Sahil Mahajan
It defies all logic because Jammu doesn’t fit into the national narrative. By any stretch of the imagination, there is no attempt to assail any particular region nor is there an attempt to play up Jammu versus Kashmir . But there is a genuine question why the region that enabled setting up of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, including the vast area of Ladakh touching the boundaries of Tibet, is in a state where it is today.
There has been enough of a rant about the discrimination with this region. Let’s not go by that, taking it as a supposed reality that Jammu never suffered any discrimination in any manner or mater since independence or for that matter the end of the monarchy. Against this backdrop , this question gains more importance and urgency that why Jammu is not finding its place in the overall narrative of the national parties. It won’t be wrong to say that all the political parties operating at the national level look at Kashmir Valley as the ultimate deciding factor in the matters concerning the state/ now Union Territory . Perhaps, it is because of the conflict that has been raging there for the past over 31 years.
Kashmir is in turmoil . A war on terror is going on there. The number and scale of violence might have come down, but the terrorism is far from over as some of the shocking incidents – like the one of the attack at the Municipal office in Sopore in north Kashmir on Monday that left two Municipal Councillors and a policeman dead – continue to take place . The extraordinary focus on the Valley is now not only related to the violence that has been sponsored and instigated from across the border but also after the August 5 decisions of the abrogation of Article 370 and division of the state into two Union Territories . There have been many interpretations to these decisions that affected all the three regions of the erstwhile state – parts of Ladakh were jubilant as were the plains of Jammu and Kashmir valley was angry. These are undeniable facts .
When it comes to the UT of J&K , what is important that both the regi0ns were governed by the same set of rules in the aftermath of the August 5, 2019 , and thereafter after October 31, 2019, when it formally became the UT. It would be a repetition of the details often spoken of that Jammu lacks a credible leadership and there is no single leader that can match up to the level of being the unquestioned leader of Jammu region . There is other side as well; there is no political party that speaks in unison for the region as a whole , or for all the communities .There is no wholesome approach . It is the fragmented political approach that has brought to the fore the communal divisions , geographical differences and the identity politics of different ethnicities inhabiting the region. All these are stale things .
Jammu should not grumble if it is not treated the way it deserves to be , for the simple reason because it lacks the capacity to unite itself on any issue ,even when the matter concerns all the communities and geographical regions and sub regions equally . This is basic flaw with the region. This weakness is known to Delhi and the national parties do not count Jammu as important even though the region is .
There is only one way out of this self-created crisis , force the national parties to rewrite their priorities and know that without Jammu , they cannot achieve their domestic or foreign policy goals . It may sound radical, but this is an undeniable chapter of history . Jammu should not be used as a counter-balance – violence versus peace , but as a region that has its own identity and the narrative. It cannot be ignored , because that approach would have consequences .