| News Details |
| End Discrimination, Connect Jammu with Kashmir | | 
By K B Jandial
At a mega event at Jammu on Friday organized to commemorate the birth centenary of late veteran Congress leader Girdhari Lal Dogra, more than PM Modi it was Mufti Sayeed who made a most significant public commitment to the people of J&K the fulfillment of which has potential to bury the never-ending undercurrent of regional tension in the State even though all Kashmiri leaders had been making hyperbolic statements on “resolution of Kashmir issue” which otherwise has no solution in sight.
Mufti was candid when he said "It is my dream to connect J&K with the country, but in reality we could not even connect Jammu with Kashmir. I want to assure people of J&K that we want to do justice and end the sense of discrimination in the state”. Assuring the people to take necessary steps to "change the destiny of J&K" the Mufti quoted V P Singh in whose Govt. he was the Home Minister, and said, “Politics is an art of possibility of managing contradictions. I hope I will get support of everybody and will try and resolve contradictions." Nice words, indeed! More so, when PM Modi disappointed the people by skipping Jammu and its burning issue of AIIMS in his brief but as usual impressive address confining himself to G L Dogra, his son-in-law and other “damaads”.
This statement can help in creating a positive image of Mufti in Jammu. In the past Mufti was never viewed as anti-Jammu with his ever increasing fan club in the region. But somehow in his present inning in the Govt. he started with a “negative image” mainly due to some of his off-the –cuff observations and announcements like on AIIMS and artificial lake in Jammu. People never expected such a “gift” from him.
Mufti has potential to accomplish what others have failed to deliver. He has BJP at his beck and call and he could make his current stint an epoch making in the annals of the history of J&K. Surprisingly, Mufti who has been a strong votary of “resolution of Kashmir issue” and pushing hard for uninterrupted Indo-Pak dialogue in Vajpayee’s spirit, talked about connecting Jammu with Kashmir. He recognised perhaps for the first time, the blatant reality of unattended regional aspirations and feelings of Jammu discontentment. Talking of integrating Kashmir with rest of India is a farfetched idea when even it is not connected with Jammu, State’s winter capital in which a substantial size of Kashmiri population has stakes being its winter residents. Unless Jammu’s discontentment, sense of discrimination and absence equal participation in all affairs of governance is addressed, Kashmir integration with India is not possible, because Jammu with its pluralistic cultures and ethos is in a way represents sentiments akin to India. Everybody transcending their regional and political ideologies must extend support to the genuine efforts of the Mufti, if initiated.
Surprisingly, the Mufti made this commitment in Jammu at the time when the region is nursing a strong feeling of discrimination on some of the issues like location of AIIMS. AIIMS Coordination Committee, a amalgamation of almost 75 non-political and social organizations is agitating for Jammu AIIMS under the aegis of Jammu Bar Association. The fact remains that people of the State especially Jummuites had pinned great hopes from PM Modi and Mufti led PDP-BJP Govt. on bringing about achhe din which are not in sight. Is the Chief Minister really serious about ending discrimination? If yes, then the first thing he should have done was to raise the demand for second AIIMS for Jammu with PM publically for which his deputy Nirmal Singh has given in writing to get the required notification on Jammu AIIMS by 20th July, i.e today. But he preferred not to do it, thereby raising a question mark on his commitment to do justice to all regions.
Since independence, Jammu has been nursing a strong feeling of discrimination (also in Ladakh which wants UT status) which has historical background. With accession of the only Muslim majority princely State into secular India and ending dynastic Dogra monarchy by the Constituent Assembly, it was natural for Kashmiris Muslims to get a greater role in newly acquired democracy. Gradually, Jammu which had a feeling of deprivation of power being emotionally associated with Dogra monarchy, became a fertile ground for political agitations starting from special status to J&K.
