Cultural, newspaper exchanges to occur between J&K, POK

Maintaining that there was general agreement that the culture-focused dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir should be carried forward and institutionalised, J&K Interlocutors on Wednesday said that Round Table Conference (RTC) has strongly recommended cultural exchanges between J&K and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

There was general agreement that the culture-focused dialogue on J&K begun in Jammu-a region endowed with breath-taking ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural plurality-should be carried forward and indeed institutionalised, Head of J&K Interlocutors, Dileep Padgaonkar said.

Two-day round table conference were organised in Jammu on July 11-12 to discuss pluralism and diversity in J&K where nearly 60 participants, drawn from Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Delhi, deliberated on challenges to diversity with great verve and candour.

The participants agreed that more than two decades of strife had taken a heavy toll on cultural life in the State. Age-old traditions of tolerance and harmony had yielded indifference and mistrust, he said.

"Participants, determined to reverse this unfortunate trend, made a number of specific, concrete and practical suggestions," he said, adding "These included promotion cultural exchanges between J&K and the regions of state under Pakistan's administrations (POK) and allow the exchanges of newspapers, periodicals and books between the two sides".

"Other suggestions included allowing TV channels from Pakistan to be seen in J&K," and telephone conenction between people of the two states, he said adding that "We will include these recommendations in our report".

The RTC recommended to bring together writers, poets, artists, painters, architects and heritage experts from all the three regions to a common platform in all the major towns and cities, he said.

The conference also suggested to take steps to nurture spoken languages in the state, restore museums and establish an art gallery in Srinagar.

Giving details about their visit, he said, our tenth visit to J&K which concluded today took place against the backdrop of positive developments of peace prevailing in the state, especially in the Valley, he said.

Throughout June-July, an influx of tourists boosted earnings, and the Amarnath Yatra attracted pilgrims whereas cultural and sporting events galvanised the youth, he said.

Besides, the peaceful panchayat elections, and an impressive voter turnout testified the people's faith in a democratic governance at the grass-roots level, he said.

"All these factors taken together account for the fact that in every place we visited during this tour was not only unusually in large numbers but also with a heightened degree of optimism than October last year," he said.

Road connectivity, education, health, and employment are also high on agenda, Padgaonkar said.

Equally significant is empowerment of the panchayats to deliver effective governance in villages, he said, adding "let us also reiterate that the successful conduct of the panchayat elections cannot be equated with the main political issue in the State."