A Case for Jammu State

DR NUTAN K RESUTRA

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This is a very popular scene from the epic movie Sholay, when Gabbar Singh asks: Ab tera kya hoga Kalia? Kalia says: Sardar, maine aap ka namak khaya hai.

Comes the reply: Toh ab goli kha. To me, there is a remarkable similarity between this scene and the ease for Jammu as a separate State.

I request my learned readers to kindly bear with me when I say we the Jammuties are now tired, rather exhausted. We are tired of shouting again and again and again and again each time when discrimination takes place against Jammu. Sometimes, this shouting becomes agitation also which in turn makes governments- both at the Centre and the Stateunwillingly listen to us and placate us. As a result, Jammu also gets something that it had been deserving, but constantly being denied so far. For, that had already been assigned to Kashmir. The intensity of agitation determines whether we get our due share or not; but it seems invariably, agitation or an unrest among people has to be there to get due for Jammu. And this discrimination is not something that has happened in recent past decade or twenty years; it has been happening since the time the reign of Maharaja Hari Singh came to an end and we became socalled Independent India!