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| WP Refugees Issue :Long wait for justice | | | Neha
JAMMU, Feb 20: Hapless and ignored West Pakistani refugees in their thousands once again staged a massive protest demonstration on Wednesday under the banner of West Pakistani Hindu Refugees (WPHR) in Jammu and demanded one time settlement of their issue and full citizenship rights.
They even try to proceed towards the civil secretariat, but were stopped by the armed police the Dogra Chowk.
Angered by the police action, they staged a dharna for more than half an hour there, thus disrupting the vehicular movement in the city leading to massive traffic jams across the city. It is difficult to give the number of protests they held and marches they organized during the past 65 years, but with no result. It is difficult to say that their yester day's demonstration would move the arrogant and insensitive authorities and produce the desired results.
Yes, the Congress may shed some crocodile tears to hoodwink these refugees. Any way, addressing the protest rally, Labha Ram Gandhi, president WPHR, bemoaned that those who migrated from West Pakistan in 1947 to escape the wrath of votaries of the pernicious two-nation doctrine that divided India into India and Pakistan on communal basis and settled in the border districts of Jammu province have not been recognized as state subjects by the successive governments in Jammu & Kashmir and have denied them their fundamental, constitutional, legal and statutory rights in the state.
"The refugees from West Pakistan do not have the right to own immovable property, right to government job, right to vote in the assembly and local-bodies' election, right to bank loan and right to higher and technical and professional education," he said, and added that the authorities have made the life of the refugees from West Pakistan a veritable hell on earth. Gandhi also told the gathering that the authorities in the state and at the centre even ignored the directions of the Supreme Court of India to appease the fundamentalists. "The Supreme Court of India in 1987 directed the Jammu & Kashmir Legislature to take action to amend the state Representation of People's Act, Land Act and Panchayat Act to include the refugees in the electoral rolls but till date the order has not been implemented," he said while tearing into the biased, vindictive and communal authorities.
He regretted that even after a 65-year-long stay in Jammu province they have not got citizenship rights. "No steps have been taken by the successive governments in the state, although there is mechanism in the Jammu & Kashmir Constitution to amend its sections 6 and section 9 under which permanent citizenship has been defined and it could have been done by the two third majority of both houses of the state legislature," he said, and very rightly. Gandhi not only demanded citizenship rights from the refugees from West Pakistan so that they could also lead a life of dignity as Indians, but also urged the authorities to pay Rs. 25 lakh to each family as one-time settlement of their claims so that their future is secured. It is disturbing that the authorities in the state and at the centre not mitigating their problems which they can otherwise do in no time. |
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