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| A tiny spark waiting to burn the house | | |
Early Times Special
JAMMU, July 25, 2009:
The geographical, ethnic, cultural and religious divide that has existed between the three regions of the State – Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh – is not about to be bridged in a day. Certainly not by allowing the controversy regarding the proposed Central university to gather further momentum.
The Chief Minister, Mr Omar Abdullah, has declared that his party, the National Conference, will treat the two regions of Jammu and Kashmir equitably. He said that both the capital cities, Jammu and Srinagar, have been sanctioned Rs 30 crore each for blacktopping of the roads.
The point he has tried to make is that the coalition government headed by him is trying to be just and fair to both the regions. An adept politician that he is, Omar is making a virtue out of sheer necessity.
Does he really believe that Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, Health Minister Sham Sharma, Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla and Medical Education Minister R S Chib will be mute spectators if he were to do otherwise?
In fact, the question that can be asked is also whether these Congress leaders can themselves afford to allow an impression that the government is of the Kashmiris, by the Kashmiris and for the Kashmiris.
Despite having partymen like Ajay Sadhotra and D S Rana by his side, was he in a position to walk the streets of Jammu during the Amarnath agitation last year? His father, Dr Farooq Abdullah, had to beat a hasty retreat at the Jammu airport when hostile crowds awaited them outside.
Of course, he may not have forgotten those days and can nurse a grudge or two against the people of Jammu. But he should remember that the people of Jammu have also not forgotten that bitterness.
Given this, if he gives them an opportunity to the people in Jammu to rave about real or perceived wrongs, it would not be good for his government. In fact, it will put him in dire straits.
During the last year’s Amarnath land row agitation, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Congress led by Ghulam Nabi Azad had parted ways essentially on an issue which accentuated the regional divide and gave it an overtly communal colour too.
The relations between the Congress and the National Conference will also come under (tremendous) strain in the coming days. If the issues that have the potential of pitting one region against the other are not handled deftly.
Let us try to put facts regarding the proposed Central university in perspective. As things stand today, the Central Government is planning to open a dozen-odd Central universities across the nation. This means that of the 28 states in the country, more than half will not be getting these universities.
In such a situation, Omar is claiming that his government will try to get two Central universities, one for Jammu and the other for the Kashmir region.
By the way, J&K is a state in which less than one per cent of nation’s population lives. How can the Centre then afford to allocate two universities to the State? Is it possible that the Central Government will concede such an unreasonable demand?
It would be better for both the State and the Central Governments to be cautious in dealing with an issue that can create a communal and regional divide. The people who refuse to accept that this divide exists in the hearts and minds of the Jammuites as also Kashmiris are living in a fool’s paradise.
Of course, there is no need to add fuel to the fire by fanning this divide and sincere efforts need to be made to bridge this gap. This gap will only widen further if half-baked (and impractical) ideas like asking for two universities are thrown at the masses.
The Central Government is willing to fund two institutes of excellence in the State: an I.I.M. (Indian Institute of Management) and a Central University. The State Government should declare it openly that it will set up one of them in the Jammu region and the other in the Kashmir region.
A move of this nature will establish the State Government’s claims about treating the regions equitably beyond any shadow of doubt. But any efforts by Omar and his friends to set up both the Central institutes in the Kashmir region will be a sure recipe for disaster.
The people of Jammu understand now that any institution opened in Kashmir is virtually out of bounds for them. You can ask the following questions and understand things for yourself.
How many people from the Jammu region have been treated in the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) since it was established in the late 70s? This is essentially a super-speciality hospital catering to the Kashmir valley.
Over three decades later, Jammu is still waiting for a super-speciality hospital in the government sector. It was sanctioned during the BJP regime (when Omar too was a Central minister) and Sushma Swaraj was the Union health minister.
Similarly, agricultural university was first opened in Kashmir and decades later in Jammu. Talk of medical college. It was first opened in Kashmir and much later in Jammu. Talk of engineering college. It was opened in Kashmir and decades later in Jammu, rather grudgingly too.
There are several more such instances where Kashmir has always been allowed to have an upper hand. For too long have the people of Jammu allowed this to happen till they woke up last year.
The cancellation of the allotment of land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) was a very heavy burden for the Jammuites. It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s (read Jammuites) back.
The regional and communal fire that will engulf J&K in the eventuality of both the I.I.M and the Central university being located in Kashmir would have been ignited by the powers-that-be. And then they will have nobody else to blame for their doings but themselves.
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