Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 6: The Muzzaffarabad (PoK ) Refugees Welfare Society, Punjab has registered its strong protest against the conditions for being Domicile of J&K as these discriminate with 5300 PoJK families who were forced to settle in different States of Union of India after partition in 1947.
The organization has sought immediate intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lt Governor of J&K UT to get the necessary amendment for inclusion of these 5300 DP families.
“These 5300 DP families are among the minority Hindu/Sikhs from 1508 villages of Muzaffrabad, Mirpur, Kotli, Bhimbar, Gilgit, Baltistan, Poonch Jagir, Deva Batala etc who previously lived in PoJK before the tribal raid in October 1947. On arriving in Jammu these people were named by the State Government as Displaced Persons from Occupied Area of J&K vide Order number 1476-C of 1950 Dated 16.12.1950. They are qualified Permanent Residents of the State having full rights of vote for State Assembly / to acquire property / Govt jobs in the State, as they were already State Subjects holder,” said Harbans Singh Mahalwee, general secretary of the Refugee Welfare Society.
“Although these DPs have been recognized by the Government of India as original inhabitants of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State, even then they do not qualify the criteria fixed for their eligibility as Domicile of J&K Union Territory,” he lamented.
Stating that they were not, in any way, against protecting the rights of locals, Mahalwee said that the PoK refugees only want justice with them and equal rights in their own State i.e J&K. “We don’t have PRC as the conditions for obtaining the same was so difficult that no outsider DP could get it despite having valid proof of their being original resident of J&K and officially recognized by the Government of India , which had distributed an ex-gratia to these DPs through PRO Jammu in 1960-62 in their respective States without any condition of PRC or domicile ,” he said and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to do the necessary amendment for facilitating these 5300 DP families to get all the benefits of Domicile of J&K as well as Rs 5.5 lakh cash benefit, for which they all are eligible.
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