Jammu

From Poonch to Banihal, the “Nationalist” Jammu division stands united with the nation; Panchaldhar and Chandrabhaga regions are important parts of the Jammu division, Anti-nationals start propaganda to divide the Jammu region

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Published on

April 1, 2026

SALIL RAINA

(POONCH TODAY NEWS)

POONCH/JAMMU: The people of the twin border districts of Panchaldhar (Poonch & Rajouri) and Chandrabhaga region (Doda, Kishtwar, and Ramban), being a part of the ‘nationalist’ Jammu division, always stood strongly with the nation during good and bad times, but from the development point of view, these two regions received stepmotherly treatment from the Kashmir-based political parties that remained in power for over seven decades in the erstwhile state of J&K, now a union territory.

Although the twin border districts of Panchaldhar and Chandrabhaga witnessed heavy militancy, the nationalist people of these two important parts of the Jammu region never surrendered, and finally, by providing all kinds of support to the intelligence agencies, J&K police, the army and other paramilitary forces, militancy from these two mountainous regions of the Jammu division was eliminated completely. These two nationalist regions were completely ignored by Kashmir-based political parties when in government. Poonch and Rajouri districts gave maximum opportunities to the Congress, National Conference and PDP, but in return, they got nothing major from a development point of view. This region never got a medical college, highways, power projects, employment opportunities and other big projects of huge importance, and it’s a clear-cut example of discrimination at the hands of the Kashmir-based political parties that remained in power. The people of Kashmir always treated the people of this part of the region of the Chandrabhaga and Panchaldhar from the Banihal tunnel as Dogras and never gave them much-deserved attention from a development point of view. Although the NDA-led union government has given Pahari status (ST) to the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in addition to sanctioning the under-construction national highway 144A, a lot needs to be done to bring Panchaldhar and the Chandrabhaga on the map of total development as utmost parts of the Jammu division. The Jammu division has people from all the sections of society, and it shows the secular and nationalist credentials of the Jammu region. But these days, a new strategy is seen from some Kashmir-based leaders to divide the Jammu region by saying that Poonch, Rajouri and the Chandrabhaga deserve a separate division and will not be a part of the Jammu state if the latter comes into existence. These Kashmir-based leaders, who always ignored the Panchaldhar (Poonch and Rajouri districts) and Chandrabhaga (Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban) for over seven decades, now suddenly have come openly and have started raising the demand of Greater Kashmir, which includes Panchaldhar and the Chandrabhaga, purely on religious lines. The agenda of these leaders is to divide the Jammu region by demanding divisional status for both the border and mountainous regions purely on religious lines, which is a dangerous trend in the making. They are the same leaders and political parties who over time tried to project themselves as secular, but on the issue of a separate Jammu state, they have been exposed, although the top BJP leadership has said that no such issue was in consideration of the union government. By deliberately raising the issue of the Greater Kashmir region for Kashmir under the Dixon plan, some Kashmir-based leaders have shown their true mindset of polarisation. It’s a hardcore fact that the two border districts of Poonch and Rajouri (Panchaldhar) and the Chandrabhaga (Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban) remained an utmost part and parcel of the nationalist Jammu division, but those who have started daydreaming of snatching these two nationalist mountainous and border areas from Jammu have forgotten that no power can get success in doing so, as these two regions, like their previous history, will continue to be a part and parcel of the Jammu division, whether the idea of a separate Jammu state becomes a reality in the future or not. The Kashmir-based leaders who have started targeting the sentiments of Jammuites by saying that the new Jammu state, if it comes, will be restricted to two and a half districts have forgotten the treatment given by the Union Government to the former Chief Minister of J&K, Mehbooba Mufti, when she challenged the Union Government that nobody will give a shoulder to the tricolour if the Union Government touches temporary Articles 370 and 35A, and what happened after that is history. Now, it seems that other Kashmir-based leaders have started repeating the same mistake as Mehbooba Mufti did, and who knows what will happen in the future, as the Union government can make Srinagar a UT of four to six districts as a strong message to those who