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| J&K is not the personal estate of Kashmiri separatists | | Empowering refugees from West Pakistan | | Neha
Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 10: On January 10, the Union Home Ministry took an important decision to empower the refugees from West Pakistan, who had been living in Jammu province since 1947. That day, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, after considering the problems being faced by the West Pakistan refugees, directed the heads of all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to consider the refugees for recruitment and include them in the recruitment drives conducted in the state. The Union Home Minister had also written to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar that "similar concessions such as waiving the condition of producing the Domicile Certificate and other identity certificate may be permitted in the recruitment to the CAPFs". Besides, he had also urged the state government to issuing the Domicile Certificates to the refugees settled in the state.
Majority of the West Pakistan refugees are settled in the Jammu region. They had migrated Pakistan to escape their physical liquidation at the hands of the Pakistani fanatics and believers of the pernicious two-nation concept that resulted in the communal partition of India in August 1947. The separate status of J&K bars the non-state subjects from getting permanent resident status or enjoying those citizenship rights which are available to the so-called state subjects. The Ministry of Home Affairs had said that the refugees, who "are Indian citizens and have valid voter ID cards, be considered for recruitment in the forces".
It needs to be underlined that the refugees from West Pakistan, whose number is approximately 1.5 lakh and who are mostly Dalits, face difficulty in filling evidence of residency in support of their applications. The CAPFs recruitment rules seek furnishing of Domicile Certificate (DC) from the candidates while the J&K Kashmiri-dominated and Valley-centric communal government issues only voter identity card with Non-Permanent Residency status to such Indian nationals.
Although what the Union Home Ministry did on January 6 was not enough as far as the issue of empowerment of the refugees from West Pakistan was concerned, but it was undoubtedly a right step in the right direction and had indicated the intention of the Narendra Modi Government that it meant business and that it would take all the necessary steps aimed at mitigating the hardships of the refugees from West Pakistan. It was no wonder then that the refugee leadership had hailed the Union Government's decision and expressed the view that their remaining problems would be redressed sooner than later.
Ironically, however, the decision of the Union Government didn't evoke any positive response from Kashmiri separatists, Kashmiri business community, Kashmiri civil society and so on. They all opposed in one voice the Union Government's initiative and described it as a "ulterior move" to alter the state's demographic profile, erode the state's separate status and help the RSS and its affiliates to play "communal games" in the state to "Hindiize it". Pakistani agent Syed Ali Shah Geelani has even gone to the extent of threatening "state-wide agitation" if the refugees from West Pakistan were granted citizenship rights or other rights available under the Indian and State constitutions to these hapless refugees. "If the government accepts these recommendations (citizenship rights or other rights), it will be resisted tooth and nail and a strong movement will be launched against it". "J&K is not Uttar Pradesh or Gujarat. It's an internationally-accepted disputed territory and there is no constitutional or moral justification of its military occupation. The ruling party of India should very much understand that the steps taken in haste can put the state on fire and further destabilize its political environment," he said on Friday while denouncing the Government of India's pious move.
J&K is an integral part of India and the refugees from West Pakistan lawfully very much Indians. If refugees from Pakistan could rise to become Prime Minister or Dy. Prime Minister of India, why can't the refugees from West Pakistan settled in different parts of the Jammu province exercise all those rights which are available to all others in J&K. J&K is not the personal fiefdom of Kashmiri separatists or those in Kashmir who share their pernicious break-India and anti-minority ideology of the likes of Geelani. Geelani says he would launch a state-wide agitation in case the refugees from West Pakistan are considered residents of J&K. Who will join his anti-national and anti-refugee movement in Jammu and Ladakh? None, as he and others of his ilk are looked down upon in both these regions. And what about Kashmir? Let the Geelanis and other of his ilk do whatever they want. No one cares for them in Jammu and Ladakh. The law enforcement agencies are there in Kashmir. They will take care of them by invoking the relevant laws in case they creat any law and order problem.
In any case, the Kashmiris have lost the game as it is Jammu and Ladakh who have emerged very strong after the 2014 two electoral exercises, one in April-May 2014 and the other in November-December 2014. They now play the shots and the role of Kashmiris today is only one of reaction. |
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