No one understands the agony of country division more than those who lost everything in the 1947 partition. Refugees from PoJK reached every nook and corner of the country, but those who came and settled in Jammu and Kashmir were the worst sufferers. While one refugee, I.K. Gujral, became the Prime Minister of India, those who came to Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of even voting rights in the state elections. No compensation, no jobs, and left to fend for themselves for almost seven decades What can be more tragic than the fact they were refugees in their own country? Articles 370 and 35 A ensured that these people had no future for their children and would be treated like children of a lesser god. These include the survivors of the Mirpur massacre who somehow were lucky enough to survive, but the rest of their lives here were also miserable. In the rest of India, fellow countrymen embraced them with open arms, and they held top positions in government as well as successful businessmen. They flourished and gelled out in India like any other citizens. Their scars of displacement healed up fast, but the PoJK refugees of Jammu and Kashmir were left on their own, isolated, and treated destitute with absolutely no vision plan for them. The same was the story of Chamb migrants, who were given alternative land only to till, not permanent rights, with the result that they received no compensation when BSF took certain portions of land to get IB wired. The situation of Valmikis and Gurkhas was even worse, as their children had to do only menial work like their parents, and there was no permanent resident certificate for PoJK refugees, Valmikis, or Gurkhas.
But the abrogation of Article 370 has changed everything. GoI understood their sufferings, and the rest is history. The present government has ensured that every PoJK refugee, Valmikis, and Gurkha gets their due domicile certificates without any trouble. Almost 21,000 such certificates have been issued to people residing outside Jammu and Kashmir. Massive relief worth Rs 1,552 crores was sanctioned, and almost Rs 1,452 crores have been distributed. Almost five thousand applications were submitted late, and the LG administration is attempting to sort through them all. With one stroke of the pen, the history of miseries has been deleted. The government is trying its best to provide every possible help to them to rebuild their lives anew.
This new India is assertive, ready to stand up and fight for their rights, and it is now the right time to claim our PoJK, illegally occupied by Pakistan since independence. The creation of Pakistan was a disaster, as has been proven time and again without any doubt. The atrocities done to minorities are state policies with the simple aim of making Pakistan a heterogeneous state with no religious or social tolerance. Medieval-era laws are implemented to torture minorities, and once sizable, these communities have either disappeared or are on the verge of it. People in PoJK are the worst sufferers; with no democratic rights, Pakistan has installed a dummy government pursuing its agenda. The mineral-rich PoJK is being pondered like anything, and people are butchered if even a whimper of protest is registered. With Pakistan on the verge of failure, the plight of this always-neglected lot can be imagined. “Akhand Bharat” is going to be a reality soon. India is capable of taking care of everyone.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
