Joined at the hip, historically and culturally, but one discriminated against for years and years while the other prioritised and appeased purely for the sake of wretched political and strategic gains. That is Jammu and Kashmir for you.
There are a plethora of distinct ways to briefly describe the starkest political realities of J&K in the context of a conspicuous bias against the Jammu division that remained unchecked for decades with Kashmir holding an unfair political advantage over Jammu.
The abrogation of Article 370 & 35A and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of J&K in August 2019 took Ladakh out of the equation - a region of the former J&K whose story of discrimination is worse than that of Jammu’s. Ladakh is a comprehensive case study in itself - a task for another day.
This piece focuses on Jammu and highlights the fact that in the era of Naya Jammu and Kashmir the tide has turned. Undoing the dubious precedents of the past that marred Jammu’s fate has emerged as one of the topmost priorities for the Modi government. At least one can hope so.
image source : prabhasakshi.com
The developments of recent months that have marked the revival of electoral politics in J&K after a long hiatus promise big things in store for Jammu. Unlike ever in the past, the region is refreshingly being seen as a beneficiary in the new scheme of things.
From the setting up of the Delimitation Commission in March 2020 to the taking place of the district development council (DDC) elections in late November 2020, the first major electoral exercise since Article 370, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with the political class of J&K recently in June 2021- the democratic fabric of Jammu and Kashmir has strengthened remarkably since the scrapping of its special status, albeit gradually and steadily.
The delimitation exercise that has gained momentum lately means that Jammu is set to get a meatier chunk of the legislative assembly by virtue of having more seats added to the region compared to a relatively lower number during the days of J&K’s special status. In effect, when the assembly elections are finally held in the union territory of J&K, government formation could have a greater reliance on the electoral verdict given by the Jammu division.
Moreover, a decisive role played by Jammu in the polls could also lead to the realisation of a scenario that was rather unimaginable until a couple of years ago - the possibility of J&K getting a Chief Minister from Jammu for the first time, putting a genuine end to what remained so far as Kashmir’s perpetual supremacy over the chair. Such a scenario would not just please Jammuites no end but also create an unprecedentedly fair condition of putting Jammu’s own representative at the helm of affairs, thereby remedying the blunders of the past to a great extent.
Jammu’s history of blatant discrimination
While it is all very well to celebrate the start of a shining era of political propriety in J&K courtesy of the Centre’s remedial blueprint, this is also the juncture to look retrospectively and understand how there lasted for decades a systematic and methodical approach towards not treating Jammu and Kashmir as two sides of the same coin.
On the contrary, there was a concerted endeavour in accordance with the designs of an obnoxious strategy to ensure that a step-motherly treatment at all levels was meted out to Jammu whereas Kashmir continued to be put on the frontburner. Make no mistake, preferential treatment to the valley was not extended out of a spirit of patriotism or Kashmiri nationalism by Kashmir’s political fraternity and anti-India secessionists but solely to let Kashmir grow as a cottage industry of separatism and sedition.
image source : outlookindia.com
Those who reaped a golden harvest from this sinisterly induced dichotomy between the two divisions of the former J&K state were the political outfits such as the National Conference (NC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the like - which toed the Indian line while politicking in New Delhi and reverted to their original stance of conditional integration with India in order to cater to their vote bank in the valley. Consequently, Jammu had to be at the receiving end of this covert secessionism which cost the region dearly.
BJP and Jammu - the reviving connect
How things pan out for the BJP in Jammu in the new political order is a matter of much intrigue. Jammu was never a traditional bastion for the BJP. The party’s arch-rival the Congress and the regional heavyweight the NC had a far stronger influence in Jammu for a prolonged period of time than the BJP.
image source : dnaindia.com
However, the consistent rise of Narendra Modi at a national level translated into a change of fortunes in Jammu for the BJP. Under Modi’s leadership, the BJP scored a historic mandate in the 2014 J&K legislative assembly polls by winning 25 seats in the 87 member house. It eventually led to the BJP joining hands with the PDP, marking the former’s debut as a coalition partner in the J&K government. However, the post-poll BJP-PDP alliance in J&K failed to stand the test of time as the BJP pulled out of the J&K government in June 2018. But by then the BJP’s decision to align with fringe secessionists in the form of the PDP had dented the party’s image to a certain degree in Jammu’s nationalistic circles.
Nevertheless, the Modi government’s nationalistic move of abolishing Article 370 has somewhat recovered lost ground for the BJP in Jammu, which has quintessentially always remained a pro-India zone in sharp contrast to the turbulent and separatism ravaged Kashmir. Could this swing the pendulum in the BJP’s favour come the assembly polls in the J&K UT, only time will tell.
These are fascinating times for Jammu and Kashmir, and one would hope for a balance to strike between the two divisions in all aspects, not just political.
No comments:
Post a Comment