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| NC out to divide Jammu on communal lines, resist the sinister design | | STARK REALITY-III | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Oct 13: The Regional Autonomy Committee (RAC) disposed of discussion on the history of Kashmir, its demographic profile and the related issues in just one paragraph. Besides, it sought to convey an impression that Banihal, Kishtwar, Rajouri and Poonch of Jammu province were part of "external Kashmir." On the contrary, it devoted 12 pages (pp. 5-16) out of a total of 27 pages to Jammu province, its history, its diversity and what not in order to break Jammu province into smithereens and help the Kashmiri leadership segregate these areas from Jammu province and create schism among the people professing different faiths. The Regional Autonomy Committee Report is a 27-page document.
As for Jammu province, it, among other things said: "Jammu is heterogeneous culturally, linguistically, ethnically and geographically. In fact, modern day Jammu province comprises many diverse regions. In the historical context, these regions have existed as independent entities with their distinct history, languages and cultural identities. The notable among these regions are Rajouri, Poonch and Kishtwar. Historically, these regions have either formed part of Kashmir kingdom or existed as independent small kingdoms…In the normal course, mechanisms should have been devised to satisfy the grievances of these ethnic groups from the diverse regions (p. 6)...Treating Jammu as a homogenous region must satisfy the urges of people in Doda and Rajouri-Poonch, which have a claim to be treated as regions and who face different sets of problems (P.6)…The demand of Leh district with a population of 68.380 persons…for an autonomous hill development council was conceded. The same demand from Doda district with the population of 4,25,262 persons…was rejected (P. 7)…The committee came to the conclusion that a sharp sense of neglect and discrimination among the diverse ethnic groups of the regions (read Jammu)…exists. This sense of discrimination is sharper in the regions of Jammu province, particularly in the hilly and far-flung areas of the province " (P. 8).
The RAC did not stop here. It further wrote: "The committee came to the conclusion that there is an urgency in demarcating the regions…It was argued by the ethnic groups that administrative classification of the provinces should not be recognized as the genuine and real classification of the regions…The memoranda submitted by people of Doda, Rajouri and Poonch indicated that these groups perceive themselves belonging to different regions. The history of these regions and their particular ethnic profiles substantiate their claims of belonging to different regions…(P. 9)…The committee examined the historical record (read Mukamal Tarikh-I-Kashmir by Mohammad Din Fauq and Tarikh-I-Kashmir Islami Ehad Mein by Sabir Afsai. The committee members call these highly biased works as historical records. They did not read SDS Charak's books on Jammu. They also chose not to read Gulabnama) and came to the conclusion that these regions have existed as small kingdoms independently or have been part of Kashmir kingdom…The democratic process has definitely brought about a social and political cohesion of the state. However, due to varied reasons, the regions in J&K state have developed the perceptions of discrimination…This sense of discrimination has led to violent agitations in the past. The agitations in Kashmir for the creation of Shopian as a district and prolonged agitation in Poonch, Reasi and Kishtwar of Jammu province provide illustrations to the point. It is highly relevant to note that these ethnic groups are not clamouring for the regional classification on the basis of religion. For, instance, Doda, and Rajouri-Poonch, both Muslim majority regions, reject to be classified as one region…In fact, they have represented their cases to the committee separately marking their distinct identities and claiming a regional status (p. 11)…The committee is within its jurisdiction in examining the claims of different ethnic groups which could be considered as belonging to different regions P. 11)…"
The RAC further wrote: "It is well settled that ethnicities located in specified territorial boundaries have a claim to be classified as 'regions' and therefore have legitimate claim to the autonomy at the political and economic levels…In the process of recognition of ethnicities, no ethnicity should be allowed to occupy the entire space to the exclusion of other ethnicity (P.11)…The mapping of regions…is a complex task…It was argued that Jammu province comprised 22 former principalities, each having distinct historical background cannot be declared as a single homogeneous region. It was also represented that latest SRO-125, dated 28-o6-1994 issued by the J&K Government as a sequel to Justice AS Anand Committee Report, which was constituted to look into the social and educational backwardness of Doda district, declared 562 villages out of 655 villages as backward. It was validly argued that hilly regions of the Jammu province, which were ethnically and even agro-climatically different from each other, faced different problems due to their specific geographical locations. Thus, the developmental strategies for these regions could not be uniformly applied at the provincial level (P. 15)…" (To be continued) |
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