Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 13: The core group of All Jammu Civil Society Forum (AJCSF) which met today under their convener Thakur Gulchain Singh Charak, stressed upon the Union Government to take some measures to safeguard the identity and interests of the local Dogras belonging to all communities.
During the meeting, the members discussed various impacts and repercussions of the recent decisions of the Central Government regarding abrogation of Article 370/35A and also the re-structuring of the J&K State. They welcomed the bold decisions since these provisions that were originally designed to protect the society were grossly misused for individual gains of a few.
The members painfully recalled the sufferings of the Jammu region over the last seven decades and felt that even now in the new arrangement the Jammu region may continue on the receiving end at the hands of those rushing into the State after abrogation of Article 370 and may lose the very recognition and identity. They asserted that there must be some measures to safe guard the identity and interests of the local Dogras belonging to all communities and demanded provisions like Articles 371/372 protecting identity of Himachal Pradesh and the Eastern states.
AJCSF demand that no election should be held in the new set up without proper delimitation and fair population/area based share of power to Jammu region. The Forum further demanded separate Jammu State with Kashmir and Ladakh as Union Territories in restructuring, or separate Councils for Jammu and Kashmir with separate funds allocation, separate secretariats functioning round the year.
The Forum therefore appealed all the political parties, social organizations and other activists of Jammu to come on one platform to watch the interests of Jammu in the new arrangements and assemble on August 17 at Dogra Sadar Sabha Bhawan to consider future courses of action.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion were Anil Suri, Major General Gowardhan Singh Jamwal, Major General Sunita Kapoor, Col Dr Virendra K Sahi, Rajesh Gupta, Raghbir Chander Gupta, Om Parkash Gupta, Balwinder Singh, Kulbir Singh and Madan Rangila.
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