J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Anti-BJP lobby active in RSS 
JAMMU, Sept 6 — The tussle between the BJP and the RSS and other constituents of the Sangh parivar at the national level has reached Jammu where a seminar was organised by a group of intellectuals, owing allegiance to the RSS, in which a staunch critic of the BJP leadership, Prof Balraj Madhok, castigated Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister.

Census workers feel intimidated
JAMMU, Sept 6 — A large number of enumerators, comprising teachers and other government employees, feel intimidated after the Hizbul Mujahideen clamped a ban on carrying out census in the Kashmir valley.

Soz for caution on census
SRINAGAR, Sept 6 — Former union minister, Prof S.D. Soz, urged the government to adopt a cautious approach in the ongoing census operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Function on Gojri language held
SRINAGAR, Sept 6 — A colourful event of Gojri language and literature was organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages at the Tagore Hall here yesterday. Besides organising Gojri Mushaira, a Gojri publication brought out by the academy “Sanjha Dukhda” by an eminent writer, Rana Fazal was released on the occasion. The function was attended among others by the Minister of Health and Medical Education, Mian Altaf Ahmad.

Anti-BJP lobby active in RSS 
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Sept 6 — The tussle between the BJP and the RSS and other constituents of the Sangh parivar at the national level has reached Jammu where a seminar was organised by a group of intellectuals, owing allegiance to the RSS, in which a staunch critic of the BJP leadership, Prof Balraj Madhok, castigated Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister.

Insider said the anti-BJP lobby in the RSS, the VPP and the Bajrang Dal has utilised the services of the group of intellectuals, who have floated the Jammu Kashmir Nationalist Front (JKNF), for launching a campaign against the BJP.

Two senior BJP leaders, Hansraj Dogra, MLA, and Onkar Seth have reached sharply against the agencies that invited Prof Madhok to Jammu for presiding over a seminar. They said Prof Madhok had made “irresponsible” statement by blaming the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister for the drift in the security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir.

The RSS lobby keen to force the state unit of the BJP to work under its thumb, has started cornering the BJP over the demand for the trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir. Though the RSS has yet to clarify its stand on the issue, some of its leaders and prant pracharkas have been supporting the demand.

However, the President of the state unit of the BJP, Mr D.K. Kotwal, has made his party’s stand clear by opposing the demand for the trifurcation of the state on the plea that it was against the national interest. He has, instead, favoured the establishment of three regional councils.

Reports said the tussle between the BJP and other constituents, of the Sangh Parivar in Jammu has been the result of three factors. First, the RSS lobby does not want the BJP leaders, especially the MLAs and MLCs, to play a second fiddle to the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah. The RSS activists have been critical of the “weak” postures the BJP MLAs adopted during the assembly sessions. They want the BJP to play the role of an effective opposition party.

Secondly, the RSS leaders are taken to see that the BJP leadership in the state consulted them on important issues. In fact the RSS bosses do not want the BJP to function on its own.

Thirdly, the RSS is annoyed over the tacit support the BJP has given to the moves for holding talks with the separatists, including the militants.

Though a majority of the senior leaders of the BJP have come from the RSS clan, they are not prepared to accept dictation from the RSS unless the party high command directs them to do so. At the same time the local BJP leaders “cannot dare” to take up cudgels with the RSS during the Assembly or Lok Sabha elections the RSS cadre assistance to the BJP candidates.

A number of BJP leaders are of the view that some staunch anti-BJP forces were active by exploiting simple ideological differences between the BJP and other constituencies of the Sangh Parivar to weaken the main opposition party in the state which could be later encased by either the National Conference or the Congress.

Census workers feel intimidated
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Sept 6 — A large number of enumerators, comprising teachers and other government employees, feel intimidated after the Hizbul Mujahideen clamped a ban on carrying out census in the Kashmir valley.

Though employees, assigned the task of starting the second phase of census, beginning from September 11, have not taken any collective decision, several groups of enumerators have made it known that they would not be available for the census operation as they feared they would be eliminated by Hizbul Mujahideen activists.

No doubt Hizb activists have not issued any threat to anyone taking part in the census operations, enumerators continue to be perturbed. In fact the Hizbul Mujahideen has appealed to the people to boycott the census and not reveal any information to the enumerators.

The state government has already made elaborate arrangements for the second phase of the census operation and in case there was need the enumerators would be provided with security for the census operation 22,000 enumerators were trained by census experts.

The first phase ended on June 5 which was an easy affair as in this phase data regarding number of household and other related matters was completed. The second phase is crucial as it would involve head counting and collection of other essential data of the families which could serve as the basis for development plans.

While imposing the ban on census operation the Hizbul Mujahideen leadership argued that census would not be fair as there were a large number of security personnel and labourers from outside the valley working in Kashmir who too could be counted by the enumerators. It said that since a large number of Kashmiri Pandits had left the valley census in their absence could be incomplete.

However, insiders said that the Hizbul Mujahideen had imposed the ban so that Kashmir valley remained delinked from the national level census operation. In addition to this census report could be used by India to highlight the progress achieved in Jammu and Kashmir which was much higher than the one registered in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. In 1991 Jammu and Kashmir was the only state where census operation could not be carried out because of militancy. It had suited pro-Pakistani elements as they gloated about it arguing that had the state been integral part of India census operation would have not been suspended.

Soz for caution on census
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Sept 6 — Former union minister, Prof S.D. Soz, urged the government to adopt a cautious approach in the ongoing census operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Soz said Jammu and Kashmir with a Muslim majority was not like any other state in the country. He said steps should be taken to break away from the Census Act while undertaking the operation in the state which had been bearing the brunt of militancy for years. Mr Soz apprehended that attempts were being made to change the demographic character of the state.

Mr Soz, who was expelled from the National Conference early last year, said the census operations held in the state after a gap of over two decades, were being undertaken without any preparations. “The scientific frame cannot be applicable to Jammu and Kashmir”, Mr Soz said referring to the census operations.

Elaborating on his plea, Mr Soz said there were a large number of para-military forces in the state which had adversely affected the structure of population. This way the clear picture would not be depicted, the former minister said.

Function on Gojri language held
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Sept 6 — A colourful event of Gojri language and literature was organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages at the Tagore Hall here yesterday. Besides organising Gojri Mushaira, a Gojri publication brought out by the academy “Sanjha Dukhda” by an eminent writer, Rana Fazal was released on the occasion. The function was attended among others by the Minister of Health and Medical Education, Mian Altaf Ahmad.

In his address, the minister assured that efforts would be made and steps taken to provide adequate funds for the publication programmes of the academy. The minister lauded the role of the academy in devoting attention towards the promotion and development of the Gojri language and literature. A number of writers attended the function at the Tagore hall.

It was announced that the academy would organise a Gojri Conference in the state next month in which writers and poets would participate.

Mr Balwant Thakur, Secretary of the academy said in spite of the financial crunch, the academy had succeeded in continuing its efforts to promote Gojri language and literature and the function was organised keeping in view the same purpose.

The poets who participated in the mushaira included Choudhary Israel Assar, Qaisaruddin Qaisar, Choudhary Iqbal Azeem, Chaudhary Naseem Poonchi, Chaudhary Abdul Ghani Arif, Nizamuddin, Ghulam Rabbani, Chaudhary Gulabuddin Tahir and Sharief Shaheen.