Harsh Dev Singh
With Article 370 or without Article 370. The Jammu region has continued to lose, to suffer, to bleed. It continues to be looked upon with a jaundiced eye. And rather perennially assigned the role of second class citizenry. The self proclaimed champions owing allegiance to a national party, which ruled the centre as well as in the state of J&K, have virtually failed to navigate Jammu and to assuage its hurt psyche. The valley based parties have their own priorities and agendas. The civil society, the traders, the youth, the common man of Jammu are grumbling. The Jammu region continues to be treated as an appendage of Kashmir and persistently deprived of its legitimate share in employment, funds allocation, development projects, tourism promotion, power, health facilities etc. And while the BJP is paying a lip service to Jammu through tall promises of empowerment which have invariably remained unfulfilled, it continues to pamper Kashmir and Ladakh which are getting focussed attention of the GOI post re-organization.
Soon after the abrogation of Article 370 and State’s conversion as UT, the Government of India issued an order fixing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Kashmiri apples by introducing Market Invention Scheme (MIS) without affecting any corresponding increase in the support prices of any of the crops produced by Jammu region farmers. The Delhi as well as Kashmir based parties have failed the people of Jammu despite decades of rule in the erstwhile state. Not only that, the Government was procuring the Kashmir apples through its own agencies including NAFED so that the Kashmir farmer was adequately compensated for their produce. On September 5, 2019 the Union Govt. had announced that for the first time NAFED will be involved in procuring 13 lacs metric tons of apple from Kashmir at a cost of Rs. 5,000 crores. This was followed by yet another announcement by the Union Finance Minister, at a conference on rural and agricultural Finance, directing NABARD to ensure fair remunerative prices for the crops of farmers of Kashmir. While urging the Chairman NABARD to ensure that Kashmir farmers produce was marketed all over the country, the Union Finance Minister gave strict instructions for ensuring fair prices to valley farmers for cash crops including saffron, peaches and walnut.
The Jammu farmers however, particularly the Basmati growers who had been seeking identical relief and fixation of adequate MSP for their produce continued to be ignored and disregarded, more appropriately discarded. The farmers of R.S Pura/border belt raising traditional Basmati crop over 45,000 hectors of land extending from Akhnoor area to Samba has been facing acute financial crisis in view of uneconomical rates of return for their produce in the open market. Border tensions and frequent Pak shelling had aggravated their woes with a hapless and apathetic Govt. least bothered about the concerns of these nationalist people. The value of their produce which ranged from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 3,500 per quintal had come down to Rs. 1,500 to 2,000 per quintal which did not suffice to meet even their costs thus forcing these farmers to starvation with the Government playing a mute spectator to their woes. And while the J&K Govt. always boasted of rare quality Basmati production in Jammu as compared to other states, it failed to provide the much needed succour to the cultivating sections and agriculturists engaged in the ungrateful profession.
Not only the disregard of Jammu based farmers but the prestigious Agricultural University of Jammu was also granted a step motherly treatment. In December 2019, the government issued an order allocating Rs. 20 crore for SKUAST-K and Rs. 5.71 crore for SKUAST-J. Likewise, it organized a mega sports events ‘Khelo India’ in Srinagar with central BJP leaders making several announcements to promote Kashmir based sports to the exclusion of Jammu’s talent. The BJP govt has only recently announced to promote the Kashmir saffron without uttering a word about the world class saffron produced in Kishtwar and Doda Districts. It is holding parlays on regular basis with Ladakhi leadership over issues of saving their lands, Jobs besides conferring benefits under Sixth schedule of the constitution.
While the lion’s share has always to go to the highly mollycoddled Kashmir, the dogra land has got to remain content with whatsoever falls in its kitty. A sort of fait accompli. So much so that even the self respect and dignity of dogras has been compromised to keep the other side in good humour. The present day rulers are not only subscribing to the slogan of “Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat, Insansiyat” but have in a way discarded dogriyat and the values it symbolizes. The IIT convocation held last year in dogra heartland had the participants flaunting Kashmiri ‘Pherans’ and ‘Pakhtooni/Afghani’ caps which was a prescribed dress code. Does this not amount to humiliation of dogras?
Only recently the BJP govt announced Rs 1500 crore for Airport terminal for Kashmir as against Rs 600 crore for Jammu terminal. It ordered age relaxation for Ladakh youth without obliging the Jammu youth who continue to languish on the roads with none to even respond to their shrill cries. Earlier first ever Khelo India was inaugurated by Kiran Rijiju in Kashmir in March 2020. A centre of excellence for winter sports was announced for Adventure sports with an allocation of 145.16 lacs as one time grant with a recurring annual grant of Rs 96.17 lacs for Kashmir while ignoring Jammu altogether. Likewise kayaking,canoeing,rowing and fencing centres one after the other were announced for Kashmir last year without bothering to address the similar demands of Jammu youth. The select lists issued by recruiting bodies revealed unprecedented bias against Jammu region even post Art 370 abrogation.
