First time in J&K’s history: CS, DGP from Jammu

Ahmed Ali Fayyyaz

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JAMMU, Dec 28: For the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir since 1947, the State will be having both, Chief Secretary as well as Director General of Police, from Jammu province. And the distinction has by coincidence come at a time when BJP is ruling at the Centre and also partner in the coalition with the Kashmir-centric Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

With the appointment of Dr Shesh Pal Vaid (IPS-1986) as DGP in a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, J&K on January 1, 2017, will be having its heads of bureaucracy and Police both from Jammu. On September 1, 2015, Mr B.R. Sharma (IAS-1986) had taken over as Chief Secretary during Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s PDP-BJP rule.

In the last 70 years, sons of soil in J&K have been simultaneously heads of the State bureaucracy and Police for 7 times — often for brief periods. While as the CS and DGP have been simultaneously four times from Kashmir, both have been never from Jammu.

For three days, from January 1 to January 3, Jammu will also retain the honour of having Chief Justice of India (Tirath Singh Thakur) from the province. In the post-47 history, Jammu has had one CJI (Dr Adarsh Sen Anand) and one Army chief (Gen N.C. Vij) from the Dogra heartland.

In 1954-1956, Chief Secretary Pir Ghulam Ahmad was from Kashmir and IGP (then designation of the State Police chief) Lt Col Baldev Singh Samial was from Jammu. In 1963-1964, Pir Ghulam Ahmad served as Chief Secretary briefly with IGP L.D. Thakur of Jammu.

In 1978-1979, Syed Muzaffar Aga of Kashmir served as CS and D.N. Kaul of Kashmir as IGP. In 1979-1980, Syed Muzaffar Aga was CS and Peer Ghulam Hassan Shah of Kashmir IGP. In 1980-1982, Noor Mohammad of Kashmir served as CS and Peer Ghulam Hassan Shah as IGP/DGP. In 1984-1985, Mir Nasrullah of Kashmir functioned as CS and Peer Ghulam Hassan Shah as DGP. Finally in 2007-2008, it was for a brief period that both CS (B.R. Kundal of Jammu) and DGP (Kuldeep Khuda of Kashmir) were permanent residents of the State.

Of the 12 State subject Chief Secretaries, 8 have been from Kashmir, three from Jammu and one from Ladakh. While as Pir Ghulam Ahmad served as CS from 14-06-1954 to 7-03-1964, the Chief Secretary’s seat was retained by P.N. Kaul from 27-03-1977 to 01-01-1978, S.M. Aga from 20-01-1978 to 30-04-1980, Noor Mohammad from 01-05-1980 to 31-12-1983, Mir Nasrullah from 01-01-1984 to 31-01-1986, Sheikh Ghulam Rasool from 21-09-1992 to 15-04-1994, S.S. Bloeria from 30-09-2002 to 31-07-2005, Vijay Bakaya from 01-08-2005 to 31-05-2006, C. Phonsog from 03-05-2006 to 31-10-2007, B.R. Kundal from 01-11-2007 to 02-06-2008 and Iqbal Khanday from 18-02-2013 to 31-08-2015. B.R. Sharma is functioning as CS since 01-09-2015.

Of the 8 State subject IGPs/DGPs in the 143-year-long history of J&K Police, 4 each have been from Kashmir and Jammu. Vaid is the 9th State subject and 5th from Jammu province to head the over 100,000-strong Police organisation. With total strength of 1,000 village watchmen, J&K Police had been informally raised by Maharaja in 1873. It had one head (Kotwal) and 14 Thanedars (SHOs), all in Srinagar. In 1913, an IP officer, Mr Broadway, borrowed from the British India government, was appointed its first IGP. In 1947, J&K Police was a 3,300-strong organisation. From 1913 to 1947, only one State subject, Col. Gandarabh Singh (1927-1931) functioned as IGP.

In the post-accession history, Lt Col Baldev Singh Samial of Jammu acted as IG of J&K Police from 01-11-1954 to 30-10-1956, L.D. Thakur of Jammu from 30-09-1963 to 27-07-1966, D.N. Kaul of Kashmir from 02-09-1977 to 03-09-1979 and Peer Ghulam Hassan Shah of Kashmir from 01-10-1979 to 24-05-1982. Mr Shah was designated as the first DGP on 25-05-1982 and he functioned as head of the state Police till 16-01-1985 when he had completed six months of his two-year extension but quit in protest as Ghulam Mohammad Shah’s government marginalised him to the ex-cadre position of Transport Commissioner. Thereafter Manmohan Khanjuria of Jammu served as DGP from 16-01-1985 to 20-05-1986.

Upon Khajuria’s retirement from service, Governor Jagmohan brought in Francis Thomas Raphael Colaso as DGP of J&K though he was only 49 year old and had not completed even 25 years of service in IPS. When he went back to the Centre on 21-05-1987, he was posted as IG in BSF. Just 6 months short of his retirement, he was appointed as DGP in his home State of Karnataka in 1995.

Ghulam Jeelani Pandit of Kashmir took over as DGP on 21-05-1987 and held that position till 20-12-1989. For 18 years, nobody from J&K headed J&K Police. Finally, Kuldeep Khuda of Kashmir served as DGP from 18-07-2007 to 31-05-2012.

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[Published in today's STATE TIMES]