• Post modification of Article 370 and 2024 Assembly elections, this article makes a case for Jammu Region becoming an independent Union Territory.

Assembly Elections were strange in the sense that people were happy it happened and with no violence. The issue of punishing those responsible for terrorism since 1990, exodus of Kashmiri Hindu Pandits (KHP), discrimination against Jammu region were not spoken about. It was if this election were a referendum on modification of Article 370 and five years of Governor’s Rule. 

Recent history of J&K in brief

Kashmir was ruled by the Mughals. Ahmad Shah Abdali conquered it in 1752. Afghan rule lasted for 67 years. It was captured by Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab in 1819. On the banks of the river Chenab, Ranjit Singh administered Raj Tilak to Raja Gulab Singh on 17/6/1822.

Ranjit Singh administered Raj Tilak to Raja Gulab Singh on banks of river Chenab in Akhnoor i.e. near Jammu.

The state of J&K was established by Raja Gulab Singh in 1846, following a treaty between the British and Gulab Singh. “The Treaty handed over the control of the Kashmir to the Dogra rulers of Jammu who were already controlling the Ladakh region.” Read  Early history of Maharaja Gulab Singh

Try to visualise how people of Kashmir would have reacted post 1846 when their region was dominated by a Hindu Dogra! Read Importance of year 1846

It is worth mentioning that J&K was created by the unification of the ethnically, culturally and linguistically separate regional identities of Jammu, Kashmir and the frontier divisions of Ladakh and Baltistan.

Name of Farooq Abdullah’s great-grand-father was Ragho Ram Kaul. I heard Farooqji say in early 1980s that they converted in 1858 but an Indian Express article 2 says they converted in 1766.

This article looks at deeper message behind the elections results. It has four tables followed by a short commentary and examples of discrimination against Jammu region. Lastly, it makes a case for Jammu Region being a separate UT.

Table 1: Overview Population of Jammu and Kashmir (‘000)

(Population figures in thousands. Source: Religious Demography of India by Dr M D Srinivas, Ashok Joshi and Dr J K Bajaj) Ladakh is now a separate Union Territory (UT).

Jammu area is 1.65 times that of Kashmir and population in 1981 was 77%. Yet Kashmir has more Assembly seats!

Must read  Making Sense of the J&K 2011 Census Numbers 2011 data raises many many questions.  

Table 2: Assembly Seats in 2014 and in 2024

95 seats include 9 Scheduled Tribes and 4 Scheduled Caste MLAs. 2014 Source Wikipedia .

Assembly Election Results 2024.

Out of 90 seats for which elections were held in 2024, Valley based parties i.e. mainly National Conference and PDP won 50% of the seats. Both have a strong presence in Kashmir Valley that occupies 38% of J&K’s land area. Congress won 5 seats in Kashmir and 1 in Jammu region. BJP won 29 seats in Jammu region. Of the 7 Independents, 2 won from Kashmir and 5 from Jammu. CPI M and Sajjid Lone also won from Kashmir. AAP won in Doda. 

Table 3 Religion wise seats won- Jammu and Valley Source Times of India          

62% of those who won in J&K were Muslims. Of the 56 Muslims who won 47 were from Kashmir and 9 from Jammu region meaning Valley has no place for a Hindu MLA. Jammu Region has both Hindu and Muslim. Note that only 4 of Jammu’s 10 districts are Hindu majority, the rest being Muslim. 

Greater Kashmir and Demographics 

Some learned believe that by presenting these facts, Kashmiris would ask for Greater Kashmir (Muslim majority districts of Jammu region and Valley). That demand does not hold good post August 2019 and these election results. Only 9 out of Jammu’s 43 seats were won by Muslims.

What people of Jammu Region must be aware of is an attempt to change demographics of the region. This was earlier done in atleast three ways.

One of the purposes of the state PWD making the Mughal Road (connects Surankote near Rajouri to Shopian in Valley) was to reduce travel time between Jammu and Kashmir such that more people from the Valley settle in the region. Earlier Valley to Poonch through Jammu was app a 450 km drive. Today it is app 175 kms.

Board at Surankote 2014.

