The 1st unsung victims of Pakistani Atrocities (1947 Displaced Families from POJK)
Daya Sagar
The affairs, concerning areas & the families displaced from the areas of J&K state (POJK DPs 1947) that Pakistan had illegally occupied (after openly attacking on 22nd October 1947 the then Princely State of J&K) have remained in confusions & in political complexities even internally after 1947 and have also remained under very less focus of the political & social leadership from the point of view of vacation of said areas by Pakistan and rehabilitation of the displaced families till they can return to their ancestral hearths; instead more focus has remained on political rivalries for local governance.
In addition to having remained under economic stresses from day one only since they were not even given the claims for the properties/assets left behind while fleeing from the areas under attack by Pakistan in 1947 to safer areas of J&K / other Indian states for saving their life/ honor, no any regular exercise has been done over last 7 decades to even invite applications for their registration to atleast know the real number count of the displaced families/those killed by invaders but to talk of atleast taking on record the assets left behind by them even if the claims were not to be paid due to technical reasons of considering them displaced persons and not exercise.
But when ever some information is required to be conveyed to some committee / some member parliament both State government as well as central government have been quote the number of families displaced from POJK in 1947 in absolute numbers i.e the number of families displaced from POJK in1 947 as 31619 .Where as that was the number (31619) in government records of the families belonging to only some categories who were paid some ex gratia amount in 1960/ or other token assistance. Since the same number is being quoted since 1978 in same style it clearly shows that the affairs concerning POJK DPs 1947 are not taken seriously . To quote (i) A Petition addressed to The Council of States ( Rajya Sabha) Parliament of India was presented at a sitting of Rajya Sabha on 26 December 1978 by Sheikh Abdul Rehman as signed by Bachan Singh Panchi President Jammu Kashmir Sharnarthi Action Committee and six others praying for settlement of problems of displaced persons uprooted from Pak Occupied areas of Jammu & Kashmir and Sixty Second report dated 11-04-1980 of the Committee on Petitions of Rajya Sabha headed by Bipinpal Das ( MP) was presented in Rajya Sabha on 13-06-1980.In reply to Rajay Sabha Committee on Petitions letter No. RS5 (18)/78-Com. II date 27 July, 1979 the Secretary to Government of J&K, Rehabilitation (1947) Department, Jammu had vide letter No. RAHAB-9/II/79 dated 27-11-79 had said : “With the decision taken for the partition of The country in two parts viz India and Pakistan, the communal disturbances Started the influx of refugees from POK as also from other parts of the country now known as Pakistan flooded into State in large number. There was no department known as Rehabilitation Department in existence at that time. The size of problem was enormous. No adequate arrangements to look after the DPs did exist at that time. A large number of DPs went outside the State and out of those who remained within the State a large number joined the Camps when those were established:, Where as others remained outside the camps. There was no agency to register these refugees immediately on their entry into the State. There was no formal; registration of these DPs. Registration was done only when they submitted applications for rehabilitation benefits like loans/ land/ quarters/ lots.”: The only registration therefore, which may be taken as correct but only of some categories made on the basis of declaration forms filed in response to notice inviting applications for ex gratia grant which scheme was sanctioned by the GOI in 1960. The number of such families is 31619 number (subsequent to Pakistani aggression about 135000 persons had left their homes from Pak occupied areas of J&K State). The relief and rehabilitation assistance was provided to these migrant families as due as per the policy of GOI. It was made before the committee by GOI that in all 31696 applications were received for ex gratia grant and 31683 applications had already been finalized by then. Only 262 families were not paid ex gratia because of income being more than Rs.300 pm and 344 applications had been rejected because they had not migrated along with head of the family within the crucial migration period.
But it was on the 11th Feb. 2020 that in reply to unstarred Lok Sabha Q.No- 1485 from COL. RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE {asking number of people displaced from Pakistan occupied J&K (PoJK) in 1947 ) the Minister of State in Ministry of Home Affairs (G. Kishan Reddy) had said that as per the Registration records maintained with the Provincial Rehabilitation Officer (PRO), Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), a total of 31,619 displaced families from Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) got registered after Indo-Pak war of 1947. Out of these, 26,319 families got registered and settled in the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir and 5,300 families initially registered with PRO, J&K subsequently moved to other parts of the country. Similarly in reply to Unstarred Question No. 1608 from P.P. Chaudhary: Kaushal Kishore as replied on 20th September, 2020/ Bhadrapada 29, 1942 (Saka) Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs (G. Kishan Reddy) said that due to the Indo-Pak war of 1947, a total of 31,619 families got displaced from the Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK), out of which 26,319 families got registered and settled in the erstwhile State of J&K. A total of 5,300 families who were initially registered with the PRO, J&K subsequently moved to other parts of the country.
In replies quoted here in firm numbers were conveyed and also they were referred as registered where as these numbers are not out of any general registration but are in terms of application invited in 1960 for payment of an ex gratia of Rs.3500 to some families that fell in particular category of displace POJK DPs and not from all. So many families had not applied and even some families who did apply but as they did not fall in the category of families from whom applications were invited for gratia they were rejected for payment of ex gratia of 3500/ family. So there were many more families who were not included in the number 31619 being quoted in these replies ,in a way the information has been wrongly conveyed and the innocent leaderships/ community of POJK 1947 displaced community out of their simplicity too have not so far questioned the govts. for carrying a wrong absolute number of 31619 of POJK 1947 DPs with them.
Not only that 183rd Report on problems being faced by refugees and displaced persons in J&K was presented in Parliament on 22nd December, 2014 was laid on the table of Lok Sabha on 22nd December 2014 drawn by a sub-committee on Action Taken on 137th Report on Rehabilitation of J & K Migrants ( Department- Home Affairs related committee (2013) with Rajiv Pratap Rudy MP as convener that visited J&K during first week of September 2013 ) at Para 3.2.1.4 says that the Committee takes into account the fact that non-registered families are not given proper relief and compensation amount and is of the view that for that purpose, their fresh enumeration is necessary to understand the problems being faced by PoJK DPs and to have updated policy guidelines for them . The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government should take adequate steps immediately to ensure official registration of Displaced Persons from PoJK in order to ensure that benefits of schemes meant for refugees and Displaced Persons reach the targeted group. Similarly at Para 3.2.12.3 the Committee desired that one nodal officer may be appointed in Delhi for granting Permanent Resident certificates to POJK DPs living outside the State of J&K as being done for Kashmiri migrants. The committee went to the extent of saying that rather Govt may campaign to attract more and more POJK DPs living in other parts of the country by issuing advertisements in national dailies and the rules for applying the PRC may be simplified. Although the said observations were not that medicating but still the committee appeared having taken serious note. But even those half recommendations have not been made use of in seven years after that.
In reply to un starred question CQ 637 by Ajatshatru Singh MLC in the Legislative Council of J&K in 2016 Minister Incharge Relief and Rehabilitation had said 2631 families from POK had settled in various districts of Jammu Province ( particularly Jammu, Kathua, Samba and Rajouri districts) and even the other data mentioned there in too appeared having been drafted casually. Even those who have been from POJK DP community appear having taken the case of their people not that seriously, may be due to there being no local political / administrative support at their back.
(The author is Sr Journalist / Analyst J&Kdayasagr45@yahoo.com)