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| Congress, PM Working Group and West Pakistan refugees | | Fake Secularism | | Rustam
JAMMU, Feb 8: The authorities in Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir consistently assert that the recommendations of the Prime Minister's Working Groups are state-centric, and not Kashmir-centric. They always say that the Working Groups had recommended that the refugees from West Pakistan could be given domicile certificates so that they could lead a dignified life in the state. These are wrong assertions. There is nothing in the reports in this regard. Similarly, there was nothing for the refugees from West Pakistan in the report submitted by all-party committee to the state Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, in 2007. This Congress-Headed committee, which rejected outright the suggestion that these refugees needed to be given all the citizenship rights, had nowhere recommended that they would be given domicile certificates. What actually it had suggested to the Union Government was that "each refugee family should be given financial relief to the tune of rupees two lakh and in no case less than rupees one lakh". This was, and is, not the demand of the refugees from West Pakistan. Their demand was, and continues to be, grant of all those rights which are available to the so-called permanent residents in the state.
The opposition of the ruling Congress to the to the demand of the refugees from West Pakistan seeking all citizenship rights was beyond comprehension considering the fact that Manmohan Singh (Prime Minister), Lal Kishan Advani (former Deputy Prime Minister, Inder Kumar Gujral (former Prime Minister), Jagmohan (former Governor and Union Minister), Arun Shourie (Ex-Member Rajya Sabha and former Union Minister), NN Vohra (presently Governor of Jammu and Kashmir) and so on were all refugees from Pakistan. The opposition of the Congress only indicated its lack of commitment to the human rights of the refugees from West Pakistan, as also its willingness to go with those in Kashmir who are opposed to these refugees on the ground that their empowerment would change the demographic profile of the assembly segments in Jammu and enhance the Jammu's representation in the legislature. But more than that, the opposition of the Congress towards the demand of the refugees from West Pakistan indicated, and continues to indicate, its utter disregard for the established secular values.
If the attitude of the State Government towards the refugees was negative, the attitude of the "Working Group on Confidence Building Measures Across Segments of Society in the State" was no different. It simply said: "Problems being faced by the refugees who came from West Pakistan in 1947 such as State Subject status should be settled once for all. The Working Group expressed concern and need for further relief and rehabilitation of refugees of 1965 and 1971 wars who have not been fully rehabilitated living mostly in Jammu Province". Indeed, it was a vague suggestion. No wonder then that these refugees are still up in arms against the powers-that-be in New Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.
As for the people of Jammu province, the report of this working group said: "The Working Group touched upon balanced regional development, economic development of certain communities…" That was all. In other words, it was vague as far as its attitude to Jammu province was concerned. It also did not recommend anything substantial for Ladakh and internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindus.
On the contrary, this Working Group recommended several concessions for those involved in terrorist and anti-India activities. It said "The group recommends review and revocation of laws that impinges on fundamental rights of common citizens such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act…Orphans of killed militants with no source of income should be included as a goodwill gesture…The group felt that there is a need to create conditions for persons who have forsworn the path of militancy to avoid reversion back to militancy and to provide them a definite policy/package for their rehabilitation…The Working Group recommends to categorize youth into those who joined militancy for misguided ideological reasons, monetary considerations and forced circumstances. It suggests consideration of a policy within a framework of CBM enunciated in the RTC and after verifying the identity of persons returning from other side (Pakistan-occupied-Jammu and Kashmir) within a timeframe to be decided. Such persons should be given a rehabilitation package and treated with dignity to join the mainstream…Start unconditional dialogue process with militant groups for finding sustainable solutions to the problems of militancy" (Summary of Reports of the Four Working Groups on Jammu and Kashmir, PP. 1-16). The chairman of this Working Group was Hamid Ansari, presently Vice-President of India.
There is no need to put in any amount of effort to draw a conclusion. Things are as clear as crystal. However, there is the need for all-right thinking people and ardent believers in the concepts of democracy and secularism to review their stand on the Congress and the Congress dominated New Delhi because they are the real culprits; they are the mother of all ills facing the refugees from West Pakistan, or for that matter the whole of the nation. |
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