Rajouri has seen a demographic change. 2014.  

Two, Rohingya Muslims i.e. refugees from Myanmar, were settled in Jammu and not in Muslim majority Valley. Read  Rohnigyas a Threat to Jammu

Three, was the settlement in the Sidhraa area of Jammu by those from Kashmir. Read  About Roshi Scam by Brig Anil Gupta

Liberals might say that this might communalise the context of politics in Jammu and Kashmir. What do events of 1990 and do results show? For how long can we run away from the reality!! Further, “Jammu Muslims follow Barelvi School unlike Deobandhis in Kashmir.” To read more

Simply put, the Valley does not want a Hindu representing them. Probably, they recall being under Afghan and Mughal rule. 

They are not concerned that it is a Hindu Prime Minister of a Hindu majority country that has invested thousands of crores in Kashmir to improve the quality of life of its residents. They have faith only in Muslim candidates and that too mainly in the National Conference (their choice).

Perhaps, they have not forgiven the PDP for aligning with the BJP in 2014 which led to the imposition of President’s Rule and modification of Article 370. (as seen in movie Article 370). 

Table 4 Assembly Vote Share % (source Indian Express)

The Valley dominated parties got only about 35% vote share. If one adds Congress it becomes 44%.

Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah’s actions still have a bearing on the present. 

Does this not indicate that the people of Jammu Region do not have faith in NC/PDP?

Read  The Invisible people of Jammu and Ladakh

Discrimination against Jammu region 

Since the 1950’s the people of Jammu region are complaining of discrimination by Valley dominated political parties that have ruled the state. It started with allocating higher number of assembly seats, even though Jammu region has larger area and perhaps population in 1951. Read article 6, link below. 

Here are a few examples of discriminatory policies. Not much of current data is in public domain so sharing earlier economic data.

1. According to this 2014 report in Dailyexcelsior.com, a local paper, in 2013-14 net collection of income-tax was only Rs 961.2 crs out of which 83% was collected by Range I and II (both having jurisdiction over Jammu region) and Rs 174.5 crore by Range-3 having jurisdiction over Kashmir.

It is a known fact that maximum government revenue was earned in Jammu Region but spent in Kashmir.

Before 5/8/2019 services were taxed by the State since the Services Tax Act was not applicable to J&K. Now GST is applicable, this includes services too.

2. During a 2014 visit I went to Basohli, approximately 160 km from Jammu, is well known for a style of painting characterised by vigorous use of primary colours and a peculiar facial formula. It is from here that this style spread to Chamba and Kangra in Himachal. We met with members of Vishwasthali, a social and cultural organisation that is striving to keep the tradition alive by teaching young children. They complained about negligible state government support.

3. Number of Government Employees

Author and senior journalist Prof Hari Om wrote in Swarajyamag.com in 2016, “As for the share of Kashmiris in the vital service sector, they hold all or nearly all the approximately 3.5 lakh positions in the government and semi-government organizations, located in the Valley. Besides, they occupy nearly 20 per cent of the jobs in the regional services of Jammu and Ladakh.”

Can the LG make a public statement of the total number of government employees in Jammu and Kashmir as on say 31/3/24? Of these how many belong to Kashmir and Jammu region? As of 2019 the state had 4.5 lakh employees.

4. Tribal Affairs Circular of 2018

On February 14 2018 the Tribal Affairs Department, chaired by the Chief Minister passed an order asking District Collectors of Jammu, Kathua, Samba and Udhampur not to disturb the tribal population and instructed police not to lend support to civil authorities for eviction of tribal population occupying State/Forest land. It also instructed the police not to act against bovine smugglers under Section 188 of the Ranbir Penal Code.

A BSF officer, now retired, last posted in the area spoke on the condition of anonymity, “There is a lot of resentment among the locals against the Bakarwal/Gujjar settlements which has more or less become permanent.”

5. Lack of Tourism Promotion Jammu Region 

Poonch is known as ‘The Valley of Lakes’ but not promoted. 2014. 

You have heard of the Lakes of Kashmir but did you know that Poonch is called ‘The Valley of Lakes’. Inadequate promotion!!

