Events & Issues

New Delhi, 25 August 2008

Aspiration Of Jammu

ASSIMILATE THE ALIENATION

By Sant Kumar Sharma

The simmering anger that has manifested itself on the Jammu streets since the beginning of this month is the culmination of the region’s perceived “neglect and dominance by the Kashmir Valley.”

Not many may truly understand the reason for the intense violence, the chakka jams and the women protests in an otherwise peaceful Jammu region. Right since Independence, the State of Jammu and Kashmir has posed problems for the Indian nation. These problems arose because the State did not become a part of the Union on August 15 1947, but on October 26 1947.

The genesis of what is called the Kashmir problem can be traced back to the events that happened between these two dates. The erstwhile Maharaja of Kashmir Hari Singh signed the document of accession with India on October 26, after Pakistani intruders killed his subjects mercilessly in Mirpur, Muzzafarabad, Kotli and marched from Baramulla towards Srinagar.

Today, the nomenclature the Kashmir problem as we know it is misleading and does not help. Kashmir as a shorthand for describing J&K creates its own problems as it excludes the regions of Jammu and Ladakh altogether. It also excludes the areas of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), Gilgit, Baltistan and Hunza etc (collectively called the Northern Areas) which were a part of the State of J&K on August 14, 1947.

The Kashmiri separatist leaders, including the moderate Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, readily admit that it is not the Kashmir Valley (comprising an area of only 15,948 sq kms) alone which is the bone of contention. The Jammu region spans over 26,293 sq kms, Ladakh (comprising Leh and Kargil districts) is over 80,000 sq kms, but has a very small population. Thus, the State of J&K (on 14 August 1947) ruled by the Maharaja was over 2,22,000 sq kms.

The genesis of the immediate problem is the revocation of the land transfer order by the to State Forest Department the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB). The Jammu region erupted in flames subsequent to the State Government cancelling the “diversion of land to the SASB,” apparently to quell the fires then raging in the Kashmir Valley against this May 26 order.

However, as the agitation in Kashmir died, it gave birth to a counter-agitation in Jammu. The Government failed to communicate to the people of Jammu that the land order did not confer “propriety rights to the SASB’’ in respect of the 800 kanals of land “diverted for use during the yatra.” Worse, it failed to scotch rumours and educate the masses that the SASB was getting the land only ``for use during the yatra.”

Leading to the Jammu interpreting the revocation of the order as the Government bowing before the separatists in the Valley. And an affront to the religious sentiments of the Hindus in the State. The region comprises 10 districts of which Jammu and Kathua are Hindu-majority areas. In Udhampur too, the number of Hindus is fairly high and in the other eight districts the two communities live together and the population ratio varies widely.

Besides, with people of other religions like Sikhs and Christians also present in fairly large numbers, the Jammu region has been, by and large, secular. People of different ethnicities, religions and linguistic groups have continued to settle here, right since 1947. Successive waves of migrants settled in the Capital city of Jammu and other areas in 1947, 1965, 1971, 1990 (Kashmiri Pandits) and 1999 (border migrants after the Kargil war).

The Dogras embraced successive migrants with open arms, often much to their own detriment. The land prices have sky-rocketed, infrastructure is under strain and competition for jobs and education intense. The Kashmiri Muslims have also constructed houses and bought properties in Jammu, mainly because they feel safer here than Kashmir. Their children study in Jammu schools and tuition centres, without feeling threatened.

There have been no communal clashes in Jammu or its periphery, even after grave provocations like attacks on the symbol of Dogra pride and culture, the venerated Raghunath temple, in 2002. It is a tribute to the secular ethos of the region that the counter-attack to kill those who had intruded into the temple was led by the then Jammu SSP Farooq Khan. Even as the encounter continued, and the militants were felled, there were no reports of any communal clashes anywhere. Besides, a majority of Jammuites see India as their motherland. This is in sharp contrast to a section of Kashmiris, who repeatedly challenge the accession of J&K to India on October 26, 1947.

The people of Jammu believe they have made sacrifices for the Indian nation. When militancy broke out in the Valley in 1990, several Dogra officers were posted in Kashmir. A fairly large number of policemen who died while fighting the militants in Kashmir were Dogras, including Pahari Muslims from Poonch and Rajouri, besides the Doda district. Despite this, the Dogras believe that they are taken for granted by both the State and Central Governments which always make policies aimed at ``appeasing the separatists in Kashmir.’’

This perceived “loading the dice in favour of the Kashmiris” is something the Jammuites strongly resent. Especially against the backdrop that the region is bigger than the Valley. While the total number of voters in Jammu stood at 30,91,193, the number of voters in Kashmir was 29,86,670 in 2002. Yet, the region had only 37 seats in the State Assembly as opposed to 46 for the Kashmir Valley. Adding insult to injury, while the Valley sends three MPs to the Lok Sabha Jammu has to suffice with two MPs.

This political imbalance of having more voters but getting to elect fewer legislators (both MLAs and MPs) due to a skewed delimitation of constituencies is something the Jammu people now want a change in. They want fresh delimitation of constituencies leading to a more equitable power-sharing arrangement. Besides, they also want higher representation in the State Government services which as presently are heavily tilted in favour of the people from the Valley.  

At another level, the Valley consumes more electricity than Jammu. The target set by the Government for collection (during 2007-08) was Rs 519 crores and Rs 417 crores, respectively. While the collection from Jammu was Rs 443 crores only Rs 246 crores were collected from the Valley.

This has added to the list of grievances in Jammu where a feeling has gained ground, and obviously not without reasons, that its adherence to the idea of the Indian Nation State is being taken for granted. In contrast, the Valley is meted out preferential treatment and its people given concessions aimed at “appeasement.”

Clearly, this grouse of the Jammu people needs to be understood, in the right perspective, and remedial measures taken. Besides, the media, on its part, too has not given the region its due weightage with most journalists preferring to report from the Valley. In sum, the time has now come to invest in trying to understand the aspirations of the Jammu region, as distinctly different from the Kashmir Valley. ----- INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)