IPCS Special Report 64 Poonch Festival A Strategy to Integrate Border Regions in J&K JANUARY 2009 D. Suba Chandran Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies © 2008, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies is not responsible for the facts, views or opinion expressed by the author. The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), established in Au- gust 1996, is an independent think tank devoted to research on peace and security from a South Asian perspective. Its aim is to develop a comprehensive and alternative framework for peace and security in the region catering to the changing demands of national, regional and global security. Address: B 7/3 Lower Ground Floor Safdarjung Enclave New Delhi 110029 INDIA Tel: 91-11-4100 1900, 4165 2556, 4165 2557, 4165 2558, 4165 2559 Fax: (91-11) 4165 2560 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ipcs.org POONCH FESTIVAL A STRATEGY TO INTEGRATE BORDER REGIONS IN J&K D. SUBA CHANDRAN Deputy Director, IPCS, New Delhi An Overview Come September and Ladakh, especially The need for a Poonch festival and its Leh and its immediate surroundings, implications for the society and nation become more colourful and vibrant than cannot be underestimated or overlooked. usual. The reason is the Ladakh festival, which now attracts global attention and How does one pursue the matter further? tourists who visit to enjoy the culture, What needs to be done at the societal people and places of Ladakh. While and state levels? Ladakh has its own set of loyal tourists, mostly with an adventurous streak; the Such a festival needs support from both Ladakh festival has expanded its tourism the state and society. Clearly, the local base, with an ever greater number from society cannot organize such an event on within J&K, elsewhere in India and across its own. The direction and funding the world, especially Europe, interested in support will have to come from the state, visiting the region, particularly during this in the same manner that it has assisted period. For the last two years, there has the organization of the Ladakh and been an increased emphasis on a Jammu Jammu festivals. More than funding festival as well. In 2007, the Jammu festival was celebrated for three days, support to organize the event, for which which subsequently became a fortnightly the budget may not be significant, what festival, starting 2008. Although it is actually needed is for the state to attracted a huge crowd, especially since provide additional infrastructure. the performers at the festival came from all over the world, the fest itself remained From travel to accommodation, there is a confined to Jammu town. need to improve the basic infrastructure of the district. As mentioned above, the There is a need for such festivals, JKSRTC operates only a couple of especially in the border and interior services between Jammu and Poonch. districts of J&K, which seem to have There are hardly any accommodation become relics of an ancient past. While facilities available in Poonch; and given each district of J&K has its own unique history, culture, festivals and traditions (and the current infrastructure, the district in some cases, even language); the politics headquarters, may not be able to of violence and militancy within the state accommodate even a 100 people in the and New Delhi’s obsession with J&K as a government and private hotels and ‘security state’, unfortunately, have isolated bungalows. The roads need to be the people and their proud culture in select developed urgently. regions. While the primary focus of this essay is Poonch; the arguments made for a regional festival within J&K, the means/organization and implications of such an initiative, are 1 IPCS SPECIAL REPORT No 64, January 2009 also applicable to other regions such as across religious lines, make this town and Uri, Kupwara, Kargil, Kishtwar, and the entire district a colourful entity, but on Basholi. Bhaderwah, another region in J&K, the flip side, also politically volatile. also had its own festival recently. While none can deny the cultural and tourist While the city and the district are known importance of this beautiful valley; the for its communal harmony and peaceful co- festival seems to have been organized existence, minor tremors of communal here not so much for its beauty, as for the tensions have been felt in recent years. To fact that it is the constituency of the former their credit, Poonch and Rajouri have never Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad. witnessed the displacement of minority communities on a large scale, unlike what I has happened in the Kashmir valley over POONCH: POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS AND the last two decades. While the Kashmiri STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE Pandits felt insecure and were forced to leave the Valley and settle elsewhere as Poonch, like the above mentioned regions, ‘internal refugees’; there has never been a is located in one corner of the district, and large scale displacement of the Hindus and perhaps, the country as well. To get from Sikhs in Poonch and Rajouri. Jammu to Poonch, it takes a back-breaking eight-hour journey in private operator-run Today however, there are clear fault lines vehicles, most of which are tempo travellers – whether these are considered minor or or Tata sumos. Poonch is perhaps, one of major, depends on whose perspective these the few district headquarters in the country, are viewed from. While there have been where the State Road Corporation runs no major communal riots between different only two services from the state capital. In religious communities in recent years, the fact, the JKSRTC does not have depots in tension is palpable. There is an increased many district headquarters. A comparison feeling amongst the Muslim community that with the neighbouring states of Punjab, militant Hindu organizations such as the Himachal and Haryana, would reveal the Bajrang Dal are trying to increase the disastrous state of state-run buses. The communal cleavage in the region. The condition of the roads is relatively better diversion of religious yatris to the Buddha today, with the road between Jammu and Amarnath shrine, situated at Mandi, a few Rajouri being double-laned and metalled. kilometres away from Poonch town, is seen The road between Rajouri and Poonch as a deliberate move to communalize the however, is still under renovation. Here, situation. The recent torching of shops in news papers get delivered only in the Poonch during the Amarnath Shrine land evening, electricity is erratic, and private allotment controversy is also viewed by the mobile operators are yet to make a dent in Muslim community as a Hindutva agenda to the area. The BSNL communication network, polarize the community along regional when it works, is the people’s only link with lines. the rest of world. In short, Poonch has been left to the whims of nature, which also has The dominant perception, shared by the not been kind thus far. Hindus and Sikhs, is that since they are a silent majority; their sentiments are being Despite its several problems, the political, taken for granted by the government, sociological, and strategic importance of which is only interested in appeasing the Poonch cannot be under estimated. majority. Most of the developmental Composed primarily of Muslims, Hindus expenditure, the minority community and Sikhs, the population is diverse; yet this complains, goes into addressing the religious configuration lends a degree of concerns of the majority Muslims in these sensitivity to the district. Further divisions twin districts. One example, that (the Gujjars, Bakerwals, Paharis, PoK repeatedly finds mention is that there is no refugees, and ethnic Kashmiris), cutting degree college along the 40 km stretch of 2 POONCH FESTIVAL road between Nowshera and Rajouri, Poonch have largely gone unnoticed on the which is dotted primarily with Hindu regional and certainly, on the national community settlements, most of them PoK radars; these developments should be refugees. On the other hand, there are two expanded further. At least two degree colleges and a university along the encouraging developments are worth 20 km stretch between Rajouri and Thana mentioning – decline in militancy and Mandi. Besides, the minority community greater cross-LoC movement of divided also believes that the loyalty of the Muslim families. While militancy reached a peak in majority lies across the LoC rather than the late 1990s in this region, in the last few with New Delhi. In a communally sensitive years, it has been gradually dying out, situation, perceptions assume greater even if it is not already dead. There are power and influence than reality. presently, no or very few local recruitments and the number of active militants in this Besides, there is a slow, but strong divide district stands between an estimated taking root between the Paharis and twenty to thirty, most of whom are hiding in Gujjars, especially since the time the latter Surankote and Mendhar sectors. The were granted the status of a ‘scheduled security forces – both the army and local tribe’ (ST). The Paharis, meaning ‘people of police have worked hard to bring the the hills’, comprise a category of people, militancy down - to which the ceasefire and which cuts across religious lines. They feel the construction of fencing all along the LoC that granting the ST status to the Gujjars in Rajouri and Poonch districts have also has undermined their position and undercut contributed significantly. Thanks to these their opportunities, as they believe that factors, the people feel far more secure both, the Gujjars and Paharis come from and relaxed, especially with a decrease in the same geographic, social and economic the regular gun and artillery fire from terrain.