Why is tourism in Jammu Region not promoted enough? I have driven to Jammu, Akhnoor, Rajouri, Poonch, Kishtwar (via Verinag, Sinthan Pass), Patnitop, Bhadrawah and say these places have huge tourism potential.

Read The Best of Jammu Region in 11 days

Lastly, due to intrinsic nature of their terrains Jammu Region shall attract manufacturing jobs and tourists while Kashmiris shall attract tourists and handicrafts. Read Challenges & Opportunities of Hill Agriculture in J&K

The Durbar Move, started around 1857-1885, is wasteful expenditure and continue to be scrapped. The reasons that existed around 1857 do not exist in 2024. Money saved can be used for benefit of poor and promote tourism.

It is time Jammu and Kashmir to operate like other Indian states in financial matters.

According to a 23/7/24 release by the Dept of Information and Public Relations, the 2024 Union Budget provided a “special central assistance of Rs.17,000 crore for Jammu and Kashmir. The Union Government has agreed to provide for the salary, pension and other costs of Jammu and Kashmir Police for which an allocation of Rs 12,000 crore has been made in the annual budget. In addition, a lump sum special grant of Rs 5,000 crore as additional central assistance is being provided in the current financial year.”

It is for the Lt Governor to now ensure that government expenditure, recruitment of government employees, location of government institutions, is balanced between Jammu and Kashmir.

Culture Differences

The cultures of Jammu and Kashmir are different. The former is influenced by culture of Punjab and Himachal whilst the latter by Persian and Islamic. The culture of Poonch is closer to that of Rawalkot in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Poonch has a large number of Brahmin Sikhs.

There is little in common between the Sunni Kashmir and the cosmopolitan Jammu region? We forget that Jammu is the land of the Dogras, a community that produced Gulab Singh and importantly Zorawar Singh who went to Tibet. To see Zorawar Singh Museum in Leh

Left Zorawar Singh on horse. Right his Samadhi in To-yo built in 1841 by Tibetans. 

Even the spoken language is very different. Kashmiri is derived from Sanskrit but after Persian became the court language many words from Farsi were included. Conversely Dogra is a combination of spoken Punjabi and Pahari.

People of Jammu believe that if their future is in their own hands the region will progress faster and better. There is too much of baggage associated with the National Conference and PDP.

Will this NC/Congress Muslim dominated government learn from the past?

OR Will it continue to be Srinagar centric?

Another view. “The assessment arising from the data however - viz that Jammu should be made into a separate UT-is not necessarily true, because the future growth and integration of the youth of Kashmir is only assured when there are nationalistic voices right in their midst (as will be the case in the new UT Assembly). Furthermore, there is already a positive, patriotic transformation happening in the youth of Kashmir which election results cannot capture. That needs to be nurtured.”

Is it not better than Jammu and Kashmir become Union Territories?

After all most of the revenue comes from Jammu region. Let the Heaven on Earth earn its revenue, manage it budget and spend on making it truly heaven on earth.

If India has Christian majority states of Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland, it can have Muslim majority Kashmir?

If Assam could be split into smaller states, should Jammu and Kashmir be any different? THINK.

References

1. History & Culture of the Indian People Vol 8 Pg. 164 published by Bhavan’s.

2. Father son and son-in-law

3. We are of Brahmin descent – Farooq

Also read

1. Is it time to divide J&K into 3

2. Making Sense of the 2011 Census Numbers of J&K

3. What happened to the Kashmiri Pandits in 1990

4.  All you wanted to know about Delimitation in J&K

5. E book The Kashmir Conundrum is like Abhimanyu’s Chakravyuh

6. All you wanted to know about Demimitation in Jammu and Kashmir

7.  NC must recalibrate in New Order

8. Why scrapping Article 35A was a good move

9. All you wanted to know about the Accession of J&K to India

10. History of Jammu and Kashmir

11. About Roshni Act Scam

12. Enough is Enough Farooq Abdullah

13. Kathua Rape – Beyond the outrage

14. What powers will the new J&K Assembly have

Errors if any are unintended and without malafide intent. This article should not be republished without written approval of www.esamskriti.com