BJP-backed bid to bifurcate IIOJK gains fresh push in Jammu
Jammu State demand part of New Delhi’s divisive agenda: Analysts
Jammu : In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, a fresh call for a separate Jammu State has emerged as part of what political observers see as an attempt, at the behest of the BJP-led government in New Delhi, to further bifurcate the occupied territory and weaken its historically unified political and territorial character.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Jammu State Movement Coordinator Atulya Bakshi has appealed to people of the Jammu region to unite and launch a “protracted struggle” for a separate state, alleging decades of discrimination by Kashmir-centric leadership.
Addressing party workers in Jammu, Bakshi urged people across caste, creed, colour and religion to join what he termed a decisive battle for separate statehood. He claimed Jammu had been treated as a “second fiddle to Kashmir” and argued that the region could secure justice only through separation.
The demand, however, comes against the backdrop of India’s unilateral actions in August 2019, when the BJP-led government revoked occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and subsequently divided the territory into two Union Territories. The fresh campaign for further division has therefore raised serious concerns over an emerging strategy to fragment IIOJK politically and territorially and weaken the collective Kashmiri identity.
Bakshi also urged political workers to abandon their differences and join a common platform, asking what kind of Jammu would be left for future generations if they did not struggle for separate statehood.
The renewed demand for bifurcation is being viewed as another manifestation of New Delhi’s divisive policies aimed at creating political and regional fault lines within the disputed territory. Critics say such moves serve to divert attention from the core Kashmir dispute and the people’s internationally recognised right to self-determination.
The call for a separate Jammu State, therefore, cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader BJP agenda in IIOJK, where demographic, political and administrative changes since 2019 have been accompanied by efforts to redraw the territory’s political landscape.
Rather than addressing the unresolved Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN resolutions and the aspirations of its people, India is pursuing measures that threaten to further fragment the territory and deepen alienation among its inhabitants.