Dogras are made, rather forced to reconcile in the name of nationalism and patriotism. It is the Kashmir situation that determines the policies to be framed for the Jammu region. The 4G connectivity in Jammu was banned only because of the alleged adverse security situation in Kashmir. The people of Jammu region were made to forego the said 4G internet facility as Kashmir had also to be denied this facility despite it having been declared a constitutional right by the Apex Court. The share of Jammu youth in govt employment has consistently dropped to abysmally low levels with none in the govt to respond to the plight of aggrieved youth of the region. Huge settlements of outsiders permitted in the Dogra heartland have posed a grave threat to our very culture, language and identity. Not only the Biharis, UPites and Assames but Rohingyas and Bangladeshis have been illegally settled posing a grave threat to our very safety and survival.
Not only that, the outsiders have been made eligible for Jobs in J&K which too would eventually deprive the Jammu youth of their already negligible Job avenues. The educated youth of dogra land employed in govt Jobs under a proper procedure are often disengaged while allowing their Kashmir counterparts to continue. This was seen even recently in the Deptt of H&ME wherein more than 1500 Health professionals of Jammu region were summarily thrown out of their Jobs without assigning any reason. The District and Divisional level posts have been thrown open for all which would further hamper the prospect of Jammu youth. 10,000 posts of SPOs sanctioned by the centre were all provided to Kashmir with BJP leaders claiming that it was necessary in national interest.
The Jammu region was again discriminated in allotment of PG seats in H&ME Deptt with Kashmir getting focussed attention and enhanced share. Maharaja Hari Singh was dishonoured in Assembly and holiday declined on his birthday. Service tax was imposed on helicopter services to Mata Vaishno Devi. Dogra certificate to dogras was declined. Kashmiri was thrust on Jammu region colleges. The common masses of Jammu had to take to streets to get Dogri subjects sanctioned for Jammu colleges. The tall slogans on providing dogri satellite channels were conveniently forgotten. The CBI probe into Rasana case was denied by disregarding the aspirations of Dogras who were dubbed as ‘rapists supporters’. The delusional plans of development have all ended in fiasco. Artificial Tawi Lake, Dogra Heritage of Mubarak Mandi, Development of Tawi on pattern of Sabar Mati and Jumbo Zoo project initially approved after the name of Raja Jambu-lochan all seem to have been abandoned. While Kashmir and Ladakh continued to receive the focussed attention of the govt even during BJP-PDP rule, the Jammu region was made to content with second class status. The BJP in power sold Jammu to Kashmir and then defended the deal. The people of Jammu and even the diehard supporters of BJP were soaked with the sweat of shame on seeing their leaders crossing all limits of sycophancy.
Are the aforesaid developments in tune with the basic instincts and core susceptibilities of dogras as a class? Do they not amount to an insult to our very self respect and dignity? The authoritarian installation of Toll Plazas around the city of temples by our elected govt and arbitrary denial of 4G are a stinging rebuke of the present regime trampling upon the rights and interests of the people of Jammu region. These leaders further tried to trivialize the significance of 23rd September by saying that people should do double the work on the birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh, quite unmindful of their earlier assurances on the subject. Further the very existence of the dogra state founded by a dogra ruler became a subject matter of unfettered discretion of those who ascended to power on the strength of our votes. The arrogant rulers invoked Governor’s Rule and then used the Governor’s consent to dismantle the historical dogra state and demote it to the level of UT.
Has any national or Kashmir based party ever bothered to raise its voice against the perennial incarceration of the dogra land or its people. It is the indefatigable Panthers who alone projected each and every issue of Jammu region and vociferously fought against each onslaught on its honour and pride during the last seven years. The author led more than 600 protests against the anti Jammu policies of the rulers with more than 55 such protest demonstrations having been held at New Delhi at Jantar Mantar and outside parliament. The author still continues to fight for Jammu region despite threats, intimidations and persecutions refusing to succumb before the anti Jammu elements. All such forces have failed to calm the roar of the Panther. It is therefore hightime that the people identify the true crusaders for Jammu cause and support them in the ultimate interests of the region. Remember, a regional party alone can assuage the hurt psyche of the region. It alone can vulcanize the bruised dignity of dogras. It alone can navigate the deprived and ravaged land of Dogras.
(The author is former education minister and chairman JKNPP)
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