Jammu, April 20 -- Tucked within the rugged mountains of Jammu and Kashmir, the Chenab Region-comprising Doda, Kishtwar, and Ramban-is often viewed through the narrow lens of underdevelopment and "backwardness." Yet, beneath this perception lies a complex and resilient cultural landscape that does not require reinvention, but recognition.
For decades, policy discourse has treated regions like the Chenab Region as blank slates-spaces to be modernized, reshaped, and aligned with mainstream development models. In doing so, it has overlooked the deeply rooted systems of knowledge, belief, and social organization that have sustained its people for centuries.
At the core of the Chenab Region's identity is a remarkable synthesis of ancient and e...