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| Why HR organisations silent on rights of refugees and others | | | BALBIR RAM RATTAN
As past practice, this
year also, December
10 will be celebrated as World Human Rights Day wherein seminars, workshops, debates and other similar programmes are expected to be organised by organisations claiming to be working for the awareness and safeguarding the human rights violations. As far Jammu and Kashmir, these organisations are too quick to come on roads to higlight a case of human right violation when some one is found involved in anti-national activity and is taken into custody. Every attempt is made to paint police and security forces as the violators as majority of such persons belong to a particular faith. Such a case gets so much hype as the media too jumps into fray to make it an international issue within minutes of its reporting.
On the other hand, the state of Jammu and Kashmir has a large share of its population of the people called refugees, displaced persons and migrants. It has been observed that after partition of the country on communal lines, the state of Jammu and Kashmir became the land of refugees, which include refugees from West Pakistan, refugees from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), refugees of 1965 and 1971 besides lakhs of migrants from Kashmir valley. No one has ever talked of their rights and resolution of their grievances.
As per versions of PoK refugees, theirs is the class of people who were forced to leave their homes & hearths in tribal raids in October 1947 from Muzaffrabad and Mirpur- parts of Poonch district of the erstwhile state of J&K. They left behind their properties, belongings and sacrificed their most dear ones, blood relations and neighbours. They claim that they were already permanent residents of the state before being hounded out from the part of the state which is now under the illegal occupation of Pakistan and is called POK.
At that time, they were 65 % Hindus and 35 % Sikh families. Among them 31000 were registered with the State government while 9000 remain unregistered till date as most of them are living in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh. Uttrakhand etc.They also regret that major populace of them are still living in 39 refugee camps and about 60 other habitations for the last sixty five years under most unhygienic, inhuman conditions in Bhour Camp. Simbal Camp, Gole Gujral Camp, Badyal Brahmana, Railway Pattri etc.
If we talk of Sikhs, who constitute 35 per cent of these refugees from PoK, had from their community in the past, Giani Zail Singh as President of India, Sardar Buta Singh as Union Home Minister and now Sardar Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister for the second consecutive term. Not only this, independent India had Sikh like S. Swaran Singh as Foreign Minister. To mention these names is to just convey that even these personalities did not care to think of the people of their own community living as refugees for the last 65 years. Not only this, none of the Human Right Organisation has ever raised their voice or talked of their rights.
Similarly, the number of refugees from West Pakistan is in lakhs and they too have been agitating for basic rights but till date they have been satisfied with lip service only. Their three generations have perished with a hope that a day will come when some one will raise their voice, it will be heard sympatheically and they will lead a life as respectable citizen of India enjoying all such rights which are availed by other citizens of this largest democracy of the world. But this dream has not come to be true till now. During the last 65 years, these West Pakistan refugees have been continuously sitting on hunger strikes, organising protest rallies. They even went to New Delhi in thousands a number of times but had to return empty hnded on every occasion. According to them, files containing their representations, claims, memorandums are biting dust not only in J&K but at New Delhi as well.
Lakhs of Kashmiri migrants, who had to leave their native places in 1989 and therafter, are living as migrants in Jamu and other parts of their own country. Today even after 23 years of their forced exodus, no sincere efforts has been made to ensure that their families return to valley and live a dignified life.
The people who became refugees due to wars of 1965 and 1971,. also have grievances but their voice is also not heard.
A large number of population of Jammu and Kashmir living on borders touching Pakistan have to face firing from across the border every now and then. This firing damages their houses and crops. Many a times, precious human lives are lost and cattle die due to this firing. On every incident, single line statement of condemnation is issued by the government and the things continue as past. No organisation working for Human Rights violation have ever heard of taking their cases vigorously at any platform.
While the successive governments have only given promises and assurances to these refugees, migrants and those living on borders, the role of the Human Right Organisations too have been negative, which again confirm that these organisations work on a specific line in J&K. Can it be expected that the organisations and activists working for the human rights of people across the globe as well as in India will do something positive and raise the plight of the above mentioned suffering people in a honest manner. These organisations should also take a pledge on this World Human Rights Day to be more sincere towards their noble cause otherwise it will remain only a formality like practiced in past.. |
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