Shiv Kumar Padha
Perhaps Basohli is the rarest of the rare cases in the entire erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state where its oldest tehsil is still a tehsil even after its successive divisions into six tehsils and four sub divisions from time to time since it was established in 1971 BK SVT. Many tehsils, which started their journey long after Basohli, attained district hood quite early because of their proper representations by local and capable MLAs. Had the local representatives advocated in favour of district hood for Basohli and the Jammu and Kashmir Government implemented the Wazir Commission recommendations on merit grounds, honestly without prejudice or ill will Basohli would have got district hood much earlier. But the non local representatives of the Basohli constituency instead of advocating for Basohli always sabotaged its claims. Basohli had been one of the vast and most prosperous among the 22 Duggar states of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir which contributed a lot towards its popularity on the national and international horizon.
According to an agreement reached between the Sikh rulers of Lahore and the East India Company in March 1846, called Amritsar pact, 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 spread over 84 thousand square miles. At the time when Basohli state lost its entity as a separate principality and merger with Maharaja Gulab Singh’s autonomous Jammu and Kashmir,there were about 74 villages in the erstwhile Basohli state.. After the merger of large number of villages adjoining Basohli it was made a full-fledged tehsil of Kathua district with 174 villages in 1971 BK SVT. The territories of the newly established Basohli tehsil was spread over 144 villages with its territories touching Bhaderwah in the north, Chamba HP in the east, Ram Nagar in the west and district Gurdaspur in the south. With the passage of time the process of division and sub division of this vast tehsil started resulting into the formation of tehsil Billawar in the year 1965, Bani in 2007, Mahanpur, Malhar , and Ram Kot in the year 2018. Owing to the disproportionate divisions many niabats, CD blocks, and Panchayat Halqas which had been once part of tehsil Basohli were merged with the newly created tehsils.
During the last up gradation of tehsils to districthood, in the light of Wazir Commission recommendations, the case of Basohli tehsil was neither pleaded nor was represented properly at the political as well as at the administrative level, with the result this tehsil was kept off the panel, where on the contrary new districts, like the one district was created at a hand shaking distance from Jammu where a person can travel throughout the two districts in 3 hours on personal car or motor bike. It is pertinent to mention here that some powerful and influential MLAs/ Ministers from Kashmir division managed converting their tehsils into complete district without joining any other tehsil or Niabat whereas other MLAs from Kashmir succeeded in creating new districts by joining only one Niabat with their tehsil.
Kathua is the present district headquarter of Bani, Basohli, Billawar, Mahanpur, Machhedi, Ram Kot, Kathua and Hira Nagar tehsils. In the case of tehsil Hiranagar and Kathua, any person from the farthest corner of these tehsils can reach district head quarter at Kathua maximum in one hour on the personal vehicle and two hours by bus. 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, , 75% of the total area, of the Kathua district, is occupied by Bani, Basohli , Billawer, Ram Kot, Malhar , Dugan and Mahan Pur tehsils ( all carved from the old Basohli tehsil) alone. According to the topography Basohli, Bani, Machhedi and Mahanpur have scattered population which lives in the isolated habitats.
For ensuring speedy development, social justice, taking administration to the portals of the masses, providing health, education facilities and employment opportunities to all the tehsils of Kathua district there is a need of creating at least one new hilly district at Basohli the most suitable, accessible and acceptable to all because;
– Basohli is a tehsil which came into existence after it was merged with Jammu and Kashmir state under an act between the East India Company and Lahore Durbar in 1848 along with 144 villages.
– With the passage of time Basohli had to pass through divisions and sub divisions with the result the single tehsil was broken into six tehsils and four sub divisions.
– The non local representatives, who have been representing the Basohli constituency since independence, always considered it as their colony and spared no effort in sabotaging the genuine and legitimate rights of Basohli.
– Basohli is situated on the historical trade route between India and Jammu and Kashmir during 17 th centaury.
– The Completion of Atal Setu, a bridge over river Ravi, has changed the whole geographical scenario of Basohli. Because it has not only emerged as a geometrical centre of the newly created 8 tehsils (out of Basohli) but has got good connectivity with all the 8 off shoots of Basohli and the entire country by roads. All the roads (life lines)from Udhampur, Bhaderwah, Bani Billawar, Himachal Pardesh and Punjab converge at Basohli with the result there is no problem of connectivity within and outside the state.
Apart from being situated at the confluence of three states UT of J&K, Punjab and Himachal Pardesh. Basohli has also been the hub of tourism, Ayurveda, art culture and pashmina industry in the state. 1t is pertinenent to ment1on here that on the directon of State Adminstration a feasibility report was sought from ADC Basohli though DC Kathua letter No. DCK/SQ/2019-20/745 dated 30-07-2019 which stands submitted by ADC Basohli with the recommendations’ (Enclosed) on 09-08-2019 vide his No.ADC/BSL/2019-20/574..
– All the district level offices like DIET, ADC, JNV, divisions of forest, PDD, PWD and like others are already functioning here and there is no scarcity of buildings and infrastructure meant for housing the district offices to start with.
Granting district hood to Basohli will be in the interest of both Jammu and Kashmir Government and the people from Billawar and Bani because it will pave the way for the desired, equitable development of the whole area and help develop Basohli into a trade and tourist hub and trade corridor. Moreover the legitimate claimants will get justice which they have been denied since Independence.
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