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Can divisive polity, hate discourse be the focal of Jammu 'pride'?

By Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal. Dated: 11/18/2018 2:01:36 PM

The Basohli art paintings on the pillars of Jammu flyover, near Bikram Chowk, are a visual treat. Though not most ideally located, and subject to being weathered down by dust, pollution and rains, in their fresh nascence they infuse a sense of pride in Jammu's rich artistic traditions, its beauty, pacifism, simplicity, music, dances and folklore. A massive hoarding in the close vicinity of these paintings on the banks of the quiet flowing Tawi river (till some time ago), while giving details of a seminar, spoke of an aggressive Jammu assertion.
The poster stood in striking contrast to the paintings, as a symbol a new sense of militant Jammu identity and Jammu pride. The latter is being forcefully imposed by recently floated groups that are evident exponents of Hindu right wing where exclusivity, communal hatred, feudal legacies and divisiveness are becoming pivot points around which the case of Jammu assertion is being built. In the last few decades, there have been attempts by both state and non-state actors to showcase Jammu by superimposing its food, music and dances with swords and colourful turbans, as if nothing else could define either the city or the region. Such flawed representations stem both from ignorance or deliberate calculation.
The more recent groups like Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan and Ikk Jutt Jammu are unmistakable offshoots of hatred and communal ideology. A quick glance at some of the discourse being churned by these groups is more than suggestive that assertion of Jammu pride and Jammu identity has become a euphemism for Hindu aggression against all other communities, particularly Muslims. If the Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan tried to consolidate itself over the Kathua rape and murder case and the narrative of Hindu victimization by projecting the rape and murder accused as 'victims' and projecting a Hindu monarch (who never even wanted to be part of an independent India but maintain his exclusive feudal domain) as their ideal symbol of 'Indian nationalism', the Ikk Jutt Jammu is far more brazen in manufacturing a perception of threat from 'Islamisation' and Muslims and its call for unity.
At a recent seminar organized by the latter, an open call was unanimously given for unity among Hindus to fight an alleged "Islamic invasion" and "demographic onslaught" in Jammu. Such assertions are founded on the premise of abject lies about the constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir. The group views the state as an Islamic state and a Caliphate, which are not just erroneous claims; they are also deliberate attempts to spread misinformation about both the Indian constitution and the state's own constitution. The obvious attempt is not to enlighten masses but to spread misconceptions and ignorance in a bid to inspire hatred. The one-time secular peace-activist converted to a firebrand Hindutva proponent, Madhu Kishwar, who was one of the main speakers at the seminar, excessively invoked fears of 'Islamist expansionist designs' in Jammu. She pointed out to Rohingyas, who are internationally recognized refugees, and made baseless assertions that they were not allowed to settle in any other part of the country; and conveniently concluded that they were the actual culprits behind the Kathua rape and murder case. (So, we don't even need investigations and facts but pure xenophobic tendencies to arrive at conclusions in criminal cases!) Kishwar spoke about the increasing footprints of Muslims in Jammu by propping up an idea of Jammu as a city transitioning from 'three Muslim Mohallas with three mosques' into mushrooming of Muslim colonies in and around Jammu, in which she saw a 'planned design'. So, she's done her census survey on Muslims, Muslim dominated colonies and mosques? It is hoped that while she was counting the Muslims, their colonies and mosques, she was also counting the Hindus, exclusive Hindu colonies and temples, which have not only proliferated but have also come up on encroached lands including footpaths, parks and the very length of the roads.
Names can be misleading. With its clear tirade against Muslims, if Dogra Swabhiman was all about a shameful assertion built around militarism and rape accused, the Ikk Jutt Jammu symbolizes everything but unity, diversity, peace and secularism. The latter is solely about Ikk Jutt Hindu, or rather Ikk Jutt Hindutva. A simple theorem: Ikk Jutt Jammu minus Muslims is equal to 'Muslim Enemy'. Where Muslims are treated not just with suspicion but derision and as an enemy to be fought against, what is so inclusive and united about this new Jammu assertion? Are Muslims not a part of the Dogra culture and the larger Jammu region or are they seen as mere objects of an unfinished project of 1947, the memory of which is a slur in the name of Jammu. Such new groups and the ideas they infuse are ambitious projects with the sole purpose of injecting communal poison and invoking communal anxieties, by trampling over the aspirations of pluralism, secularism and peace and by tarnishing the image of Jammu. Legally, constitutionally and ethically, such discourses amount to rabid hate speak and invoke legal sanctions. The silence of the government shows where the patronage is coming from.
In many ways, such projects are a continuum of similar efforts in the past, right from the days of ill-conceived Praja Parishad agitation. The efforts were not countered even by the non-Hindutva regimes in the past solely because petty politics allowed successive governments to use the Hindu domination of Jammu as a counter to Kashmir narrative pivoted around the political conflict. But the rise of the Hindu right wing across India in recent years, particularly after the formation of central government under Narendra Modi in 2014, along with the use of an existing armed conflict in Kashmir Valley since 1989, has provided to be a fertile ground for Hindu extremism to propagate and spread quickly in the Hindu majority Jammu region. In consonance with clandestine patronage of New Delhi, this is assuming dangerous proportions.
While there is much brouhaha over the radicalization and extremist religious colouring in Kashmir Valley, much of fanaticism at the other end of the Banihal tunnel goes conveniently overlooked, even legitimized in the name of nationalism. That Valley is descending into chaos, violence, brutality and radicalization is recognized and is understood as a culmination of many factors including an existing political dispute, India-Pakistan hostility, militarisation, insurgency, human rights abuse and a bit of global effect. That Jammu becoming home to the most vitriolic communal discourse as part of regional assertion and in the name of Dogra identity, and the sheer burden of the reasons this stems from, goes unacknowledged is far more worrying.
The recent trends are indications of the troubled times Jammu is headed for. Juxtaposed with electoral politics, this poisonous discourse is likely to enhance its venomous proportions. So far, it has not found favour among the larger public of Jammu. The real test, however, is far from over. Would peace loving Jammuites allow such rabid discourses to penetrate their lives through their silences, even a penchant for communal supremacy? Or would they pass the real test of both patriotism and humanity by defeating such designs and taking a more pro-active role in trying to discover an alternate Jammu identity that is in keeping with the spirit of the constitution, humanity and civilized world order?