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| Empowerment of Jammu province is a must | | PRM Seminar | | Neha
JAMMU, Dec 16: On December 15, the Peoples' Revolutionary Movement (PRM) organized an impressive seminar at the Jammu Press Club. The theme of the seminar was "Political Empowerment of Jammu". Number of political persons and distinguished citizens participated in the seminar and reflected on the nature of Jammu problem and its lasting solution. The seminar was presided over by former High Court Judge, Justice KK Gupta.
Those who spoke on the theme included PRM president Rajinder Jamwal, JKNPP MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia, senior Advocate DK Khajuria, Jitendra Singh of the BJP, BL Saraf, a retired judge, and a few others. Rajinder Jamwal, who organized the seminar on a very important theme, released a document titled "Political Empowerment of Jammu". It was nothing but a catalogue of the problems being faced by the people of Jammu province and the nature of the Jammu cause. Rajinder Jamwal, among other things, said: "Jammu has always been discriminated against by the Kashmiri rulers which can't be tolerated any more now. The province has no cultural and geographical link with Kashmir and, hence, it deserves the status of statehood to end the discriminatory role of Kashmiri centric politicians towards the region. Jammu is facing a step motherly treatment from Kashmiri leadership. Only statehood can end discrimination with the people of Jammu province".
Addressing the seminar, Balwant Singh Mankotia claimed that it was his Party which had given a solution to the Jammu problem in the 2011 convention by giving a call for reorganization of the State. He asserted, and very rightly, that if the people of Jammu province have to lead a dignified life, the state has to be reorganized on a regional basis. He lambasted the biased authorities for giving under representation to Jammu province in the Assembly. He said while Kashmir has 46 MLAs, Jammu has only 37. He also opined that the "first thing required for political empowerment is the enrichment of Dogri language". "All of us must feel proud in speaking in Dogri and keep this rich language alive," he said. The upshot of his whole argument was that the time has come for the reorganization of the state. Former president, BAJ, DK Khajuria reflected on the history of Jammu since 1846 and talked about the circumstances under which the state acceded to India in October 1847. He was highly appreciative of the organizer of the seminar and hailed his effort saying such seminars are the "need of the hour". In other words, he expressed himself in favour of a dispensation that ends discrimination with Jammu and empowers it politically so that it could manage its own affairs itself in a meaningful manner and address the issues facing the neglected people of Jammu province. He advocated the need to have three sub-states within Jammu and Kashmir with separate legislatures and the governing council to take care of the aspirations of the people within the sub-regions. His was a very rational suggestion.
Jitendra Singh of the BJP, too, advocated the need of empowering Jammu province. "Unless all of us, rising above party lines, draw a "bottom line" of our common objectives without mutually negating each other for petty interests, we shall not reach anywhere, he was quoted as saying. He also reportedly said that "economic power flows from political empowerment" and suggested that "abuse of Article 370 and misuse of PRC have empowered a handful of families in Kashmir while denying the common man his bare minimum right of dignified existence," he rightly said, adding that the "policy of appeasement at the cost of Jammu and Ladakh has been promoted by a small coterie of polity to ensure its continuance in the seat of power". He endorsed the demand for Union Territory status for Ladakh and said that the BJP "is open to discuss all options for regional empowerment of Jammu, including Regional Council". "The quantum of administrative, economic and legislative powers of the Regional Council can be worked out by consensus," he said. Besides, he demanded application of the National Minority Act (NMA) in Jammu and Kashmir based on "identification of actual minorities in the State".
BL Saraf and another advocate Jyoti Sharma supported the demand seeking empowerment of the people of Jammu province. Sharma reportedly said that the "empowerment begins from self and to be downloaded to the next generation" and that the "empowerment of the people will happen when it begins from the grass-root level". Very importantly, Justice KK Gupta (Retd.), in his presidential address, appreciated the effort of the PRM, and suggested that such seminars should be held at regular intervals to educate the public opinion and prepare ground for the empowerment of Jammu. Indeed, his was a very significant suggestion. Jammu needs political empowerment and to achieve it serious and concerted efforts need to be made. Political empowerment of Jammu has become all the more imperative considering the fact that the Kashmiri leadership is not just discriminatory, but it is also advocating a pernicious break-India and destroy Jammu and Ladakh ideology. |
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