Shravan Shuddha Dashami
Jammu: The Amarnath Land agitation has polarized the state on regional-religious lines, but it’s not a state divided for the first time. In the last 60 years, several regional agitations have taken place in Jammu and Kashmir.
For member of the Amarnath Sangrash Samiti, Tilak Raj Sharma the Amarnath Land Row is a fight for regional idenitity all over again.
As a 23-year-old, Sharma had led the Praja Parishad movement in 1953, headed by Jan Sangh, to abolish the entry permit system to the state.
The agitation then had divided Jammu and Kashmir on regional lines, with Jammu leaders demanding abolition of article 370 and Kashmir opposing it.
"Fourteen people died in the agitation of 1953 and the slogan was one constitution, one flag and one head," says Sharma.
Other Jammu vs Kashmir agitations that followed were:
- In 1966, a students agitation was launched agianst Kashmiri leadership to protest the shutdown of Ayurvedic and agricultural colleges in Jammu. Over five students were killed in the agitation.
- In 1979, protests broke out in Poonch over the recruitment process for government teachers.
- In 1986, a-month-long Durbar Move protest was led by advocates in Jammu, when the state government proposed to permanently shift 19 government offices to Kashmir.
The Gajander Gadkar commission, set up to inquire into regional discrimination in the state admits there is a deep regional divide. It even suggested separate regional development boards as a solution to this discontent between Jammu and Kahsmir.
"It also said that if all points are met with, Jammu will still feel discontent since their is a political disparity," says president Jammu Mukti Morcha, professor Virender Gupta.
When it comes to Jammu vs Kashmir, both regions have geographical, political and an emotional disconnect. Perhaps the only thing that connects the two is the economic link.
However, in the ongoing agitation the two still stand divided.
Source: IBN Live
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