news details |
|
|
| Modi Govt's first push, permanent resident status for West Pakistani refugees | | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Jan 4: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Union Government is seriously considering grant of permanent resident status to west-Pakistani refugees.
As and when the new government takes over from present caretaker dispensation headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, sources said that PMO through Union Ministry of Home Affairs is likely to impress upon the new state government to consider, as a onetime measure, the demand of West Pakistani Refugees to grant them status of permanent residents of the state sympathetically so that they can live as state subject in dignified way, with all legal rights including right to vote in state legislative assembly elections.
Central Government has been writing to the state government in this connection frequently. The last communication was made by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on November 7, 2014. But the state has been repeatedly telling the ministry that west Pakistani refugees do not have a right of claiming to be the permanent residents because of the very simple reason that they were living in the then West Pakistan which was not a part of the Maharaja's territory. This premise has been accepted by the Ministry also yet they want state to create provisions for the same. These developments are acctually immediate follow-up of the recommendations made by a Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs in its 183rd report on "Problems being faced by refugees and displaced persons in J&K" which was presented by the committee Chairman P.Bhattacharya in Rajya Sabha on December 22, 2014. Committee has strongly recommended for granting of Permanent Resident Status to the west-Pakistani refugees.
It had in its report expressed serious concern that the West Pakistani Refugees, who are very much citizens of India and eligible for voting in Parliamentary elections do not possess right to vote in the state legislative assembly elections on the pretext that they are not permanent residents of the state in terms of the J&K Constitution. Committee has said that though they are living there for more than 60 years, they are not leading the life of free citizens despite having voting rights for Parliament and this right to vote in Lok Sabha elections has not earned them any special benefits.
Committee also took note of the Ministry of Home Affairs that the West Pakistani Refugees settled in Jammu and Kashmir are very much the citizens of India. They have right to vote in Parliamentary Elections but they do not enjoy voting rights to state assembly and local bodies. There is no provision of separate citizenship for the state. Home affairs ministry informed the committee that west Pakistani refugees have migrated from such areas which were not part of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir and could not be treated as permanent residents of state like Displaced Persons (DPs) who had migrated from the areas of Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Committee also noted that as per the state constitution, only those persons can purchase property or contest elections if they are permanent residents of the state and are in possession of Permanent Resident Certificate. West Pakistani Refugees can be declared as permanent residents only after the Constitution of the State is amended. The Committee has taken note of the fact that the West Pakistani Refugees families can't avail the benefits of various social welfare schemes launched by the state government and the members of their families can seek neither government employment in the state nor admissions in various professional colleges of the state. No other benefits of any kind have been granted to these refugees.
It was also brought to the notice of the committee that government of India had already requested the state government to consider conferment of the benefit of "State Subject" and to consider issue of Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) to these people. In response, state government had constituted a Cabinet Sub-Committee to consider the matter. This Cabinet sub-committee met five times but failed to arrive at a consensus.
It needs to be mentioned here that West Pakistani Refugees (WPR) are not eligible to be member of village Panchayat, and not eligible to take part in state elections even after being residents in J&K for the last 67 years. They cannot purchase land in Jammu & Kashmir, hence, due to non-protection of their rights, the WPRs are living in the state of J&K as slaves. They have been demanding right to purchase land in the state, right to vote for the state assembly and the local bodies, and observation for admission into professional and technical colleges in the State.
People from West Pakistan arrived in India in 1947 even before enforcement of Article 370. Article 370 came into operation in 1957 while they came here in 1947 and they were asked to remain in the border villages on the advice of then Prime Minister and Sheikh Mohamad Abdullaha. However, they were not considered eligible for Government jobs even under the central government as the jobs were created in the name of state government, which did not treat them as state subjects.
In the recruitments for army and para military forces, domicile certificates are asked, which they do not have. People are living at the land which was given on compassionate basis. However, they are now not permitted to get repaired the dilapidated houses. Representative of West Pakistani Refugees added that West Pakistani Refugees consist of 80% Scheduled Castes, 10% OBC and 10% General Category and Scheduled Castes are not getting constitutional benefits. Majority of them are living in Jammu, Kathua and Samba. Presently, WPRs are working as farmers and farm labourers. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
