JAMMU, Jul 13: Representatives of various social, religious, trade, political and civil society organisations today gathered at the Maharaja Hari Singh Statue, Tawi Bridge, under the banner of the Jammu State Movement, to observe “Sankalp Diwas” and take a collective pledge to continue a peaceful, democratic and constitutional movement for securing statehood for Jammu.
Addressing the gathering, the speakers described 13 July as a significant day in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. They expressed the view that the developments associated with this date marked the beginning of events that adversely affected Maharaja Hari Singh and the interests of the Jammu region. They stated that all participating organisations had united to resolve that the struggle for Jammu’s dignity, self-respect, equal rights and statehood would continue until the objective is achieved.
Speaking to the media, the leaders said that Jammu has remained deprived of adequate attention in the areas of development, industry, employment, tourism and infrastructure for many years. They further observed that, being a border region, Jammu has also borne the impact of several national security challenges. According to the speakers, while Jammu has contributed significantly to the nation, its developmental aspirations have not received adequate attention. They urged the Government of India to seriously consider the developmental needs and aspirations of the people of Jammu and grant statehood to Jammu.
Deepak Singh, Founder of Movement Kalki, Atulya Bakshi, Mukesh Singh of Yuva Rajput Sabha, Dr. Randhir Singh Parihar of Mission Jammu State, and Manish Sahni, President of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Jammu & Kashmir, said that granting statehood to Jammu would accelerate industrial growth, investment, employment, tourism and infrastructure development while creating better opportunities for the youth. They appealed to all social, religious, trade, employee, youth and civil society organisations to unite under the banner of the Jammu State Movement and strengthen the campaign.
The Sankalp Diwas programme witnessed the participation of All India Rajput Ekta Manch, Mission Jammu State, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Yuva Rajput Sabha, Movement Kalki, Hindu Vahini, Shashwat Hindu, and Mahajan Biradari, along with several other social, political, religious and civil society organisations, all of whom extended their full support to the movement. The participating organisations resolved to jointly carry forward the campaign for the dignity, self-respect, equal rights and statehood of Jammu.
Among those present were Deepak Singh, Manish Kumar Saini, Ajay Singh Saini, Dr. Sushil Kumar Bhola, Karnail Chand, Pritam Sharma, Arjun Singh, Atulya Bakshi, Manish Sahni, Mukesh Singh, Dr. Randhir Singh Parihar, Gurjinder Hindu, Vikram Mahajan, Sunil Mahajan, Rajdev Singh, Yashpal Singh, Antu Kotwal, Anuradha, Raj Kumar, Raju Kapoor, Aman Raina, Aditya Mahajan, Sanjay Butt, P. K. Ganju, along with many other distinguished representatives of social and civil society organisations.
The programme concluded with all participating organisations taking the following collective pledge, “We solemnly resolve that our struggle for Jammu’s dignity, self-respect, equal rights and statehood for Jammu shall continue through peaceful, democratic and constitutional means until our objective is achieved. This is our collective and unwavering commitment.”
The organisations also appealed to all sections of society across Jammu to join the Jammu State Movement, stating that it is not the movement of any single organisation but a collective people’s movement dedicated to securing the rights, development and statehood of Jammu.