BJP Proposes Regional Council for Jammu to Divide Kashmir
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Security precautions in Srinagar. |
By
Md. Zeyaul Haque, IOL South Asia Bureau
NEW
DELHI, July 19 (IslamOnline) – To placate its parent organization
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
leading the coalition government at Center, announced Thursday, July
18, that it would consider creating a "regional council" for
Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) state.
The
announcement came after a campaign by RSS and several of its front
organizations for trifurcating the state. As per the RSS plan, the
Muslim-dominated Valley of Kashmir would be one state, the
Hindu-dominated Jammu another, and the Buddhist-dominated Ladakh
region would get a Union Territory status. Thus three distinct regions
will emerge out of the present state of J&K. Eventually these may
evolve into three separate states.
The
Valley of Kashmir has 54 percent of J&K population, while Jammu
has 44 percent and Ladakh two percent. The Hindu nationalist BJP and
its parent organization RSS have been spreading a lie that the Hindu
region had consistently been neglected by the Muslim
Kashmiri-dominated political class in the state.
J&K
minister of parliamentary affairs and law Mushtaq Ahmad Lone
categorically rejected BJP-RSS charges of discrimination in the state
legislative assembly on Wednesday, July 17. He said that despite
Kashmir’s larger population, the official financial allocation of
resources between the two regions was 50:50.
Quoting
an example, Lone said the state government had recruited 15,372
employees through the Service Selection Board between October 1996 and
January 2002. Of them, 8,131 recruits belonged to Jammu, 6,994 to
Kashmir Valley and 240 to Ladakh region, which showed that the
“discrimination” (if at all) was against Muslim Kashmir rather
than the Hindu Jammu.
After
the law minister’s intervention, a BJP member of the assembly
withdrew his resolution seeking formation of an “independent
commission” to look into charges of discrimination against Jammu.
The
BJP’s assurance to RSS leaders to consider creation of a regional
council for Jammu would alienate quite a few Kashmiris without
necessarily appeasing the RSS and Hindu nationalists in Jammu.
Already
India has a regional council in Darjeeling Hill area of West Bengal to
promote the interests of ethnic Nepalese settled there and to cater
for development needs of the area. Quite a few similar provisions are
there to safeguard interests of remote areas in the Indian Union.
Meanwhile,
the J&K legislative assembly has vociferously condemned the RSS
move to divide the state. The anti-division sentiment in the Valley
(and elsewhere in India) is so strong that RSS men in the central
government (functioning from BJP platform) had to categorically reject
the trifurcation demand. Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, an unabashed
upholder of RSS ideology, had no way but to reject the demand,
although it came from his mentors.
The
creation of Jammu council would considerably empower that region
without severing its ties with Kashmir. However, the RSS wants nothing
less than dismissal of Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, trifurcation of
J&K and invasion of Pakistan (to stop inflow of militants). RSS
Chief KS Sudarshan made these demands last Saturday, July 13, in New
Delhi.
Not
to be calmed easily, the RSS has already started a morcha (front) in
J&K to enforce the state’s division, to the embarrassment of its
political faç ade, the BJP, which has a strong base in Jammu. This
front has 19 organisations in it, including some small political
parties. It is not yet known whether they would contest the coming
state assemble election or not.
To
support the RSS, its affiliate organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) has started a “religious awakening campaign” to arouse
Hindus to demand division of the state. Naturally, the state
government, liberals and Muslims are not amused.
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