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| Jammu –its land and people –get PM's ovation | | |
NIRBHAY JAMMUAL
Jammu, July 15: A long due recognition and a rare ovation indeed, the City of Temples and an established epitome of secularism and tolerance today got attention of the Prime Minister of India as the visiting scholar-politician not only eulogised the features Jammu is known for but also spoke about issues and problems people are facing in this region.
The refugees and the non-Kashmiri migrants from different parts of the region who have been living an uncertain and pathetic life were perhaps the most happiest lot when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his Jammu University speech made a commitment to look into their issues and promised them a dignified future.
More heart-warming was the Prime Minister's understanding and description of Jammu , its historical background and the values its people continue to espouse. Dr Manmohan Singh paid rich tributes to Jammu's tradition of "pluralism" and the region's efforts to maintain peace and tolerance in difficult times.
Reminding all what the younger generation might have forgot, the Prime Minister said the city of Jammu is believed to have been founded when legendry king Raja Jambhu Lochan, while on a hunting expedition, discovered a tiger and a goat drinking water from the same tank. "When he sought an explanation, his aides are believed to have said that the 'soil of the place excelled in virtue and for that reason no living creature bore enmity against another'. It is this remarkable tradition of pluralism that all of you have inherited, and which sustains itself even today".
The Prime Minister extended his heart and mind out to the people of Jammu for their exemplary courage, secularism and tolerance for welcoming whosoever sought help in distress. Dr Singh praised the region for welcoming thousands of migrants, refugees and displaced people with open arms. "These include the large number of Kashmiri Pandits, but also refugees from POK ( Pakistan occupied Kashmir) and Pakistan."
He said his government was committed to proper rehabilitation of migrants and their equal rights. "I salute the people of Jammu for maintaining a culture of peace and tolerance during difficult times," he said.
Dr Singh said Jammu had been known as a city of free enterprise and of job-creators and not job-seekers, and hoped that this tradition could be sustained and further strengthened. He emphasized the need to revitalize the spirit of entrepreneurship that Jammu had been famous for all over Northern India. Universities, he said, could play a vital role in this through a structured academia-industry interface, and by setting up business-development incubators which could facilitate start-ups and new business ventures. He hailed Jammuites for welcoming, with open arms, thousands of migrants, refugees and displaced people including the large number of Kashmiri Pandits and refugees from POK and Pakistan. He said that the government was committed to their proper rehabilitation and ensuring that they got equal rights. "I salute the people of Jammu for maintaining a culture of peace and tolerance during difficult times", he said.
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