Prof Hari Om
Vested interests in Kashmir and votaries of Greater Kashmir have unleashed a no-holds-barred misinformation campaign to give the authorities to understand that erstwhile Doda district, which now consists of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts, constitutes what they term as ‘Chenab Valley’. They want a separate administrative arrangement for this area, saying ‘it is under-developed’. They also want a separate dispensation for Poonch-Rajouri belt for the same reason. Their intentions are not pious. Their intentions are evil. They are both religiously and politically motivated.
Sadly, the BJP also joined hands with Valley politicians in March 2015, who had been trying to pit followers of one religion against the followers of another in the erstwhile Doda district and Poonch-Rajouri belt, all located in the mighty Pir Panjal mountain ranges, to promote their sinister agenda. It had joined hands with the PDP and signed ‘Agenda of Alliance’, which trifurcated the historical Jammu region – Duggar land – into Jammu consisting of Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Reasi and Udhampur districts; ‘Chenab Valley’ comprising Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts; and ‘Pir Panjal region’ consisting of Poonch and Rajouri districts.
The BJP knew it that there existed no such region as the Chenab Valley region, but it did what it did to cultivate the votaries of Greater Kashmir in its desperate bid to join the ruling club in the state and enjoy loaves and fishes of office.
Religious because they feel that the erstwhile Doda district is a Muslim-majority area, but it’s not true. They want this area and Poonch-Rajouri belt to become part of Kashmir. The proportion of Muslims and Hindus in the erstwhile Doda district is approximately 55:45 and 45 per cent population cannot be described as a minority. The fact is that the Muslims and the Hindus in the area are almost evenly balanced.
Political because the vested interests in Kashmir wish to disintegrate Jammu region. They are morally afraid of the people of Jammu region because of their commitment to India and their nationalistic credential and because they did not allow the separatist movement to engulf their region. They are afraid of the people of Jammu region because they do not appreciate the Kashmir’s political perceptions and also because it was because of them that New Delhi had to erode the state’s special status granted way back in 1949 through the atrocious Article 370. The fact of the matter is that it is ideology of Jammu that has been reigning supreme in the state since 1947, notwithstanding the fact that the political power remained with Kashmir till June 2018.
It is important to note that those who call Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts as Chenab Valley or Chenab Valley region believe that the people of the region do not know geography or do not know what a Valley actually means. They are naive. The people of Jammu region, nay the entire world, know that a Valley means a flat piece of land surrounded from all side by mountains. Take, for example, the Kashmir Valley. No Valley exists anywhere in the erstwhile Doda district.
If at all Chenab Valley exists in Jammu region, it exists in Reasi district, which was created by the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led coalition Government in 2007 and which is under-developed and which deserves a special attention so that this beautiful Valley is developed on the pattern of Kashmir Valley. This Valley lies between Reasi Town and Jyotipuram/Salal Project. It’s huge piece of flat land which is surrounded by mountains from all sides. It’s time to call the bluff of those who want to disintegrate and destroy Jammu region and erode its distinct identity. People of Reasi must stand up and ask the authorities to develop the stretch between Reasi Town and Jyotipuram/Salal Project like the authorities in the state developed the Valley in Kashmir.
The Lt Governor Manoj Sinha administration would also do well to direct all the departments to not use terms like ‘Chenab Valley’ and ‘Pir Panjal Valley’ in any official statement or communiqué so that the confusion the vested interests in Kashmir created in the minds of the people over the period is cleared and the geography of Jammu region put in perspective. It’s also the duty of the Board of School Education and Jammu University to teach geography of Jammu region as it is.