Ronik Sharma
A large section of the people of Jammu and Kashmir residing in Jammu and Kashmir as well as other parts of the country (commonly known as 1947 Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir Displaced Persons, or “PoJK DPs”) suffered a serious blow to both their ethnic identity and their economic situation in 1947 after being forcibly relocated from their homes in the areas that are currently subject to Pakistan’s illegal occupation since 1947. They were not only forced to be displaced from their homes and hearths, but this also badly affected their financial circumstances and has had a severe effect on them to date. Due to the country’s 1947 partition, India’s economic situation was already precarious on a global scale.
A few months later, however, Pakistan launched its first frontal offensive on Indian territory and forcibly displaced thousands of innocent people, which not only made India’s already precarious economic situation worse but also hampered the nation’s ambitious growth. As a result of having to leave everything behind and receiving nothing from the government’s rehabilitation programme, the post-displacement period experienced by the inhabitants of Jammu and Kashmir (1947 Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir displaced persons) was one of sadness and arduous labour. Undoubtedly, some families-not all displaced families-received some minimal ex gratia, but even for those families, that was like a pinch of salt because it didn’t compare to the loss of life and property, as well as the misery they went through as a result of the forced relocation from the areas which are now under the illegal occupation of Pakistan.
There are some unanswered questions on the part of the successive governments, either at the Centre or in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, if anyone raises the concern of the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir displaced persons who got forced displacement in 1947.
* Has official registration been done for PoJK DPs? If yes, then
– When was the notification issued?
– In which newspapers was it notified?
– What were the criteria or conditions for the registration?
– What was the total number of PoJK DPs in 1947, and what are their present numbers? (In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and other states of the Country).
* What was the number of widows of PoJK DPs in 1947? What was the Government’s Policy for the widows?
* What was the number of orphans from PoJK DPs in 1947, and what steps were taken by the government either at the Centre or in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir to address their problems?
* How many people have a partial or permanent disability? What steps were taken by the then-Government for them at that time?
* What was the number of PoJK DPs who lost their lives during the period of forced displacement from PoJK in 1947?
The issue of registering 1947 displaced people from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in a regular manner (regular enumeration) has come up numerous times, but successive governments tasked with the matter both at the Centre and in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir failed to take the necessary actions for the regular enumeration of those people who were forcibly displaced from the areas that are still under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. Since it is yet unclear how many people have been displaced, what their exact present number is, how many people have been settled in Jammu and Kashmir, and how many of them have been forced to leave the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir and settle in other parts of the country because of the then Governments’ inactivity, this has been a serious blow to those who were forced to flee their homes in 1947 by the Pakistani army.
Numerous times, this issue has been raised and then disregarded because it is still unclear how many people have been displaced since 1947, what their exact number is now, and their State-wise number. As residents of Jammu and Kashmir and, specifically, as Pahari ethnic group members, the displaced people from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir continue to struggle for their identity. Due to their lack of access to several other chances, including education, admission, employment, scholarships, developmental activities, and so on, their generations have been pushed back. Why? At the very least, all the State Subject Holder families who were forcibly displaced from their homes and hearths, businesses, and other establishments in PoJK and who were residing within severely affected areas by this direct action of Pakistan were not given that little ex gratia by the then Government of India or later succeeding governments. No efforts have been made yet to identify the families that were so severely affected and whose additional family members and relatives were caught in the forced relocation.
One may see how callously the First Victims of the First Pakistan-Engineered Holocaust were neglected by successive governments by looking at certain official data that is in the public domain, which shows that only a minimal amount was given to a small number of families and that it was offered to some categories exclusively.
And the other PoJK DP’s families, due to the unmanaged, non-serious approach of the then government in the former State of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir displaced persons who are currently living outside Jammu and Kashmir, departed the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. For the sake of themselves and their families, they had to flee the State. The displaced families who are residing outside of Jammu and Kashmir received stepmotherly treatment in order to survive, even after more than seven decades. In addition, the Union Territory administration of Jammu and Kashmir granted Registration of Displaced Persons for the issuance of domicile certificates to these families regardless of where they are currently residing in government order No. 52-JK (DMRRR) of 2020 dated May 16, 2020, which occurred after more than seventy three years. The Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner for Migrants, Jammu, completed the process for registering displaced people with regard to displaced people living outside of J&K and also issued a domicile.
A number of times it was demanded that a general re-count of all PoJK DPs families be done without any conditions, as well as a process where a notification must be issued to recount their precise number of families and their overall number of displaced families with the current total number. But no action has been taken so far on this concern, even after the lapse of more than seven decades. Even the Parliamentary Standing Committee for the Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir Displaced Persons had recommended in 2014 that the enumeration of the Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir Displaced Persons is necessary.
The committee takes into account the fact that non-registered families are not given proper relief and compensation amounts. The committee is of the view that for that purpose, a fresh enumeration is necessary. The Parliamentary Standing Committee also felt that in order to understand the problems being faced by 1947 Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir displaced persons and to have updated policy guidelines for them, it is an appropriate step that their enumeration be done at the earliest. The committee therefore recommended that the Government take adequate steps immediately to ensure official registration of displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir areas in order to ensure that the benefits of schemes meant for PoJK DPs reach the targeted group. If a fresh enumeration of 1947 Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir displaced persons living in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country is done, it will also simplify the process for granting Schedule Tribe status to Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir displaced persons residing in Jammu and Kashmir as well as other parts of the country in the near future as the bill granting Schedule Tribe status to the Pahari Ethnic group is introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Pahari ethnic group of Jammu and Kashmir has been fighting for Schedule Tribe status for many years, and the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir displaced persons are members of this Pahari Ethnic group.
As a result of their forced displacement after Pakistan’s first offensive against India, particularly on Jammu and Kashmir territories, which were illegally and forcibly taken, they have lost their identities. Even after 75 years of displacement, no comprehensive study of these impoverished people has been carried out. Knowing their socio-economic status, common ethnic characteristics, history, anthropology, ethnic identification, customs, traditions, location, literacy level, access to communication, employment, economy, and social backwardness was vital. The 1947 Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir displaced persons living in Jammu and Kashmir as well as other parts of the country should be regularly registered, and the Central government and the administration of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir should start this process right away. A specific I.D. number will also be given to the registered displaced person and their family as part of this procedure.
The immediate enumeration procedure won’t take very long, and the registration procedure should go on to ensure that every 1947 Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir displaced person, whether left out or not, gets routinely recorded. This process of enumeration not only benefits the 1947 Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir displaced persons in the rehabilitation process, which also includes other social, political, and reservation benefits, but it also streamlines the procedure so that the government will know the precise number and can provide the schemes and other benefits to the targeted group in a straightforward manner. The Central Government is trying to improve every aspect of society in Jammu and Kashmir under the dynamism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and to put an end to the discrimination that the impoverished masses have been subjected to for the past seven decades.
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