and long-lasting issue of getting a raw deal from the Centre, but it need not link the priority on the Valley, as that is a separate and serious issue, maliciously stoked by an enemy-nation. An almost similar realisation dawned on the Ladakhi leader of the ruling party, who too ultimately acknowledged that the promised manna of development with the creation of the Union Territory, had been a political chimera. Jammu too must honestly introspect with its own fate with the recent changes, and ponder, if it has led to the correction of the disproportionateness of the ’tilt’ or change for the better?
Reality is, the political voice of Jammu is deeply fragmented and devoid of a common-call that could agree of the development agenda of Jammu unitedly, whilst continuing their political positions and differences on the other issues. The local units of all major parties in Uttarakhand or Telangana (two relatively newer states) were almost aligned on the regional aspirations – not so in Jammu, where the major political parties are peddling peripheral agendas, subliminal emotions and jingoism that short-sells the much-needed and tangible’development focus’ of Jammu. Alluding to the impending delimitation as a possible solution, is again wholly political and loaded with many political subtexts, and it perpetuates the polarising conversations – as delimitation exercise should be treated as a regular constitutional mandate and not to be postured as a tool in the wasted ‘us versus them’ spin. There are more than enough political, societal and cultural resources of Jammu to create a cohesive, transformational, non-partisan and impactful ‘voice’ and case in ‘Delhi’ – this ‘voice’ has to be harnessed and force-printed in the manifesto of all political parties, only then does the chorus reach the intended quarters. Dividing the ‘voice’ and case of Jammu by inserting wholly political agendas that addresses only partisan concerns, does unimaginable discredit to the glorious traditions and grandeur of the Dogras. 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.
(The author is former Lt Governor of Andaman
& Nicobar Islands & Puducherry)
feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com
Follow our WhatsApp channel