JAMMU: Jammu, the winter capital city of Jammu and Kashmir, may soon have suffix formally added to its name after the river that waters city and also divides it into two halves, historic and modern.
The Jammu Municipal Corporation has proposed to rename the Jammu city as ‘Jammu Tawi’, after the river that flows theough the city.
The current elected body of the Jammu Municipal Corporation under Chander Mohan Gupta of the Bhartiya Janta Party is known for its obsession with name changing. The corporation under Mr Gupta has already changed names of a number of historical avenues after Hindu religious figures and BJP leaders.
Along with suffixing Tawi to Jammu, the JMC has also proposed to change a number of other places after saffron leaders. The historic Parade Ground is proposed to be named after the Praja Parishad leader Pandit Premnath Dogra.
A park in Gangyal, on the outskirts of Jammu city, is proposed to be named after Hindutva ideologue and Jana Sangh leader Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee.
Jammu has already been invariably been named as Jammu Tawi, particularly after the Railway Station as named as such in 1975. The postal department has also been known for using Tawi after Jammu.
Revered by local Hindu communities, the Tawi river flows through the city of Jammu. The Tawi is a major left bank tributary of the river Chenab. Tawi river is considered sacred and holy, as is the case with most rivers in India.
The source of Tawi is the Kailash Kund Spring at Soej hills in Bhaderwah.
After flowing through the Chennani and Udhampur, Tawi passes through Jammu and joins the Chenab in Ranbir Singh Pora and then enters Pakistan.
The Tawi river originates from Kailash Kund glacier in Bhaderwah, Doda district , and then flows through the Seoj dhar meadows in Doda district.
The catchment area of the river up to Indian border (Jammu) is 2168 km² and falls in the districts of Jammu, Udhampur and a small part of Doda. Elevation in the catchment varies between 400 and 4000 m.
As a matter of concern, the flow of water in the river has been decreasing in recent years as the source glacier (Kailash Kund glacier) has been retreating.
It is a common belief of the Hindus of Jammu city that the river was brought to Jammu by ‘Raja Pehar Devta’ to cure his father and was given the throne of Jammu City and was declared as ‘Raja’, i.e. King of Jammu with the blessings of ‘Shri Mata Kali Ji(Bawe wali Mata)’. Most Hindus of Jammu city at present perform ‘Mundan’ (tonsuring) ceremony of their children at Dev Sthan of ‘Pehar Devta Ji’.
It may be mentioned here that for hundreds of historic and modern temples, Jammu city has also been informally known as the ‘City of Temples’. In the recent years, the town garnered yet another identity as the ‘City of Statues’ for dozens of statues dedicated to the Dogra rulers, their generals and other political figures.
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