It was a historic day for the West Pakistani Refugees (WPRs) as they first time cast votes in the local body elections. Earlier they were eligible only for casting votes in Lok Sabha elections due to Article 370. West Pakistan refugees were settled mainly in border areas of Jammu and were not considered as permanent citizens. As per official data 5,764 Hindu and Sikh families popularly known as West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs) entered India in 1947 and settled down in various parts of Jammu. Presently, the number of West Pakistan refugees has increased to over 20,000 families or 4 lakh persons. “Today’s was a historic day for our community. Despite living in rural areas, we were never allowed to cast votes in Panchayat elections”, Labha Ram Gandhi, leader of WPRs said, adding, "today our community members cast votes in their respective areas". |
