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Chenab Valley (Jammu Division)

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This article is about the term used for some parts of Jammu Division in Jammu and Kashmir, India. For the watershed, see Chenab river.

Chenab Valley is a loosely-defined contentious term[a] sometimes used to refer to parts of the Jammu Division of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The term is used to describe the present-day districts of Doda, Kishtwar, and Ramban, and at times Reasi and parts of Udhampur and Kathua.[1] The first three districts were originally part of a single district called Doda, which was created in 1948 from the eastern parts of Udhampur district in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. These districts are sometimes collectively referred to as the Doda belt.[2][b][3] The term is seen to be aimed at a communal break-up of the Jammu Division and iteration of Kashmiri Muslim irredentism.[4][5][6]

Etymology

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The term Chenab Valley derives from the Chenab River. The term is sometimes used to refer to the mountainous regions of north-eastern Jammu Division, including the districts of Doda, Ramban, Kishtwar, and some parts of Reasi, Udhampur and Kathua.[1][7]

Geography

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The Chenab Valley lies between the middle and great Himalayan range in the Jammu region. The area is an active seismic zone.[8][9]

History

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The various areas referred to as "Chenab Valley" used to be part of the principalities of Bhaderwah, Kishtwar, Chamba, and other smaller principalities which were annexed by the Dogras of Jammu, who made them part of the Dogra princely state of Jammu and Kashmir established following the Treaty of Amritsar (1846). During Dogra rule, most of these areas were part of the Udhampur district.

In the past, the area around Doda was largely inhabited by Sarazi population before people started settling here from the Kashmir valley and other adjoining areas.[10][11] The reasons for this migration in the 17th and 18th centuries are a matter of ambiguity among historians.[12] Sumantra Bose says that repression by the feudal class in the Kashmir valley drew people to these areas.[13][14]

The early history of Chenab Valley is not well documented, with few chronicles available about the rulers of Kishtwar and Bhaderwah. The settlement reports indicate that the area was ruled by various groups including Ranas, Rajas, and independent chiefs from time to time, including the Jaral Ramas, Katoch Rajas, Bhaus Manhases, Chibs, Thakkars, Wanis, and Gakkars. In 1822 AD, Doda was conquered by Maharaja Gulab Singh and became the winter capital of the Kishtwar state.[15]

English traveller G.T. Vigne visited Doda in 1829 and described his journey through the region. He mentions traveling through a deep and rocky nullah which joins the Chenab River,[c] and then crossing the river over a dangerous bridge in the Himalayas. Vigne writes about the bridge in Doda, a strong rope stretched from one bank to the other, tied to rocks. A wooden structure was placed over the rope and additional ropes were tied to it, allowing the structure to move back and forth. He also encountered another type of bridge, which was crossed on foot, made of small ropes bound with pieces of bark and woven into a thick rope. Hanging ropes were provided for support.[16][17]

In 1948, the erstwhile Udhampur district was partitioned into the present Udhampur district, containing the Udhampur and Ramanagar tehsils, and Doda district containing the Ramban, Bhadarwah, Doda, Thathri and Kishtwar tehsils.[18][13][19]

From 1975 to 1976, the Government of India conducted the Preinvestment Survey of Forest Resources specifically in the Chenab Valley by Department of Agriculture. During this period, a detailed survey of forests in the Chenab Catchment area was done in Doda, Bhaderwah, Kishtwar, and Ramban divisions of the forest.[20][21]

In 1990s, various incidents were reported about the suppression of Hindus by the Militant organizations. In response to the rising terrorism, the government authorities made Village Defense Committee (VDC) in various villages. However, incidents of VDC members indulging in criminal activities have also been reported in the past. In a village called Karada, four Muslims were allegedly killed by VDC members. This incident also triggered the terrorist organisations to target those who supported the VDCs, believing them to be anti-Muslim. Since the 1990s, many such incidents of killings by terrorists and VDCs have been reported.[22]

In 2006, Ramban was made into an independent district and the hilly area to the east of the present Doda district was separated as the Kishtwar district. The remaining areas include the Doda tehsil carved out of Kishtwar and the original Bhadarwah, now divided into three tehsils.[18][23]

Demographics

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Religion

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About 60% of the population was Muslim according to the 2011 census, and the rest 40% are mostly Hindus.

Languages

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The area is home to a variety of ethnic groups, with many languages spoken, including Kashmiri, Gojri, Kishtwari, Bhaderwahi, Sarazi, Dogri, Rambani, Pogali, Pahari, Bhalessi, and Padri.

