Jammu Region's Cultural Diversity

Rekha provides a report of a seminar held recently in Jammu Tawi

(Prof. Rekha Chowdhary, 55, was born in Jammu and has been a university teacher for the past 30 years. She is currently the Professor of Political Science, University of Jammu. During her distinguished teaching career, she was the visiting Fellow under a Ford Foundation grant at the Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford, in 1992-1993; winner of the Commonwealth Award availed at the University of Oxford, 1997-1998; and the Fulbright Fellow availed at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at the Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC, in 2005.)

‘Jammu: Past, Present and Future’

In the situation in which every serious debate about Jammu has ‘Kashmir’ as its reference point and ends up being debated in the binary context of Jammu versus Kashmir, an interesting seminar was organised on 11th December 2010, in the Amar Mahal Mueseum and Library (AMML). The focus of the seminar remained inward and Jammu was debated without much reference to its political divergence vis-a-vis Kashmir. As the title of the Seminar 'Jammu: Past, Present and Future' reflected the theme, important issues related to the region were debated in intense manner, however, without being chauvinistic. There was lot of critical introspection about the way Jammu was in the past; the direction that it is taking in the present and; the future that everyone envisages about it. With focus on 'education', 'environment' and 'society and culture' - the three major themes and sessions - the intellectuals, academicians, social activists, artists, media persons and students from the region were engaged. While educational concerns and environmental challenges were specifically debated in the concerned sessions, the 'society and culture' remained the concurrent matter of debate throughout the day. The way it was emphasised by speaker after speaker, the seminar ended up being a reiteration of Jammu's rich tradition of plurality, its inclusive culture and its character of accommodation and tolerance. Its high point being the multi-religious society with Hindus and Muslims living side by side in its villages and towns.

Mixed society is the way of in Jammu region. Shared and common spaces are therefore taken for granted and not spoken about. In the context of increasing intolerance between the communities at the global level, this fact of life was acknowledged as the starting point of the discussion. The religious co-existence as the way of life in Jammu was appreciated as the base of society on which any kind of superstructure - be it economic, political, educational, ecological, social or cultural - had to be established. This was also seen as the most crucial social and cultural resource for the sustenance and progress of the region.

However, it is not only the religious diversity that marks the plurality of the region. Frequent references therefore were made to the linguistic, cultural and social mosaic of the region. While celebrating the linguistic plurality of the region, concern was shown to the lack of the official patronage and policy, especially in the context of recognition of some of these languages as the official languages and their formal introduction in school curricula. The need for popular initiative and intervention in the direction of preservation of languages and dialects was also recognised. In this context, the role of the middle class was also critically assessed and its abdication of the use of local languages was lamented.

What came to focus in the discussion not only of language but also other matters, was the rich folk traditions of the region - be it the music or literature or history. Due emphasis was placed on recapturing the folk as the most important source for writing the history of Jammu as well as for understanding the fundamentals of society. Also emphasised were the folk heroes with whom people identify and who represent the mass rather than elite-ways of life.

But more than anything else, reference was made again and again to the fundamentals of the society based on positive inter-community relations, tradition of accommodation and secular ethos of the region. The challenge to this tradition coming from the forces of modernisation as well as politicisation was debated – more specifically the impact of the divisive politics on these traditions was discussed. However, in the light of the fundamentals of the regional society and the compulsions of the mixed society, it was generally felt that there is a need to have a positive approach towards the future of the region. Despite all the challenges, the region has the potential of overcoming the divisive forces. It was highlighted that multiplicity of identities, their fluidity and overlapping nature help people overcome the boundaries of narrow identities and also make them bond with each other despite the religious or community divide.