The latest issue to have ignited regional tensions between Jammu and Kashmir was the central university (CU) question. Coming close on the heels of the Amarnath Shrine Board agitation last year, the prospect of the CU row escalating into an issue of a similar magnitude, led the state and central governments to intervene, thereby, saving the day.

 

Announced by the Prime Minister at Jammu University in 2007, Singh stated that “at least one” of the 30 new central universities announced by the centre, would “be [set up] in the state.” While he remained non-committal regarding the location of the university, most media and local accounts from either region maintain that while the CU was proposed to be set up in Jammu, an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) had been granted to Kashmir Valley.

Trouble began when the CU office started operating from a temporary campus in Srinagar under Vice Chancellor Abdul Wahid, who even advertised for faculty positions for the proposed university. Following this, agitations started gaining momentum in Jammu region, demanding that the university be ‘returned’ to it. Protestors alleged that the state government had deliberately set up the university office in Srinagar in an attempt to ‘shift’ the university to the Valley even when land had already been identified in Samba district in Jammu region for its establishment. The state government’s efforts to tide over the growing unrest by proposing to establish a bi-campus university fueled even greater protests.

With the experience of the 2008 land agitation still fresh in political memory and the possibility of the eruption of fresh trouble between the regions, a delegation from the state, headed by the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, met the Prime Minister. to urge the centre to grant two central universities to J&k instead of one to meet the ‘regional aspirations’ of the people. An announcement to this effect came from the HRD ministry towards the end of September stating that the central government had decided to establish, ‘as a special dispensation,’ two central universities – one each in Jammu and Kashmir.   

While the controversy has been put to rest for now, the dust has not settled yet as apprehensions and discontentment abound. Interviews conducted across the two regions revealed the anxiety among the existing universities especially with regard to the possibility of the cannibalization of their teaching staff. The CU, with a more competitive salary and benefit structure coupled with a higher retirement age limit means greater possibility of the state university faculty leaving to join the central universities. 

 

Additionally, skeptics argue, such a policy initiative, far from tiding over the regional divide might further polarize the state along regional lines. Professor Amin at the University of Kashmir argues that setting up two universities will only lead to more inward-looking and isolated students, devoid of an understanding of the shared history and culture of these regions. Additionally, certain political commentators also argue that by giving in to the demands for two separate universities, the centre and state governments have set a precarious precedent, which will allow for such divisive politics to be played out repeatedly in J&K. Instead of building bridges between the regions therefore, the governments have willy-nilly reinforced a divide which they are purportedly trying to address.

Some of these apprehensions however, are contested by those who question for instance, how much of an inter-regional interaction presently exists between students of the Jammu and Kashmir universities?  Further, they assert that such problems can be addressed by reserving seats and offering incentives to students from other regions to study in a central university outside their own. Similarly, they assert, a conscious effort can be made by both CUs to employ people from across regions to make these universities truly diverse and heterogeneous.

While none deny the importance of higher education in the state, most agree that stripped to its very basics, the CU issue has largely been one of political opportunism and electoral considerations. The decision to set up the CU in the Chief Minister’s constituency, Ganderbal, for instance, has already raised hackles in the other sub-regions of the Valley, especially North Kashmir, which has accused the state government of being partisan in granting the new university to Central Kashmir which already has Kashmir University. North Kashmir, on the other hand, compared to Central and South Kashmir, does not have any university of higher learning to boast of.  

The current debate surrounding the central university issue has the potential to both, divide, as also bring to the fore the larger question of the existing education setup within the state. A more pressing issue, argue academics, is strengthening the primary education system, especially in rural areas, which suffers from blatant neglect, with meager infrastructure and an abysmal student-teacher ratio. Another problem which requires immediate attention is the 4.75 lakh unemployed youth registered at various counseling and employment centres across the state. While the new universities will undoubtedly provide multiple avenues for higher education to lakhs of students, it remains to be seen how the burgeoning workforce will find itself long-term opportunities for meaningful employment. With the political games over, it is time to address these and other challenges that now confront the state.