Administration

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A militia named as Village Defence Guards was established in 1996 to fight anti-militancy operations in Chenab Valley.[24]

Demands for divisional status

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Location of the districts for which separate divisional status is sought within Jammu and Kashmir

There has been a movement demanding separate administrative division for the Chenab valley by various social and political activists for long time. In 2014, a major protest was called in Doda for the demand of separate administrative division.[25] The demand again rose in 2018 and 2019 when Ladakh got divisional status and the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah added "Two Separate Divisional Status for Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal Region" to his party's political agenda.[26] As of 2021, the movement for divisional status again increased after rumours of second bifurcation of J&K and demand for a separate state of Jammu.[27] The districts of the proposed Chenab Valley consists of six Assembly seats.[28]

The Bhartiya Janata Party maintains that "there is no Chenab valley and it is only the Jammu division for representation of the region",[29] while the JKNC says that the demand is based on developmental negligence and wants separate divisions from Jammu division for Chenab valley and Pir Panjal.[30]

The areas of the three districts are termed as the DKR Range (Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban Range) by police and military officials, while a separate Deputy Inspector General is posted for this range by J&K Police.[31]

Hill Development Council

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In 1996, Dr. Farooq Abdullah as Chief minister promised administrative autonomy to Chenab. Later in 2000, a bill demanding a Hill Development Council for Chenab valley was presented in the legislative assembly by the Sheikh Abdul Rehman (then MLA from Bhaderwah).[32]

In July 2015, then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Mohammad Sayed, rules out demand of Chenab Valley Hill Council and announced Chenab Valley Development Fund (CVDF) for development and upliftment of mountainous and remote districts of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban.[33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Behera 2006, p. 130.
  2. ^ Chowdhary 2019, p. 51.
  3. ^ "THROUGH THE PIR PANJAL". The Hindu. 7 July 2001. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  4. ^ Behera 2006, pp. 136–137.
  5. ^ Kumar 2023, p. 291.
  6. ^ Chowdhary 2019, pp. 248–249.
  7. ^ Vikalp Ashiqehind (9 November 2018). "Sarazi: Endangered Language of the Chenab Valley". Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Chenab valley quakes not due to hydro projects: Scientists"
  9. ^ Tahir Nadeem (9 February 2021). "'Earthquakes, cloudbursts can damage Chenab Valley dams'". Greater Kashmir. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Sarazi: Endangered Language of the Chenab Valley". Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Story of Doda misunderstood by Kashmir". Greater Kashmir. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Mini Kashmir". Kashmir Life. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  13. ^ a b Snedden, Christopher (2015), Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris, Oxford University Press, p. xxi, 23, ISBN 978-1-84904-342-7
  14. ^ "Sarazi: Endangered Language of the Chenab Valley". Sahapedia. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  15. ^ "History | District Doda | India". National Informatics Centre. Doda Administration. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  16. ^ CT, News Desk (1 February 2023). "The lost history of Doda". The Chenab Times. Doda, Jammu and Kashmir. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Doda: Brief History, Places of Attraction". The Dispatch. 19 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  18. ^ a b "District profile". Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Doda. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  19. ^ Behera, Navnita Chadha (2007), Demystifying Kashmir, Pearson Education India, p. 28, ISBN 978-8131708460
  20. ^ "Tropical forest resources assessment project - Forest resources of Tropical Asia". FAOHome. 8 November 1978. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  21. ^ Department of Agriculture (1976). Preinvestment Survey of Forest Resources in Chenab Valley (PDF). Dehradun: Government of India. p. 116. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  22. ^ Joshi, Rajesh (17 August 1998). "Slow Death in Doda". Outlook. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  23. ^ "8 New Districts in JK, 13 New Tehsils". Greater Kashmir. 7 July 2006.
  24. ^ Sharma, Arun (17 July 2019). "J&K cops overhaul village defence committees, PDP says Centre design to arm RSS workers". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  25. ^ "Protest by Doda Development Front over demands of Chenab region". Hindustan Times. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  26. ^ "Separate division for Ladakh: Omar promises two more for Chenab valley, Pir Panjal if voted to power". Times of India. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  27. ^ Bhakto, Anando (10 June 2021). "All options are open, says Farooq Abdullah amidst rumours of another bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  28. ^ "Ghulam Nabi Azad promises to develop Chenab Valley as 'Model region'". Economic Times. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  29. ^ "BJP cries foul over use of term 'Chenab valley' again". Tribune (India). 11 November 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  30. ^ "Small Separatism". India Today. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  31. ^ "DIG DKR Range chairs crime review meeting". State Times. 14 October 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  32. ^ "Why oppose Hill Council status for Chenab, Pir Panjal valleys?". Brighter Kashmir. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  33. ^ Excelsior, Daily (4 July 2015). "Mufti rules out Council, sets up Chenab Valley Development Fund". Daily Excelsior. Retrieved 30 July 2023.

Notes

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  1. ^ For the controversy surrounding the term, see (Kumar 2023, pp. 290–292).
  2. ^ The Doda district was divided into the present-day districts of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban in Jammu and Kashmir.
  3. ^ The Nullah traversed by Vigne is most likely the Neeru river, which joins the Chenab at Pul Doda.

Bibliography

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