Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 21: SKUAST- Teaching Association Jammu (SKUAST-TAJ) has demanded rechristening SKUAST-Jammu as Agricultural University Jammu.
The demand was raised during a meeting of the SKUAST-TAJ wherein the Association discussed the issue regarding the change in the name of only farm and professional varsity of Jammu division.
President SKUAST-TAJ, Dr Vikas Sharma informed that Agricultural Universities in the neighbouring States have been established in the name of the State itself like Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) – Ludhiana, Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) – Hissar, Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (HPKV) – Palampur and even University of Jammu has its own identity, so on the same pattern Agricultural University of Jammu should be named as Jammu Agricultural University (JAU).
“This name is easily pronounced and easily identified at national / global level as the common name of two varsities in J&K (SKUAST-J & SKUAST-K) creates a lot of controversy and confusions among the masses” Dr Vikas explained. He further informed that SKUAST-Kashmir is an old Agricultural Institution / University and is always preferred at National level over SKUAST-Jammu and most of the times in the past, funds of SKUAST-Jammu were being transferred to SKUAST-Kashmir from ICAR and it consumes a lot of effort, energy and time to bring these funds back to SKUAST-Jammu.
Dr Vivak M Arya, general secretary of the Association, stressed that farming community, civil society and intellectual belonging to Jammu region have the opinion that their identity is suppressed by prefixing the name Sher-e-Kashmir before Agricultural University of Jammu and they have high aspirations that they should be identified by the name that itself represents all the cultures and values prevailing in their Jammu region.
He further informed that TAJ has constituted a four member committee with Dr Vinod Gupta as chairman to prepare a detailed report regarding the subject and actively take up the issue with the concerned quarters.
The meeting was attended by Dr P K Rai, Dr Devinder Sharma, Dr Rajeev Bharat and others.
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