DAYA SAGAR
The way the areas of the erstwhile State of J&K outside Kashmir Valley have been neglected ( if not discriminated ) could well be seen from even the quotes like these two quotes (i) one, the way district administrative units had been restructured after 1947 till 2007 and two, i) two, the way the single member Constituencies (MLAs) in Legislative Assembly were distributed / delimited even after enactment of J&K Representation of the Peoples Act 1957 ( Act no IV )inspite of the fact that areas outside Kashmir Valley had constitutionally more MLCs than areas in Kashmir Valley but were instead continuously given lesser MLAs.
Let us still hope that atleast now nearly after seven decades a start for making due corrections is given by the Delimitation Commission-2020 which is engaged with the job of delimiting 90 Single Member Assembly Segments of the first Legislative Assembly of the UT of J&K in fairness to the parameters/ guidelines as laid down in Section-60 of The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019 , Act N.34 and the ‘actual reports’ would be extending some more corrections than what have been reported through ‘sources’ in media after 4th February 2022.. No doubt the job with the present Delimitation Commission is the one of the type that no delimitation commission ( keeping in view the reflections of the past actions ) might have performed so far.
The princely state of Jammu & Kashmir had in Jammu province 5 Districts { Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, Reasi and Mirpur} plus two Jagirs ( Poonch& Chenani ). Whereas as Kashmir region had only three districts { Anantnag, Baramulla and Muzafarabad ). As the accession of J&K with India was delayed in October 1947 Pakistan invaded the princely state of Maharaja Hari Singh occupying illegally some areas of Mirpur & Muzaffrabad districts along with Gilgit/ Baltistan of Ladakh region that were reorganised 1950s as six districts ( Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, Rajouri, Poonch and Doda } spread over more than 26000 sq Km in Jammu region and only three ( Anantnag, Baramulla and Srinagar ) districts in Kashmir region spread over nearly 16000 sq km in 1950s. But in 1979 the number of districts in Kashmir region districts was also arbitrarily increased to 6 districts ( Srinagar, Badgam, Baramulla, Kupwara, Anantnag and Pulwama ). Where as in Jammu region number was retained as 6 only , even GOI did not object to that when the action was surely going to put the areas outside Kashmir valley in comparative disadvantage with respect to allocation of plan funds/ other funds at macro level planning and making Kashmir valley eligible for additional development funds based on the number of districts. Not only that Wazir Commission recommended three new districts for Jammu region in 1984 { Samba/ Bahu, Reasi and Kishtwar ) and only one more for Kashmir division. This way Jammu region would have got more development funds at macro level planning being with 9 districts but Wazir Commission report was not implemented once again putting the people of most backward areas to financial disadvantage. The neglect of due rights did not end there since so strangely, it was in 2006 that without any rational study PDP- Congress government carved 4 more districts in Kashmir Division as against only one recommended by Wazir Commission and so irrationally also only 4 more in Jammu region too holding to the existing illusion that bodies like planning commissions may have about the regions of J&K looking at the number of districts.
The genuine needs of the people and lands outside Kashmir valley have remained unattended by those who have been holding the reins in legislature and executive. How the basic developmental needs of ‘areas’ have been treated could be well assessed from the status of the so much trumpeted but not “cared” Basohli- Bani- Bhaderwah road which still is almost a fair weather /nearly a single way road ahead of Bani to so talked about ‘Mini Kashmir’ ( Bhaderwah). Areas outside Kashmir valley too have a large exploitable commercial tourism potential but even the ‘proposed’ two lane Basohli Bani Bhaderwah road which could surely be even seen as possible future jugular vein from commercial tourism point of view for the distant and backward areas of J&K outside Kashmir valley. For Basohli- Bhaderwah road project ( just about 160 Km) of which alignment had already been laid work for double laning worth easy & attractive tourist flow through treasure of potential healthy/ attractive sites /tracks was started in 1960 but is still a ‘fair weather’ road beyond Bani. No doubt announcements for such proposed highways / circuits in Jammu Region have been used and are still being used more to lure the innocent masses with ‘dream projects’.
Any honest and fair thinking observer would surely appreciate the heartfelt pains out of lack of development and unfair neglect met by the people outside Valley that even the then Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma of NC- Congress government had expressed while he was in Bani on 5th December 2010.
Sham Lal was quoted in media as having suggested while addressing a Congress rally on 5th December 2010 that Kashmir / Kashmiries be given Azadi whereas Jammu Region be made a State of Union of India and Ladakh be made a Union Territory. No doubt even some of his party men as well as some leaders from Jammu based parties had objected to his reported statement as the ‘tone’ and contents of his speech as reported in print/electronic media sites did provide some substance to some worth objections/ to those too who were bent upon exploiting Sham Lal for having made use of the term ‘Azadi’. But then Sham Lal had also issued a written statement to clear what he actually wanted to say. The written statement said something like -Agar sarkare in oon logoan ko jo Kashmir ke liyae azadi ki maang rakhtae hain, oon logoan ko jo autonomy ya self rule ki baat karate hain ko esee tarah falnae foolnae degee to phir bho log bhi jo Jammu ke alg rajay aur Ladakh keliyae Union territory ki baat karate hain phi jor pakad saktae hain.
Halan Ki Jis Dang Se Aur Jo Kush Sham Lal Ji Ne Bani Mein 5 December Ko Bola Tha Bo Pooree Tarah Se oonke likhit spashtikaran se mel nahin khata tha, phir bhie is ma mlae ko siraf Sham Lal jee ko rajnitik tor par haani pahunchana ekeli yae tool de nane yae sangat nahin tha. Haan oonke dwara jammu aur Ladakh kshetr ki abhelnaa sarkaroan dwara keeyae janae par jaroor baat honi chahiyae thi par tab nahin hui . , kyon ki agar Sham Lal ne Kashmir keliyae Azadi ka seeda saada pramarsh hi denahota to phirbo Jammu ko alagrajay aur Ladakh ko union territory bnanae ka suja abkeyon detae?.
‘Prime’ leaderships have been often talking of winning the hearts of Kashmir valley and caring for ‘their’ aspirations but the leadership there still in 2022 keeps on blaming the Indian leadership for being unfair.
The Government of UT of J&K and Central Governments must catch on the spirits behind “messages”. from the 2010 Bani episode where Sham Lal Sharma had opened out his heart more out of pain from the unfair neglect of his people than disliking for anyone, may be his words which were more emotion ridden had given opportunity to some for questioning him.
(The author is a Sr. Journalist and known analyst of J&K affairs dayasagr45@yahoo.com).