Shiv Kumar Padha
Jammu and Kashmir state, in-spite of its geographical variations,unique topography and limited economic sources, has always surpassed and excelled other states of the country in the matters of governance, progress, development and elevation of economic status of its masses by the judicious planning and farsightedness.The State Government really deserves appreciation for the commendable job it has performed in sectors of unemployment, poverty and meager resources of income. But Basohli, as ill luck would have it, has always been pushed to the wall whenever there was an occasion of granting boons by the State Government. It is beyond question that Basohli has always suffered and paid the price for the development of the state and that of the country in the past. Whether it is a case of construction of Ranjeet Sagar Dam or its division into three different tehsils Basohli has always been made scapegoat because this tehsil was made to bear the brunt of mass scale migration of its people from Basohli after ponding of the Ranjeet Sagar Dam. The whole business of Basohli was ruined, the markets which always remained busy gave a more deserted look and the backwaters of the RSD separated the kith and kins apart like the wall of Berlin. As per the agreements reached the partner states got their share in water and employment but Basohli was left to rock as a result of the bangs of dynamite explosions at the dam site.
During the last upgradation of some tehsils of the state to district hood the case of Basohli tehsil was neither pleaded nor represented properly at the political as well as at the administrative level with the result that this tehsil was deprived of this opportunity. The way district hood to some of the tehsils was accorded indicates that the magic wand of some powerful and influential politicians played greater role than the claims and qualifications of the most deserving one during the selection.
Historically speaking, Basohli was one of the vast and most prosperous among the 22 Duggar states. There was a time when Basohli was considered as a hub of trade between the adjoining states of Punjab and Himachal Pardesh and has contributed a lot towards the cultural horizon of the state. According to an agreement between the Sikh rulers of Lahore and the East India Company in March 1846 Maharaja Gulab Singh was recognized as independent and sovereign ruler of Jammu and Kashmir. According to the conditions laid down in the agreement, Basohli lost its entity as a separate Duggar state and was merged with Jammu and Kashmir which was spread over 84 thousand square miles. Before the merger of Basohli state with Jammu and Kashmir there were only 74 village but after the merger of Bhaddu, Sumrata and Ram Kot Basohli it was made a full-fledged tehsil of Kathua district with the number of the villages increased to 144. With the passage of time the process of division and sub division of this vast tehsil started resulting into its trifurcation in tehsil Billawar in the year 1996 and later on tehsil Bani in 2004 while the residual part of the parent tehsil had to bear the brunt of migration after the ponding of Ranjeet Sagar Dam which put a permanent clog in the way of progress, development and trade of the tehsil. Owing to the disproportionate divisions many niabats, CD blocks, and Panchyat Halqas which had been part of tehsil Basohli were created and were merged with the newly created tehsils. Kathua is the district head quarter of Bani, Basohli, Billawer and Hira Nagar tehsils. The catchment area of tehsil Hiranagar is only at a driving distance of maximum two hours from the district headquarter whereas a man from far off villages of Bani and Malhar needs at least four days to attend the offices at the district head quarter with two intervening nights either at Basohli or at Kathua which tells badly upon the pocket of the poor people due to the sky high rates of transportation, accommodation and meals. Geographically, the area of the three tehsils Bani, Basohli and Billawar constitute more the two third of the whole district of Kathua where Basohli and Bani tehsils together constitute more than half of it. According to the topography, the two tehsils( Basohli and Bani ) have scattered population who lives in the isolated habitats located in the remote and inaccessible pockets of these tehsils.
It is worth mentioning here thatBasohli is situated at such a place where both Bani and Billawar have easy access. Whole Bani tehsil is connected with Basohli and the rest of the couuntry by the Basohli-Bani-Bhaderwah road which is considered as the life line of the whole Bani tehsil. Moreover the distance between the farthest corner of the Bani and Basohli is less than half of the distance they have been travelling up to Kathua so far. Similarly Basohli town is also near and easily accessible for the people of Billawer tehsil in comparison to the district head quarter Kathua. With the completion of the cable stayed bridge over river by September 2014 not only Billawar tehsil but the whole area beyond Udhampur falling on either sides of the Jammu Srinagar highwaywill prefer travelling to other parts of the country via Basohli. Being the confluence of the three states,Basohli will again emerge as hub of trade, tourism and amalgamated cultural activities. There are already many district level departments like three divisions of PDD, District Institute Of Education and trainings and Jwahar Navodya Vidyalay and sufficient infrastructure to accommodate district level offices to start with.
Making Basohli a hill district for tehsils of Bani, Billawar and Basohli, tehsil status to Mahanpurniabat, creating new niabats at Hutt, Plassi, Bhoond and DharMahanpur and four CD Blocks is the need of the hour which will go a long way in ensuring the speedy and needed development of the remote, backward and inaccessible areas of these hilly tehsils. It will help restore the faded glory of Basohli and bring thetrade of the hilly area on rails. It is put before Chief Minister to consider the case of district hood for the hilly tehsils of Bani, Billawar and Basohli during the next phase.
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