Mohit Kandhari
The refugees from west Pakistan settled in J&K deserve to be brought into the Indian mainstream. A tentative decision has been taken to give them identity certificates. But separatists and even some mainstream politicians are out to communalise the issue
At a time when the restive Kashmir Valley was gradually limping back to normalcy after witnessing one of the longest spells of unrest in the aftermath of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, the issue of granting ‘identity certificates’ to the children of West Pakistan refugees for getting into central paramilitary and the Indian Armed Forces has once again ignited the spark and allowed discredited separatist leaders and disgruntled opposition parties to spearhead another agitation to protect Jammu & Kashmir’s special status.
Protest marches have been planned by separatist leaders and ‘wake-up’ calls have been belted out using loudspeakers fitted atop religious places, to mobilise large crowds to resist fresh attempts made by the PDP-BJP alliance Government to address the long-pending issue of resettlement of west Pakistan refugees on humanitarian grounds.
The issue of granting citizenship rights to west Pakistan refugees, settled in Jammu region, was hanging in balance since partition days. Successive State and Central Governments either ignored their plight or succumbed to pressure tactics adopted by Kashmiri politicians to deprive these people of their rights.
In 1987, the then chairman of the West Pakistan Refugee Action Committee, Bachal Lal Kalgotra, had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court, seeking justice. The court had said it was for the the Centre and the State Governments to realise the genuine grievances of these refugees and grant them a permanent resident status to enable them vote for the State Assembly and panchayat elections.
Dismissing the writ petition, Justice Chinnappa Reddy had observed, in view of the peculiar constitutional position obtaining in the State, “We do not see what possible relief we can give to the petitioner and those situated like him. All that we can say is that the position of the petitioner and those like him is anomalous and it is up to the Legislature of the State of Jammu & Kashmir to take action to amend legislature, such as, the Jammu & Kashmir Representation of the People Act, the Land Alienation Act, the Village Panchayat Act, etc, so as to make persons like the petitioner who have migrated from West Pakistan in 1947 and who have settled down in the State of J&K since then, eligible to be included in the electoral roll, to acquire land, to be elected to the panchayat. This could be done by suitably amending legislations without having to amend the J&K Constitution.
“In regard to providing employment opportunities under the State Government. it could be done by the Government by amending the Jammu & Kashmir Civil Services, Classification of Control and Appeal Rules.
“The petitioners have a justifiable grievance. We are told that they constitute nearly seven to eight per cent of the population of the State. Surely they are entitled to expect to be protected by the State. In the peculiar context of the State of J&K, the Union of India also owes an obligation to make some provision for the advancement of the cultural, economic and educational rights of these persons. We do hope that the claims of persons like the petitioner and others to exercise greater rights of citizenship will receive due consideration from the Union of India and the State of Jammu & Kashmir.”
The decision to issue identity certificates to the wards of west Pakistan refugees was taken by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in consultation with the State Government in the first week of August this year. The letter was processed by the Home Ministry after a long gap of over 14 years. After receiving the communication from the ministry, the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, on August 5, wrote to District Development Commissioners of Jammu region to issue necessary instructions to the revenue authorities to issue nativity/identity certificates strictly on the proforma devised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, so that the refugees may be in a position to establish their identity at the time of recruitment in Central paramilitary and Indian Armed Forces.
While the exercise to issue these certificates was going on smoothly, separatist leaders in the valley raised a hue and cry and even termed it as an attempt to change the demography of the region by granting domicile certificates. The false propaganda launched by these separatist leaders was given another lease of life by the opposition parties there, to target the Mehbooba Mufti-led alliance Government ahead of Budget Session of the Assembly.
One had hoped that Kashmiri leaders, both mainstream and separatists, would appreciate the spirit behind the rather belated decision and not raise a ruckus, considering their own no-holds-barred propaganda about the sanctity of human rights. But this was not to be. They took no time to denounce the State Government and the Centre for a humane approach to the 70-year-old human problem, and in one voice said that an insidious influence was at work to change the Muslim-majority character and the constitutional character of Jammu & Kashmir.
Chairman of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) Shabbir Ahmad Shah, was the first to oppose the decision. “The Government’s move of issuing the domicile certificates to West Pakistan refugees is a well-planned conspiracy against the Muslim majority status of J&K.”
Immediately thereafter, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik took the plunge. They issued a joint statement, which, besides rejecting outright the decision of the Union Government and its compliance by the Jammu & Kashmir Government, also asked the people of Kashmir to strike work on Friday (December 23).
“Issuing domicile certificates to West Pakistan refugees, Supreme Court verdict on Jammu & Kashmir over Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, (SARFAESI Act), are the challenges to the sovereignty of Jammu & Kashmir”, they said.
The main opposition party, the National Conference and the Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief also contributed their bit in a most disgraceful manner. “Since the issue (issuance of domicile certificates) was debatable, the Chief Minister should have called an all-party meeting on it. It was the PDP which was vehemently opposing granting of domicile certificate to West Pakistan refugees”, JKPCC chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir said. He added, “Granting of domicile to west Pakistan refugees is an attack on the State’s special position.”
Now, it remains to be seen whether the alliance Government in the State will once again succumb to pressure or march ahead to fulfil the long-pending demand of granting citizenship rights to the deprived population that we call as ‘refugees’ and apply the healing touch.
(The writer is Jammu-based Special Correspondent of The Pioneer)
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