The recently concluded Assembly elections in the State and the previous parliamentary elections have made it more than clear that there is an irreversible political divide between the two main provinces of the state, i.e., Jammu and valley, with third province Ladakh getting sandwiched. Undoubtedly, this political divide is not only hampering the socio-economic progress of the state but it has remained an important impediment in resolving many important politico-administrative problems affecting the state. Therefore it may not be out of place to ask a question which has been posed by different ideological formations and observers since the inception of the state of Jammu and Kashmir; why not to bifurcate the state? The issue of bifurcation [or sometimes called trifurcation] has been there since 1947 suggested at different times by leaders like, Patel [BJP’s newly discover ideologue], Karan Singh [congress stalwart], Dixon [UN mediator], RSS and even Sheikh Abdullah, though, for their own personal or ideological reasons. But it has assumed a new significance in the backdrop of the recent statehood granted to the Talingana [an old bastion of colonial/princely legacy], with many other regions waiting in the queue, recent election results which showed a polarized verdict in the state, and the subsequent [discriminatory] approach of the BJP, the national ruling party, towards different regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Taking in to consideration the history of the Jammu and Kashmir state since its emergence in 1846 through an inhuman trade deal, it may not be unwise to suggest that the salmiyat [unity] discourse is a myth, and the unity imposed on the different divergent units of the state is artificial and unacceptable to its people. Here are five main reasons why we need to bifurcate the state, and of course for its future progress.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 06:24:49 +0000