are targeting Jammu as a new state of two and a half districts, and it operates from Kanak Mandi. The questionable forces from the Kashmir Valley cannot match the high standards and sense of nationalism among the people of the Panchaldhar and Chandrabhaga regions of the Jammu division. The common man of Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban is happy being a part of the nationalist Jammu division; only some tainted politicians who fear that they may lose their political power once and for all if Jammu becomes a state have deliberately started this debate that Panchaldhar and the Chandrabhaga region will not be a part of the Jammu state. This is the reason they started raising the demand of Greater Kashmir, which is purely an anti-national agenda. Unlike the Kashmir region, which remained mostly active against the national sentiments, the Jammu region, right from Poonch to Banihal, is known for its secular and nationalist credentials, and no power on earth can snatch these two regions of Panchaldhar and Chandrabhaga from the Jammu division, said a BJP leader. The Jammu-based society, think tank and political parties always stood behind the nationalist people of Poonch, Rajouri and the Chandrabhaga region, and if tomorrow Jammu becomes a separate state, these two regions are destined to witness massive development in all aspects of life in addition to having a direct link with New Delhi. The nationalist Jammu region, which always suffered a lot due to the dominance of Kashmir-based leadership for over seven decades, deserves self-respect of its own. A few weeks ago, former DGP of J&K R.R. Swain, during an interview, categorically said that Pakistan had direct interference in the J&K governments and the former Hurriyat leader Geelani used to take calls on maximum issues of governance, and the bombshell dropped by Swain shows how the state of affairs was in the J&K governments pre-2019. Swain also said, ‘Why did the former chief minister thank Pakistan for the successful 2014 assembly elections in J&K?’ It clearly indicates that anti-national forces remained at the helm of affairs in J&K, and the nationalist Jammu region was forced to suffer in one way or another under the successive Kashmir-based regimes. Now this demand for a separate Jammu state has gained attention at the national level, despite open rejection from the top brass of the BJP. However, the latest move by a Kashmir-based PDP legislator to demand a separate division for Panchaldhar and Chandrabhaga shows that the anti-national forces are now eyeing dividing the Jammu region by cutting its external parts. The former DGP Dr S.P. Vaid, a few weeks ago, highlighted the huge tourism potential of Poonch, Rajouri and areas of the Chandrabhaga region and stressed that if the Jammu region is strengthened politically, then the border and mountainous districts of Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban will get their much-due share from a developmental point of view. Dr Vaid also cautioned the people of the Jammu region to stay united against those forces which are hell-bent on dividing the Jammu region on one pretext or another. Powerful BJP MLAs like Sham Lal Sharma and Vikram Randhawa also demanded the creation of the Jammu state. Sham Lal Sharma is the only powerful voice of the Jammu region who dares to raise this demand on all the platforms and says that it will be a reality sooner than later. Sham Lal Sharma always gave statements to strengthen the Jammu region, right from Poonch to Banihal, and always stood strongly against the forces that have been eyeing dividing the Jammu region purely on religious lines through demanding the creation of separate divisions for Panchaldhar and Chandrabhaga. The nationalist Jammu region from Poonch to Banihal cannot have better relations with the political forces across the tunnel, which have always stood against the national sentiments for over seven decades. Whether Jammu becomes a separate state or not, this is a secondary issue, but the attempts from the anti-national forces to demand the separate division status for the Panchaldhar (Poonch-Rajouri) and Chandrabhaga (Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban) regions are a clear indication that radical forces are hell-bent on dividing the Jammu region, like they destroyed the Kashmir region after murdering, torturing and throwing Kashmiri Pandits out of the valley. The Jammu division, right from Poonch to Banihal, deserves to have its own identity because nationalism runs in the veins of the Jammu region to a large extent, but at the same time, it’s a wake-up call for the Union government and intelligence agencies to understand this dangerous trend in the making, as all-out attempts are going on behind the curtains to make another Kashmir in the Jammu division by cutting the Panchaldhar and Chandrabhaga regions from the Jammu division purely on the religious lines under the controversial Greater Kashmir plan, and these radical forces deserve to be given a befitting retribution for their anti-national agenda.