Dr. Jitendra Singh highlights J&K heritage at Kathua training camp
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh on Sunday, 24 May 2026, shared highlights from a special exhibition held at the 'Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Prashikshan Mahabhiyan 2026' event in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir, showcasing the region's history, heritage, and post-reorganisation development.
Context
The minister posted glimpses from the event, noting that the exhibition displayed the history and heritage of Jammu and Kashmir, the contributions of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, and several significant development works undertaken in the Union Territory. The post, written in Hindi, described the exhibition as a key feature of the training campaign: 'कुछ झलकियां' ('a few highlights'), accompanied by a video.
Kathua, a district in the Jammu division, has served as a recurring venue for government outreach and capacity-building programmes since the reorganisation of the former state in 2019.
Policy Backdrop
The Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Prashikshan Mahabhiyan is a recurring ideological and capacity-building campaign that trains workers and disseminates narratives on national integration and development. It draws on the legacy of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, the influential BJP ideological forerunner who articulated the philosophy of Integral Humanism and served as president of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
The exhibition's focus on Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee — founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951 and a vocal proponent of full constitutional integration of Jammu and Kashmir — reflects a sustained government effort to anchor post-2019 administrative changes within a longer historical and ideological narrative.
The revocation of Article 370 in August 2019 and the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories has been followed by a wave of centrally sponsored development and outreach programmes, many carrying the names of Jana Sangh-era leaders.
Stakeholders and Impact
The primary audience for such events is BJP workers and grassroots karyakartas across the Jammu division, who are trained through the Mahabhiyan's ideological curriculum. Residents of Jammu and Kashmir more broadly are stakeholders in the heritage documentation and development milestones the exhibition sought to highlight.
Similar exhibitions and training camps have been organised across the Jammu division as part of a broader communication strategy pairing commemoration of Jana Sangh-era leaders with documentation of physical and administrative changes since reorganisation — including connectivity projects, tourism recovery, and cultural-site restoration.
What's Next
The Prashikshan Mahabhiyan 2026 is expected to see follow-up district-level iterations across Jammu and Kashmir. Official reports on heritage documentation and development milestones cited in the Kathua exhibition, if released, would provide a fuller picture of the claims placed on display. The Union government's push to highlight infrastructure and tourism gains in the region is likely to intensify ahead of key political and electoral milestones in the Union Territory.