Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 7: SKUAST-Teaching Association Jammu (SKUAST-TAJ) has reiterated its demand of rechristening of SKUAST-J as Jammu Agriculture University.
In a statement, President SKUAST-TAJ Dr Vikas Sharma informed that Teaching Association in the last 4 years submitted memorandums regarding rechristening of SKUAST-J as Jammu Agriculture University to the then National President BJP Amit Shah and UT President BJP Sat Sharma, MoS in Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh, then Deputy Chief Minister J&K Dr Nirmal Singh, then Minister for Agriculture J&K Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura and then Chief Secretary BB Vyas.
Dr Vikas further informed that in the recent past i.e., in 2019 the Teaching Association met with Governors of J&K NN Vohra and Satyapal Malik to submit a written memorandum regarding the matter. Moreover in February 2020, Teaching Association discussed the issue with Lieutenant Governor of J&K GC Murmu and submitted a detail draft and LG assured that their sole demand will be considered soon.
Dr Vikas said that in response to Chancellor’s Letter addressed to Vice Chancellor SKUAST-J on the subject rechristening of SKUAST-J as Jammu Agricultural University, the issue was deliberated in University Governance meeting held under the chairmanship of Vice Chancellor SKUAST-J and accordingly a letter addressed to Principal Secretary at Lieutenant Governor’s Secretariat J&K, Registrar SKUAST-J has conveyed that “University has no objection for rechristening of SKUAST-J as Jammu Agricultural University, through appropriate policy decision by the Government.”
So, rechristening of SKUAST-J as Jammu Agricultural University is need of the hour and it will be a good confidence measure for the people of Jammu, who have struggled a lot for this Agricultural University.
Dr Vivak M Arya General Secretary of the Association stressed that the demand is very genuine as most of the State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) in India are established in the name of the States.
“The farming community, civil society and intellectual belongs 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 shall be identified by the name that itself represents all the cultures and values prevailing in their Jammu region”, he added.