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| Should Government take Benefit of its own Wrong? | | | Advocate Sunil Kumar | 5/25/2011 10:59:23 PM |
| In early 90's a dark chapter in the history of independent India began when lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits had to flee Kashmir valley and were forced Lo resettle as migrants (meaning internally displaced people) in Jammu and other parts of India.
When Indian Government was at that time praising itself for Industrialization and agricultural development lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits had Lo flee the Kashmir Valley as both Central and State Govt. failed to protect their life and personal liberty (one has to keep in mind that under Article 21 of Constitution of India every citizen has a fundamental right i.e. right to i.e and personal Liberty. Article 21 states as “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law." This fundamental right of citizen corresponds to the duty of the State to protect the life and liberty of its citizens or any person living within the territory of India.
Many of the prominent Kashmiri pandits personalities were brutally killed by militants at that time i.e. during the first phase' of militancy only because they opposed the concept of separate Kashmir hood and further refused to shout the slogans Of 'Hum Kai Chayeta Azadi'. At that time it seemed that things had gone out of control from respective Governments and they had become the mute spectators of mass exodus of Kashmiri Pundits from their motherland.
Again to remind it is a fundamental right of every citizen to reside and settle any where in India which is enshrined in Article 12 (b) of The Constitution of India. In this aspect also respective Governments failed to protect the fundamental right of Kashmiri Pandits to reside and settle in Kashmir and they were forced to migrate from Kashmiri valley.
I am referring the internally displaced Kashmiri people as migrants as Government as given this nomenclature to migrants in its various legislations enacted for internally displaced people. Actually the world migrant is a misnomer for Kashmiri migrant people because migrant actually means a person who leaves his place of abroad in search of green pastures and without any force or compulsion.
According to Guiding principles of United Nations on Internally displaced people (IDP's) they are group of persons who have been forced to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in particular as
a result of or in order to avoid the affects of armed conflict or situation of generalized violence and who have not crossed an internationally recognized border.
Now as J&K State law has given those internally displaced Kashmiri Pandits the nomenclature of migrant I have no option left but lo refer them as migrants. According to Section 2 (e) of The Jammu and Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property Preservation, Protection, and Restrain on Distress Sales Act,1997 and Section 2 (C) of the Jammu and Kashmir Migrants Slay of Proceedings Act, 1997 Migrant means any person who has migrated from Kashmir Valley after 1st November 1989 and
is registered as such with the Relief Commissioner and includes a person who has not been so registered on the ground of his being in service of the Government in any moving office, or having left the valley in pursuit of occupation or voca ion or otherwise and is possessed of immovable property in the Valley but is ordinarily reside there due to disturbed conditions.
As per the information provided by the Relief Organization, ,Jammu the total number of Kashmiri Migrant families registered at Jammu are 38, 119.
The Relief Organization has classified migrants into two categories i.e. Relief and Non-Relief. The total numbers of relief hold families are -17248 and non-relief families are -20871.
Now who are relief holder migrants. There are those migrant families who had no means of income and Government sanctioned a monthly relief of RS.1250 per family member but subject to a ceiling of RS.5000. Non-relief holder families are those families anyone of the family member is a Central or State Government employee.
A t the time of migration of Kashmiri Pandits in the year 1990 when migrants came to Jammu for safety, Government provided tented accommodation to migrants at various places at Nagrota, Mishriwala, Battar wali, Muthi and Purhkoo.
But these tented accommodation was provided only to a few thousand (4 to 5 thousand migrant families) and the rest of the migrant families and to look for their own shelters.
In the year 1992 Government announced construction of one room tenements for migrants. But this time again only 5242 one room tenements were constructed when in Jammu alone more than 35000 migrant families were registered.
That means only 5242 migrant families were provided with accommodation and too just one room per family measuring 10x14 sq. feet with no other necessary facility suitable for living of a human being. This time more than 33000 migrant families were ignored and shelter was provided to only 5242 migrant families.
Again history repeated itself and Central Government announced construction of two rooms flats at Jagati- MUl.hi and Purkhoo. But this time also only 5242 flats were constructed.
These two rooms flats were allotted only to that migrants m the first place who were living in one room tenement allotted to them in early 1994 and this time also the rest of migrants were ignored. Even among these odd 5242 families who were allotted one single room in the year 1994, some approximate 1000 migrant families were ignored for allotment of two room flats at Jagti on the ground that
1. They have shifted their residence from that one single room
or
2. They have constructed their own house from their own funds.
Now these 1000 odd left out migrant families are running from pillar to post and explaining it to the authorities that they had to temporary shift their residence from one single room tenement because it was impossible for a family to live in a Singh room and because of the failure of Government to provide two room accommodation at the proper time when it was needed the most.
Take for example the family of Markham Lal, Ashok Kumar, Bansi Lalor Bal Ji or many others who after living in camps at Purkhoo, Mishriwala or Muthi for more than 10 years had 1.0 shift their residence from Camp in despair (i.e. from one Single room) on the ground that their adult male children got married.
Now who will tell this Wise man (Relief Commie sioner, Jammu and his department) that it was impossible for such families to live in one single room with expanded families.
