Tara Chand Bhagat
Due to denial of Citizenship Rights to West Pakistani Refugees who migrated from West Pakistan in the wake of partition of India and Pakistan and got settled in the border areas of Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Akhnoor and Pallanwalla, the people can be taken as the worst sufferers of Articles 370 & 35-A. 85 per cent of such people were Scheduled castes and illiterate people. Remaining 15 per cent are of other castes such as Manhas, Choudhary, Mahajan and some other backward castes. These people had formed the organization to fight for Citizenship Rights for the last over 50 years. They had run from pillar to post and approached the then Congress Governments at the Centre and the National Conference Government at the State but these governments did nothing for these hapless people instead got their respective MPs elected and got continued exploited them with only lip sympathy and did nothing for these poor migrated people treating them as non state subjects. This was a clear-cut and blatant grave violation of Human Rights nationally as well as internationally. The leaders of these people did not take rest and not sat silently when ultimately none of the Central and State Government paid due attention towards their problem. They filed a Writ- petition at the Supreme Court of India in 1982 and the Supreme Court delivered its historic verdict in their favour and directed the then government of J&K State for granting them Citizenship Rights by making a law in a Legislative Assembly but the historic verdict of the Supreme Court was not honoured and kept in the cold-store. During every elections whether Parliamentary as well as Assembly Elections – this genuine matter got continuously highlighted through discussions in election rallies , soon after elections were over the matter was also got buried with the so-called political ruling parties of NC and Congress .
During 2013, when the Congress Government headed by Sardar Manmohan Singh got involved into many scams and scandals, West Pakistani Refugees’ file submitted to the former PM Manmohan Singh remain unattended. He himself being a West Pakistani Refugee should have attended the file of West Pak Refugees settled in J&K State. If I K Gujral, L K Advani could become Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister respectively then why not West Pak Refugee being settled at J&K State could become a member Panchayat. During 2013 when Narendra Modi had been campaigning for BJP and visited election rallies at Hiranagar and Maulana Azad Stadium at Jammu, the matter was highlighted vigorously. The bold man listened to the matter patiently and promised with these suffered people that if BJP voted to power at the Centre he would bring a bill for abrogation of Article 370 & 35-A in the Parliament. This promise was fulfilled with the introduction of a bill on August 5, 2019 during his second term of Prime Ministership . Now so-called Articles 370 & 35-A which were temporary and transitory have gone away and abrogated forever and the erstwhile J&K State came into being into two Union Territories -Ladakh and J&K. With the abrogation of Aricle 370 & 35-A all West Pak Refugees also enjoy equal rights with those of State Subjects .Now all are domiciles of J&K UT and Ladakh UT.
Besides West Pakistani Refugees, the members of Valmiki Samaj, who were brought here in J&K for scavenging purpose were been forced to work only as sweepers also suffered for decades and were deprived of even basic facilities . Was it not a great injustice with these people who made Jammu city neat and clean throughout their spoiled careers? These people were denied basic Citizenship Rights by such Governments which brought them here with false promises to be citizen of J&K State.
Third category was of Gorkhas who came to State along with Maharani Yasho Rajya Lakshmi, after getting married with Dr Karan Singh, the son of Late Maharaja Hari Singh last ruler of J&K seven decades ago. These brave people who defended the borders along the Pakistan & China with great valour and courage, also had been denied Citizenship Rights because of Nepalese; suffered a lot since decades. Was it not a sacred and moral duty of so-called Prince who had brought them from his in-laws with him at the time of his marriage to get them Citizenship Rights from the Central as well as State Governments?
All the sufferers, be it West Pak Refugees or Valmiki Samaj (Safaikaramcharis) or Gorkhas appreciate positive approach and high thinking of the martyr Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee who laid down his life for making supreme sacrifice for the complete integration of J&K State with Indian Union with a dream ‘Ek Nishan, Ek Pradhan & Ek Vidhan.’ His great dream of integration with India came true when Narendra Modi fulfilled the cherished dream of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee with the introduction of a bill in the Parliament by the Home Minister, Amit Shah for the abrogation of temporary and transitory nature of Article 370 & 35-A on August 5, 2019, which got passed by the Parliament with requisite majority and got assent by President of India. The reorganization of J&K State ACT was implemented on 31st October, 2019 . It was really a bold decision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, who deserve deep-hearted appreciation from the core of heart of all the victimized and worst sufferers from generation to generation for no fault of theirs to be settled here in this erstwhile J&K State.
Their genuine demands of Citizenship Rights must have been solved very earlier on the plea of Humanitarian grounds so that these hapless people would not have been suffered so much and violated their Human Rights also. It is pertinent to mention here that the foreigners like Rohangiya Muslims from Myanmar, Bangladeshis, Sudanese, Tibetan people had been got settled down secretly around the border district of Jammu; who pose a grave security threat to Jammu have been enjoying all types of facilities like – Ration Cards, Identity Cards , Aadhaar Cards , Driving Licences , Work Permits , Schooling facilities etc. It is the conspiracy for changing the demographic fabric standards of Jammu city. Why not these people were got settled down in the Valley? It is also to be mentioned that lakhs of Muslim people from UP, Bihar, West Bengal and from other states who went to Kashmir for earning their livelihood in early 1989 as plumbers , painters, carpenters, masons, barbers and with other skills had settled there and some of them have married daughters of Kashmiri Muslims and had been got allowed to settle permanently. Many a times voices have been raised for the deportation of Rohanigya Muslims and Bangladeshis and others living at Jammu illegally but no solid action has so far been taken in this regard. Kind attention of the Central Government is drawn towards the action to be taken regarding deportation of these illegal foreigners as they pose a great security threat to the camps of Army areas especially Jammu being situated along the border of Pakistan and the terrorists could use their services for carrying out untoward incidents in near future. It is further requested to the security personnel to be strict vigilant and maintain a hawk-eye over the movements of unknown persons.