Jammu, August 26: The word discrimination has become synonymous with Jammu now as we have been hearing this word quite frequently and almost on every front with people from all walks of life complaining of discrimination this way or that way.
The question is why and what ails Jammu that its residents feel discriminated by the powers that be for the last more than six decades? And now when Jammu has got real political power the feeling of discrimination has not changed and people are still doubtful of the promises made to them even by their own people who are now ministers in the state as well as centre.
The debate will continue of how Jammu is being sidelined by the Kashmiri political circles over the past many decades but after a bit of research one comes to conclusion that it is basically lack of leadership that has kept Jammu away from the power corridors that could have changed its destiny as till now almost everybody barring a few who claimed to be representing Jammu have kept mum or sided with power corridors when it came to taking a stand.
Jammu has not seen any leader of the stature of Pt Prem Nath Dogra as yet even as many leaders were given chances by Jammuites to represent them but they failed miserably when it mattered the most and either kept mum or indulged in sycophancy resulting in huge political, economic and developmental loss to Jammu.
The basic problem with Jammu being discriminated is because Jammu is yet to find a real leader who is young, vibrant and innovative besides being extremely courageous in nature and can take a stand when it matters.
Till now we have seen that leaders who promised moon to Jammuites turned inflated balloons only to be burst with a single jerk by the ruling political class of Kashmir.
Jammu has not seen any great agitation since the Praja Parishad movement lead by Pt Prem Nath Dogra and only time any agitation seemed to be nearing it was 2008 Amarnath land row when Jammu could have thrown up a strong, young, vibrant, charactered and courageous leader to lead Jammuites out of this morass but unfortunately it also turned a damp squib.
Hence the need of the hour is to find a person who has all these qualities and willing to lead so that the time that Jammu is witnessing after landslide victory by BJP and its taking over the reins for the first time in the J&K’s history is not wasted like that of the Amarnath land row.
The leader for Jammu cannot be the person who has won the recent elections or is part of the government because it is seen as the victory more of Modi than of the individual leaders.
The leader that Jammu needs should come out on his own by shunning the lure of the power and money and working for the masses by taking a stand when it is required and bringing innovations in politics to get noticed by the people for his courage rather than rhetoric or paid publicity.
It is imperative that we start finding one among ourselves and focus on the dignity of Jammu and Jammuites alone without any taglines or compromises attached so that Jammuites feel they have someone to fall upon who can never ditch them at the eleventh hour.
The crux is that Jammu needs a God father and God fathers are those who actually behave like God fathers, guardians and custodians of the peoples’ faith by love and compassion and not by force.
Let’s hope someone somewhere rises above the party politics and leads Jammu towards a better future so that Jammu can boast of a Sher-e Jammu of its own to end the so called discrimination and remove the tag of disparity with the region. (Repeat)