Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 2: Department of Social Work, Central University of Jammu, organised an eminent lecture titled “Challenging Stereotypes on J&K through Strategic Narratives”, to spread the word on equal space for all the stakeholders of the State and working towards the preservation and promotion of the Dogra identity and history with respect to Jammu and Kashmir.
The speaker was Manu Khajuria, Director of Voice of Dogras, who is also a champion of raising the issues of Jammu and other regions alongside Kashmir.
She shared her experience of participation in the massive protest in the streets of London, in front of the Pakistani High Commission, wherein they tried to draw the attention of the world community towards the diversity of the Jammu & Kashmir region in terms of geography, culture, ideology, political aspirations, for which she carried a poster which stated, “Jammu and Kashmir Belongs to Gujjars, Bakarwals, Dogras, Kashmiris, Paharis”.
She also stressed the importance of “Narratives”, as narrating one’s own story tells a lot about one’s own identity, ideology, and philosophy, for which she also quoted the phrase “you tell your story, and I will tell mine”. She further elaborated on this by saying, “I just want to portray my story without coming in conflict with anyone” for which she also nicely said “telling my story does not make your story less.” She ignited the young minds about preserving one’s identity and promoting one’s culture. She emphasised how Narratives construct and deconstruct the notion of people as a result of which Jammu has been a victim of twisted narratives and is not able to attract required attention at the national and international levels.
The event was presided over by Prof Devanand Padha, Dean, Central and attended by Registrar, Dr Yashwant Singh. Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Dr Nancy Mengi, Head, the Department of Social Work, Dr Bhat Iqbal Majid, Dr Vinay Kumar, and Dr Ranvir Singh.
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