Press Release on 13th of August, 2019
The Core group of All Jammu Civil Society Forum (AJCSF) met under their convener Th. Gulchain Singh Charak at the Dorga Sadar Sabha, Dogra Hall Jammu to discuss various impacts and repercussions of the recent decisions of the central government regarding abrogation of Article 370/ 35A and also the re-structuring of the J&K State.
The members welcomed the bold decisions since these provisions that were originally designed to protect the society were grossly misused for individual gains of a few and used against the very society these were to protect. Although, in that, the Jammu region also lost its statehood and relegated to a reduced status for the evils done in Kashmir.
The members painfully recalled the sufferings of the Jammu region over the last seven decades and felt even now in the new arrangement the Jammu region may continue on the receiving end at the hands of those rushing into the state after abrogation of Article 370 and may lose the very recognition and identity. There has to be some measures to safe guard the identity and interests of the local Dogras belonging to all communities and demanded provisions like Articles 371/372 protecting identity of Himachal Pradesh and the Eastern states.
The meeting also considered that Jammu has already suffered a lot politically culturally, heritage wise and is facing identity crises. Jammu festival like events have lost their shine and heritage monuments in shambles. AJCSF demands that no election should be held in the new set up without proper delimitation and fair population/area based share of power to Jammu region.
Historians have done great injustice by distorting the real history of the state and great deeds of the Dogras. We are lucky to get this time to re-write our history and shift the national focus from the Valley which draws attention by its turmoil, lawlessness and anti-national slogans to the nationalist population of Jammu comprising all communities and those migrated from all parts of the state living amicably. There had been no planning and concerted efforts for the development of tourism, education and industrial sector, of Jammu, which has immensely suffered due to clubbing it with disturbances of the valley. AJCSF demands a separate Jammu State with Kashmir and Ladakh as Union Territories in restructuring, alternatively, demand separate Councils for Jammu and Kashmir with separate funds allocation, separate secretariats functioning round the year.
The AJCSF therefore made an appeal to all political parties, social organization and other activists of Jammu to come on one platform to watch the interests of Jammu in the new arrangements. The AJCSF invites all well wishers of Jammu, religious groups, political, social parties and organizations from various walks of life putting aside all their differences, to please assemble on Saturday the 17th Aug at 4 PM Sharp at Dogra Sadar Sabha Bhawan to consider future courses of action and put our brains and efforts to re-cast the history of the Jammu region for posterity.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion were Anil Suri, Maj Gen Gowardhan Singh Jamwal, AVSM, Maj Gen Mrs Sunita Kapoor (Retd) VSM, Col Dr Virendra K Sahi,VrC, Rajesh Gupta, Raghbir Chander Gupta, Om Parkash Gupta, S. Balwinder Singh, S. Kulbir Singh and Madan Rangila.
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