Does it mean that Relief Department wants to send message that those living in one single room should not have married their sons because of which their family expanded?
Right of marriage and to found a family is a basic human
right and has been enshrined in many human right contention
e.g.
1. Article 16 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948
2. Article 5 of Covenant on Economic, Social and cultural Right 1966
3. Article 23 of Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966.
When Government in 1994 provided a one single room to a family in 1994 it in a way prevented the Kashmiri community to expand because from year 1991 to year 2010, creation to cremation was to happen in one single room for a Kashmiri migrant family.
The Relief Commissioner also gives the reason for non¬-allotment of two rooms set at Jagti to above referred thousand odd migrant families on the ground that they have now constructed their own houses.
Now again who would tell this Wise man and his department that they have constructed one room or two rooms shelters for themselves not from any fund received from any Government (State or Centre) but by selling their land m distress in Kashmir, Raising Housing Loan and by selling or mortgaging the golden ornaments of their women folk just because there was inordinate delay on part of the Government to provide reasonable two room accommodation.
Now question to be asked from the respective Governments are
1) Why Government failed to provide adequate security to Kashmiri Pandits living in valley in year 1990 and onwards
and why it had become the mute spectator of mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits.
2) If Government is now asserting that it will provide adequate security arrangements to Kashmiri migrants willing to re-settle in Kashmir at specific places, why this step was taken after a gap of 20 years and that too when in year June 2010, the situation in Kashmir became worst. Even Hon'blc Chief Minister of J&K Omar Obdullah State admitted the fact that the ongoing strife in Kashmir valley i.e. in June, 2010 is one of the worst among odd 20 years of militancy.
3) If 38000 migrant families were registered in Jammu then why only 5242 one-room tenants were constructed ln year 1992-1994 for providing shelter to Kashmir migrant: .
Docs it mean that the rest 33000 migrant families managed lo construct their own houses in just two years i.e. from 1990-1992.
This is a known fact that most of the Kashmiri migrant families constructed their own shelters after a gap of 10 years from the start of migration because
a) They started to believe that their return to Kashmir has become impossible.
And
b) Government IS not providing suitable accommodation to them.
4) Even among the 38000 registered migrants in Jammu 17,000 migrant families are relief-holder families i.e. who have no other means of income but are dependant on the relief sanctioned in their favour by the Government'. Then why one total of 5242 two-room sets were constructed at different camps.
Docs State or Central Government suffers with defective vision because when 17000 migrant families are relief-holder families i.e. who could not manage their both ends meets how Government thought that only 5242 quarters are sufficient for Kashmiri Migrants.
If Government states in defense that most of the migrant families have constructed their own houses, this defense will be totally unacceptable. This is because most of the migrant families constructed their own shelters because Government failed to provide them even one room tenement in year 1994.
Is the policy of government right by which it has decided to allot two room flats in favour of only those migrants who were allotted on room tenement in Year 1994 with no other economic criteria attaching it?
Is this right that Government Employees drawing more than Rs 20000 salary were allotted two room flats at Jagati and more that 12000 relief holder families were deprived of this right i.e right to two rooms flat or adequate
Compensation lTI lieu thereof? If we go with the policy of Government our Relief Commissioner Mr. Vinod Kaul was
also entitled to two room flat at Jagti if
a. His family had been allotted one room tenement in Year 1994 and
b. He had not constructed his own house.
Bravo what a policy of Government which is vague and totally discriminatory and is not based on reasonable classif12ation. This policy of the Government has violated lhc fundamental right of migration to be treated equally enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution of India.
5) Is Indian Government so fund deficient that if could not sanction lhc construction of at least 15000 two room tenements in favour of Kashmiri migrants who had to face the burnt of this migration because of failure of Government to provide adequate security in Kashmir lo them and protect their life and liberty and Just because they refused lo shout the slogan "Hum Kya Chahte Azadi'
Certainly not because right now India Government and respective Slate Governments are busy in announcing huge hike in salaries of MP's and MLA's and investing huge sum of money in construction of railway line connecting Jammu with Srinagar at the time when the original inhabitants were disconnected from their mother just because of failure of Government to protect their life and liberty.
6) If Govt. has announced RS.7.50 lakhs to those Kashmir migrant families who are willing to re-settle in Kashmir as rehabilitation policy, why Government has not announced same amount of money who have already rehabilitated themselves in Jammu and constructed their own shelter by selling their land m distress m Kashmir, raising housing loans and by selling golden ornaments. Rehabilitation does not mean rehabilitation at the choice of Government but means rehabilitation at the choice of that family which was uprooted from his native place (Kashmir). No community in India has paid such a huge price as this community for asserting its nationality and for refusing to shout the slogan 'Hum Kya Chahte Azadi'.
The fact is that many millions of humans under the Indian Sun suffer unspeakable social and economic handicaps and have no political tongue to argue their case. These marginal humans whisper to those with hearts.
"If thou didn’t ever hold me in the heart, absent the from felicity awhile. And in this harsh world draw the breath in pain, to tell my story" --------------- Shakespeare
JAI- HIND
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