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| The neglected and alienated Dogras | | Issue Of Empowerment | | Neha
EARLY TIMES REPORT
jammu, June 20: Everyone in New Delhi and Srinagar is talking about the so-called alienation of the people of Kashmir from the national mainstream. Everyone in New Delhi and Srinagar is talking about the employment problem in and under-development of Kashmir and putting forth suggestions calculated to end the "alienation", create more employment opportunities and pump more money in the Valley. Everyone in the South and North Blocks in New Delhi and Srinagar is talking about the promises the authorities in New Delhi made from time to time with Kashmiri leadership and everyone who matters in New Delhi does admit that New Delhi has not kept the promises and the result has been the trust deficit between the people of Kashmir and New Delhi.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and the PDP, the NC, the CPI-M, the CPI and all other Kashmir-base outfits belongs to the school of thought that holds New Delhi responsible for the prevailing unrest in Kashmir. None of them is willing to accept that Kashmir is the most prosperous region in the country and that the people of Kashmir exercise power and enjoy privileges no other community in the country exercises and enjoys. Paradoxically, even the media is not prepared to study the socio-economic and political profile of Kashmir and its people. The bulk of it, like the Kashmiri leadership and the likes of Chidambaram, holds New Delhi responsible for the all troubles in Kashmir. The attitude of the Delhi-appointed interlocutors has been no different.
Mercifully, none of them is willing to take cognizance of the miserable plight of the Dogras who constitute almost half of the state's population and pay more revenue. The Dogras are facing acute unemployment problem but there is none who is prepared to speak on their behalf. The unemployment rate in Jammu province is over 69 per cent, as against less than 30 per cent in Kashmir. The Dogras have been denied due share of representation in the assembly but there is none to take up their genuine cause so that they also enjoy parity with the counterparts in Kashmir. The Dogras return to the assembly 37 members, as against 47 Kashmir returns. The Dogras are suffering on account of the official apathy as far as road connectivity, power generation, irrigation facilities, healthcare facilities, tourism promotion, industrial growth, agriculture, sericulture, horticulture and educational facilities are concerned but there is none to listen to their complaints. Rather, there are elements who denounce the Dogras as "communal", "parochial", "regionalist" and "anti-Kashmir" whenever they rake up the issue of neglect and discrimination. Remember, Jammu region is the most neglected and under-developed region in the entire country. It only gets crumbs.
It's no wonder then that the Dogras are feeling alienated not only from Kashmir but also from New Delhi. They are demanding justice, fair play and socio-economic and political empowerment since decades but all their efforts have gone down the drain. The situation has climaxed to the point that anything can happen anytime in Jammu. Hence, it would be only desirable on the part of the authorities to listen to the woeful tales of the Dogras and evolve policies which treat them at par with their Kashmiri counterparts. This is imperative in the interest of the state and the country as a whole. They are not seeking empowerment at the cost of Kashmir. They are simply demanding an impartial dispensation and what is their legitimate due as part and parcel of the state. Not to empower them or to continue to pursue the same old line would only aggravate the Jammu's political scene and if at all it happens the result would be a disaster. Act before it is too late. |
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