Early Times Report
JAMMU, May 21: Choudhary Lal Singh, who, along with another BJP leader and minister in the PDP-BJP Government Chander Prakash Ganga, was forced to resign for sharing dais with Hindu Ekta Manch leaders at Hiranagar's Kootah, on Sunday organized Dogra Swabhiman Rally. It was a massive show of strength by any yardstick.
It was after 2008 that Jammu witnessed such a massive event. Started from Lakhanpur, gateway to J&K, the 35-kilo meter-long rally with just 500-odd people, the number of people joining the rally increased manifold with each passing moment. And at Londi Morh, Hiranagar, where the rally ended, the number of people taking part in what could be termed as a historic rally, according to eyewitnesses, rose to over 50,000. The participation of the people was voluntary and people of two districts - Kathua and Samba - braving all odds, including extreme heat wave, assembly at Londi Morh to express solidarity with the struggling people of Hiranagar and extend their wholehearted and unqualified support to the Hindu Ekta Manch, which had been spearheading a movement aimed at forcing the "adamant" and "vindictive" authorities to order CBI probe into what is being called the "manufactured Kathua Case" so that the "innocents escaped intimidation, persecution, victimization, harassment and torture and real culprits identified, apprehended and brought to justice".
It was wonderful to see all along the route food and water stalls set up by the common people to ensure that the participants in the rally didn't face any difficulty. Everything was in plenty. This was the spirit. At was also wonderful to see the anger, enthusiasm and determination of the participants in the rally. They were angry. At the same time, they appeared confident of their victory against those who allegedly "framed innocent people and gave a communal colour to the otherwise gory incident": "rape and murder of an 8-year-old Bakerwal girl at Rassana, a village of just 60-odd people and only 13 families.
From the speech which Lal Singh delivered amidst thundering applause, it was clear that his mission was bigger. He attacked the PDP-led coalition government; he warned that the government would fall in case a CBI probe was ordered into the case; he spoke on the Dogra history and Dogra Maharajas and Dogra Generals; he commended what he called composite culture of Jammu province; he taunted Kashmiri leadership saying that it had no glorious history to feel proud of and that it had only discriminated against the people of Jammu and sought to tell the international community that the people of Jammu were rapists and pro-rapists; he without mincing words tore into the Chief Minister of the state. He didn't name the BJP, but his message was loud and clear: "let the government falls, we want CBI probe and we will take rest only after the goal was achieved".
It also appeared from his speech that he could launch a regional party in Jammu province. The fact that he in the presence of HEM leaders Vijay Sharma (president) and Kant Sharma (Secretary) announced that the name of Hindu Ekta Manch be changed and the name should be "Dogra Hindu Manch".
He explained why would he want to change the name of HEM to Dogra Ekta Manch? He said that the very identity of the Dogras was under threat; the very culture of the Dogras was under threat; the very ethos of the Dogras were under threat; the very philosophy of the Dogras was under threat and only Dogra Ekta Manch could defeat the enemies of the Dogras and rid Jammu province of all undesirables who tried their best to dent the image of the people of Jammu and demonize the Dogras.
HEM is a conglomerate of several socio-religious organizations. Individual leaders belonging to different political parties, including BJP, Congress, PDP and NC, have been supporting the HEM. Parties like BJP, PDP, Congress and NC have expelled a number of local leaders for the reason that they were associated with the HEM. Panthers Party and almost all social groups active in Jammu province are directly and indirectly supporting the HEM.
It would be interesting to watch the next move of Lal Singh, which he hinted at in unambiguous terms. The fact of the matter is that the response of Dogra Swabhiman Rally evoked was tremendous and May 20 Rally could change the discourse in Jammu province, as it has rattled the powers that-be in the state and at the Centre. |
