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| Jammu on a winning spree | | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Apr 13: Between 2008 and 9th April 2010, the authorities did try at least four times to harm the interests of the people of Jammu province. They sought to harm Jammu twice in 2009 and twice before 9th April 2010, but failed because the very alert people of Jammu province put their foot down each time and exerted their pressure on the authorities.
The authorities wanted to hit the people of Jammu province below the belt by setting up the Central University in Kashmir. In fact, they worked meticulously in that direction, but without any success. The people of Jammu joined hands, fought like one man and opposed the official moves tooth and nail. Convinced that they were determined to achieve their demand, the authorities approached the concerned authorities in New Delhi with a view to persuading them to sanction two Central Universities in the state, one each in Kashmir and Jammu.
The authorities in New Delhi also realized the gravity of the situation in the volatile Jammu and finally agreed to set up two Central universities in the state. Of course, they turned down the demand of the authorities in the state to set up the sanctioned Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Kashmir.
Immediately thereafter, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad visited Srinagar and made an announcement that Kashmir would soon have a Unani College. In fact, he sanctioned the same. The people of Jammu province again protested against what they described as "discrimination against Jammu" and demanded the opening of an Ayurvedic College in Jammu. The authorities accepted the demand. The people of Jammu province did not struggle much this time.
The 2009 saw Jammu winning twice against those who had scant or little regard for the sentiments of the people of Jammu province. The year 2010 so far has enabled the people of Jammu province scoring two great victories. The Kashmir-based leadership wanted to deprive the women of the state of the citizenship rights by bulldozing the obnoxious Permanent Resident (Disqualification) Bill, but nothing came out of their dubious game-plan. Even the Jammu-based Congress legislators, who earlier had Okayed the anti-women bill, made common cause with the agitating people of Jammu province. The result was the collapse of the bill. The rejection of the bill was hailed by one and all as an outstanding victory of Jammu in general and women in particular because the rejection of the bill established parity between male and female state subjects, with females getting the right to marry a non-state subject and yet retaining their citizenship rights.
It was hoped that the authorities would refrain from introducing in future any bill that could lead to tensions between the regions and bring the people on the roads. But it did not happen. The authorities tried to ban inter-district recruitment, but failed. The people of Jammu province, without any exception, and almost all the Jammu-based legislators, including ministers, once again made a common cause and fought for the constitutional rights of the Scheduled Caste Hindus. They succeeded. The authorities banned the inter-district recruitment but with the provision that the Scheduled Caste candidates shall continue to get eight per cent reservation in the district cadre posts throughout the state, including Kashmir division's twelve districts. The Kashmiri leaders fought among themselves in and outside the legislature and blamed each other for the adoption of the bill in an amended form.
One Kashmiri legislator from Langate even went to the extent of demanding separation of Kashmir from Jammu saying the association of Kashmir with Jammu has only harmed the Valley. This was the second occasion when the said MLA demanded division of the state. His suggestion could be legitimately interpreted as an admission that Jammu has undergone a radical change and that no one can treat the people of Jammu the manner in which the authorities used to treat them unfairly before June 2008.
It would be reasonable to say that Jammu is on a winning spree. The Jammu leadership would do well not to remain extra vigilant so that no one dares in future to test the Jammu's patience by treading an anti-Jammu path.
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