The seeds of political disempowerment of Jammu were sown with the distribution of seats for State Constituent Assembly by Sheikh Abdullah’s administration. Out of 75 seats, it gave 43 to Kashmir, 30 to Jammu and two to Ladakh. This discrimination has not been corrected even when it is challenged on the basis of data much later which proves that Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies of Jammu have greater size of electorates than Kashmir but the number of constituencies in Kashmir continues to be more. In 2002 assembly elections, Kashmir had 28, 84,852 electorates against electorate of 31,06,280 of Jammu with average electorates of 62,714 per constituency in Kashmir and 83,964 in Jammu. However, it increased to 32,81,113 electorate in Kashmir and 30,47,264 in Jammu in 2008 polls with 71,329 voters per constituency in Kashmir and 82,358 in Jammu.
Moreover, by an amendment of section 47 (3) of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir the establishment of Delimitation Commission has been prohibited till 2031 as the amendment made in 2002 says, “until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, it shall not be necessary to readjust the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the State and the division of the State into territorial Constituencies under this sub-section".
The “agenda for alliance” of the ruling coalition does not seriously touch this important aspect of Jammu’s political empowerment. It only says, “Constitute a Delimitation Commission for the delimiting of Legislative Assembly Constituencies as required by law.” The present law does not allow delimitation of constituencies till 2031 unless the Govt. first restores its original position. So “as required by law” needs to be revisited if Mufti really wants to do justice in real term.
Mufti, an old political hand having worked in a wide political spectrum and associated with diverse political ideologies, is better placed to resolve contradictions. He must not have forgotten the recommendations of Gajendragadkar Commission, set up Sadiq Govt. in mid sixties to address the issue of Jammu’s discontentment and feelings of discrimination. Its recommendations are gathering dust which otherwise are still relevant. It recommended that to promote feelings of equal participation in decision making, equal number of cabinet ministers should be taken from each region and at least one from Ladakh. In today’s cabinet of 17 ministers, Jammu has only six ministers, Ladakh one and ten from Kashmir. Even if BJP has surrendered Jammu’s interest in the highest decision making forum, it violates Gajendragadkar Commission’s recommendations. Jammu would continue to suffer due to political maneuverings.
It also held that that inter- regional tensions have roots in disparities in the fields of development, services and admission in professional institutions. These recommendations hold good even today.
Subject to corrections, it is said that Jammu’s share in the civil secretariat services is just 21 percent. The unemployment rate, as per the available figures with employment exchanges in Jammu is over 67 percent as compared to less than 29 percent in Kashmir.
Interestingly, a person engaged as a contractual employee under community participation scheme in government departments was paid a monthly wages of Rs. 500 per month while his counterpart in Kashmir gets Rs. 2,100 despite the fact that nature of work is identical.
In one state, there are two different yard sticks for fixing duration of B. Ed courses. It is one year course in Kashmir and two years course in Jammu. Why? There are issues of disparities in distribution of ration and collection taxes.
The humane issue of different categories of refugees evades its final settlement with umpteen number of assurances on one-time settlement for POK refugees of 1947, 1965 and 1971. The agenda of alliance makes a vague commitment of taking “measures for sustenance and livelihood of West Pakistan Refugees”. Would they have suffered in similar way had they not been Hindus & Sikhs and taken shelter in Kashmir like Tibetan Muslims? Will Mufti resolve this contradiction?
Most of the discriminations are the misdoings of the past Govts but some are Mufti Govt.’s creation. AIIMS in Jammu is currently a buzz words in the region. Now, that he made BJP to surrender AIIMS for South Kashmir in Agenda of Alliance, at least he should have gone a step forward and pleaded with PM Modi for AIIMS for Jammu for which Jammu is presently fighting. Jammu’s sensitivities should not be ignored. If media leaks are any indicator, Kashmir gets IIT also despite having prestigious NIT, probably on threat of Kashmir’s civil society and Er Rashid, a MLA but Jammu has no issue if Centre gives more institutions to Kashmir if needed. But do justice with Jammu. If Bihar gets two, why not J&K?
Today is the last date of Dy CM’s written commitment of Central Government’s announcement on Jammu AIIMS. Not fulfillment of this commitment would not only erode Mufti’s public assurance of ending discrimination, much less his deputy, but also put Jammu on war path with the Govt. Political maturity demands avoiding this dangerous situation.
(The writer is former Secretary Information, health, transport, CAPD departments and a member of Public Service Commission, feedback: [email protected])
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Scoop News and Scoop News does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
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