‘Reclaim Pak occupied Jammu and Kashmir’
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 22: Various organisations of Displaced Persons (DPs) from Pak Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) paid floral tribute to the martyrs during Pakistani Tribals (Kwailis) and Pak regular army attack in 1947, in various functions organized across the region today. They also observed October 22 as Black Day.
After the partition on Aug 15 1947, Pakistan army infact, under the guise of Tribals attacked the then Princely state of J&K on Oct 22, 1947 at Muzaffrabad from Lohar Gallian Pass enroute to capital city of Srinagar, Kashmir.
In this raid about 50,000 – 70,000 innocent civilians Hindus and Sikhs men, women and children had to sacrifice their lives in the genocide of non- Muslim communities in the areas since occupied by Pakistan – Muzaffrabad, Mirpur and Poonch. More than 1.5 lakh persons (41,119 families) had to leave their home and hearth and walked miles and miles to take shelter in this part of the State and out of these 5300 families were sheltered in other states on India.
All the Central as well as State Govts have inflicted great injustice to these people by treating them as DP’s and not refugees with a false pretext that they will be sent back to their homes as soon as the areas occupied illegally by Pakistan is retrieved back and kept them rotting under sub-human conditions in more than 100 refugee camps all along the IB and LoC since 1947.
The PoJK bodies have been observing Shardhanjali Samaroh every year on Oct 22 to pay homage to the martyrs of 1947.
This year all the organisations of DPs of 1947, 65 and ’71 have come together and formed a Confederation to have a joint platform to get long awaited justice for DPs.
The Confederation held a grand function at Chatha in Jammu wherein representatives of DPs settled outside the state also participated. Hundreds of DPs attended the function and paid their heart felt homage to the martyrs. Number of speakers who were eyewitness to the carnage also narrated their painful heart touching stories.
It was widely impressed that the Govt must implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee vide it’s report 183 of 2014 as well as those of State Govt, Wadhwa Committee and other committees from time to time.
Sheikh Abdul Rehman, former MP and S. Teja Singh 102 years old eye-witness, S Suchwant Singh eyewitness were as guests of honour on the occassion. Jagjeet Singh convenor of Confederation from MJR -47, Rajiv Chuni Chairman SOS International, Adv Amrik Singh from PoJK 47 Intelectual Forum, Capt Yudhvir Singh president PoJK DPs’ Front, Vinod Kumar Chairman PoJK DP Front. PoJK Youth Refugee Forum president along with team were worked as catalyst to organise this much successful programme
Special guests were Romy Sharma from Delhi, Lavender Kour from Patiala, Om Parkash Khajuria a renowned Refugee activist. Pavneet Kaur, Harpreet singh, Vipul Bali, Binny Sharma , Narinder Sharma, Amit Kapoor, Harvinder Singh, Avtaar Singh and others.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (PoJKLF) organized a Mashal Rally in connection with Oct 22 and paid floral tributes to over 70,000 martyrs from Muzaffrabad, Mirpur, Kotli, Bagh, Poonch, Uri, Baramulla etc.Led by convener P L Sharma, the rally was taken out from Rohi Morh Gadigarh up to Airport Chowk. A large number of DPs participated in the rally.
Jammu Kashmir People’s Forum (JKPF) along with PoJK Visthapit Sewa Samiti, (VSS) J&K organised a conference advocating the reclamation of Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir. A symposium of intellectual discourse was organised today at Jammu Press Club in this connection. The event delved into the compelling theme: “Bharat ke Liye PoJK Vapas Lena Avashyak Kyun” or “Why is it imperative for India to reclaim PoJK?”
The distinguished Professor Ashutosh Bhatnagar, the Director of the Jammu Kashmir Study Centre, New Delhi, stood as the beacon of wisdom as he elucidated intricate perspectives on the historical, geographical, and strategic significance of PoJK for Bharat. With unshakable conviction, he stressed the necessity for India to reclaim this prized territory.
Professor Satnam Kour laid bare the atrocities perpetrated by the Pakistan army in 1947 and fervently emphasized the urgency of reclaiming PoJK to safeguard our borders from neighboring nations.
The illustrious Ramesh Chander Sabharwal, Chairman of the JKPF and Dr Deepak Kapoor, president of the PoJK VSS, felicitated both erudite speakers for their invaluable contributions.
Meanwhile, senior vice president of JKPCC and former MLC Ravinder Sharma has said that kin of PoJK martyrs of 1947 are craving for justice and their just demands, which need to fulfilled immediately.
Remembering the massacre of thousands of minority community members of PoJK on the day of Pakistan’s attack on the areas of Poonch, Mirpur and Muzaffrabad in 1947, Ex-MLC has said that the pain of loosing our forefathers even after seven decades , is still there. Thousands of families and their members were brutly killed and tortured, which is shocking but their survivors are still struggling to get certain rights and due benefits from the government, which is irresponsive and insensitive.
He said Centre government should resolve all pending issues of displaced people of 1947, liberate their allotted lands from illegal occupations, from more than seven decades, registration of left out families, settlement of pending claims and sanction of full package besides jobs and reservation issues as recommended and availed by a section only.
Kotli Colony Welfare Trust also paid homage to the martyrs of PoJK during Tribals’ attack in 1947 and observed Oct 22 as Black day. A function in this connection was held at Kotli Colony Jammu under the chairmanship of Chandan Datta. He projected the the pending demands of the PoJK DPs including pending part of PM package, jobs to their wards.
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