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J&K: Wrangle over Central University location simmers

By Yusuf Jameel

Mahant Dipender Giri, a Hindu high priest, and about a couple of dozen saffron-clad hermits or sadhus accompanying him, brought Charri Mubarak or the Holy Mace, believed to be that of Shiva, to Srinagar early last month after being at Amarnath for rituals associated with the annual pilgrimage to the 12,729-foot-high cave-shrine in the Kashmir Himalayas.

The peaceful conclusion of the nearly two-month-long event which has been dogged by many controversies in the recent past, the worst being last year's bloody land row, brought much relief for the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir.

Right through the pilgrimage and also prior to its commencement, they were keeping their fingers crossed as an awful situation came about last year when more than 60 people were killed in violence, mainly in police firings, after residents of predominantly Muslim Valley revolted against the government's decision to transfer about 40 hectares of forest land to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) for facilitating amenities for the pilgrims at the Baltal base-camp.

Its revocation had led to a counter agitation by the Hindu population living in the state's other main region Jammu. The stir triggered by the cancellation, which was initially purely a manifestation of hurt feeling of the Hindus of Jammu, was soon dangerously fashioned into a Hindu-Muslim conflict.

However, conditional use of the controversial piece of land by the SASB during the pilgrimage period was allowed later and the official estimates put the number of visitors to the cave-shrine this year at about 400,000. "I'm happy the yatra (pilgrimage) has ended peacefully which was not possible without the cooperation and support of Kashmiri Muslims," said Mahant Giri.

But while it should have been the time for elation for the authorities, they were faced with another delicate issue which may turn up as yet another source of animosity between the two regions of the state which stand poles apart politically as well as culturally.

The latest wrangle is over choosing the location for setting up campus of a Central University (CU).

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had, during a convocation address in Jammu in 2007, announced that the state too will get a CU and also an Indian Institute of Management (IIM). At present, there are 39 CUs in India, created under the Act of Parliament. Out of these, 15 new CUs have been or are in the process of being established, so far this year, in hitherto uncovered states except Goa, by an ordinance promulgated by the President of India.

The ordinance has since been replaced by an Act of Parliament, namely, Central Universities Act, 2009 which has been assented to by the President of India on March 20, 2009. While 38 of the CUs are getting maintenance and development grants by the Centre through the University Grants Commission, Indira Gandhi National Open University is the only one which is funded directly by the Ministry of Human Resources Development under the purview of which all CUs fall.

Though the Prime Minister did not commit himself on the location of the proposed CU in Jammu and Kashmir, those adamant on getting it for Jammu argue that his picking out the state's winter capital for the announcement should make it somewhat clear where he wanted to have it. They also say that while land had been identified in Samba district for setting up the campus, the state government chose to open a camp office of the proposed university in the Kashmir Valley.

Jammu's political, social and religious groups have joined the chorus that if their plea is ignored by the state government they will only be forced to launch an agitation similar to the one witnessed over the Amarnath land issue and which sharpened the division of the politically sensitive state on regional and even Hindu-Muslim lines.

Pavitar Singh, convenor of the recently formed Central University Andolan Samiti (CUAS) believes the Kashmiri leaders should not have any problem with the opening of CU in Jammu. He claimed that it is actually Jammu which has been granted the CU by the Centre whereas the IIM has been given to Kashmir Valley "to balance the equation".

However, the CUAS' one-day strike call for August 10 evoked response only in select areas of Jammu plains whereas those across the region having Muslim populations ignored it, making its leadership's position somewhat uncomfortable.

Notwithstanding that, the issue has thrust into the streets of Jammu with not only the students but also activists and supporters of different regional political groups trying to create a situation, if not akin to the Amarnath agitation, then surely laden with certain amount of revulsion. The simmering unrest lays bare the potential for fresh trouble for the government, say local observers.

But the government's main worry seems to be the fact that campaign for the CU is again slipping into the hands of some Right-wing Hindu organisations such as Bharatiya Janata Party which were openly blamed for encouraging violence during the Amarnath land row, prompting the chief minister Omar Abdullah to rush to New Delhi to plead before the Central government that as an exceptional case two CUs may be sanctioned for the state. If conceded, he plans to set these one each in Jammu and the Kashmir Valley to avoid situation becoming uglier.

While the efforts to resolve the issue amicably are under way, groups of Jammu's girl students chose to tie rakhis to policemen on Raksha Bandhan. Local watchers termed it as a premeditated move aimed at getting them along side as the Amarnath land row had brought the Jammu people and the police head to head.

A group of select ministers in the ruling National Conference-Congress coalition government recently met prominent citizens and leaders of various students' organisations of Jammu to assure two CUs will be opened in the state, one in Jammu and the other in the Kashmir Valley.

Chief minister Mr Abdullah, meanwhile, regretted that some groups were bent upon to run him down and also seek to widen the gulf between the two regions of the state for their "nefarious political designs". He committed himself to "equitable development of all the three regions of the state, namely Jammu, the Valley and Ladakh," and said "but I shall not allow the divisive forces to succeed and therefore will live up to the expectations of the people of all the regions of the state."

But Pavitar Singh claimed, "I know the chief minister and his colleagues have returned from New Delhi empty-handed and are now only trying to mislead the people." He said, "We in the CUAS, along side the people of Jammu, will fight tooth and nail against the discrimination meted out to our region by Kashmir-centric successive governments." He added, "We have no objection to the establishment of another CU in the Valley but our message is clear that Jammu must not be discriminated at any cost. Otherwise we would be compelled to launch a massive struggle."

While the Hindu groups of Jammu are getting themselves ready for what they say will be a "decisive battle," some outfits and leaders who claim to be representing the populations of Muslim-majority sub-regions of Rajouri, Poonch and Doda - all falling within Jammu division - have stepped in to demand that since several long-established universities do exist in the twin capitals of Jammu and Srinagar or their neighbourhoods, it should be their turn to get the CU.

With too many hopefuls around, the issue has pushed both the Central and state governments into a tricky situation. Paradoxically, the Kashmiri Muslim leadership has, so far, preferred to remain silent on the whole issue. While the separatists maintain it is a non-issue for them as they are fighting for a bigger issue - "azadi from India", the mainstream leadership of the Valley seems to be in disarray. On the other hand, the Jammuites, in spite of the political differences, are not in a mood to compromise on the issue. The CU issue rocked the state Assembly a number of times during its ongoing session in Srinagar. Legislators of Jammu-centric parties, like the BJP and National Panthers Party (NPP), were unanimous in voicing their concerns and, in fact, staged walkouts together, demanding resignations of the ministers from the region. They accused the government of having double-standards and creating confusion in the minds of people over the CU issue.

One of the NPP members, Balwant Singh Mankotia, claimed that the Centre has "categorically denied" the state's proposal of setting up two CUs in the state. His senior in the party, Harshdev Singh, said the government had been unable to finalise the location of CUs and other educational institutions even though they had been sanctioned by the Centre nine months back. Stating that he welcomed the establishing of two CUs in the state, the NPP leader said the government should go ahead with the setting up of one CU for the moment as a site had been "demarcated at Samba". The higher education minister Abdul Gani Malik admitted that there had been a delay in establishing the CU and maintained that it was awaiting the Centre's decision.

Union human resources development minister, Kapil Sibal, has promised "justice, equality and regional balance" on the issue.