The Agenda for Alliance outlined by the PDP-BJP government promises “measures for sustenance and livelihood of West Pakistan refugees”.
Who are West Pakistan refugees?
During the partition, lakhs of Hindus and Sikhs migrated from Pakistan to different Indian states. A sizeable number migrated to Jammu and settled in border areas. According to figures presented in the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Assembly in 2012, 4,745 families, comprising 21,979 people, had migrated from Pakistan to J&K. The West Pakistan Refugees Action Committee says that the present population of West Pakistan refugees is 2,50,000. While these refugees settled in different Indian states and were granted citizenship rights there, those who settled in Jammu were given Indian citizenship but not made permanent residents of the state.
Why don’t they have citizenship rights in J&K?
Before the partition when J&K was ruled by Dogras, the Maharaja had enacted a law under which no outsider can settle there. Since the refugees belonged to Pakistan, they couldn’t be granted the state subject status.
Can West Pakistan refugees vote?
The West Pakistan refugees have been accorded citizenship of India and can vote in parliamentary elections. However, since they have not been given permanent residency in J&K, they can’t vote in the assembly elections.
What is the controversy surrounding these refugees?
The controversy is brewing in the state after a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) recommended that the state government should give voting and citizenship rights to these refugees. The JPC was constituted in September last year ahead of the assembly elections. It was constituted especially as the BJP made settlement of West Pakistan refugees its poll plank. The Centre announced concessions for them and asked chiefs of central forces to recruit these refugees.
Why is the settlement of West Pakistan refugees being opposed?
Voices in the mainstream and separatist camps are against giving them citizenship rights, saying it will alter the disputed nature of J&K and change the state’s demography. The separatists say that J&K is a disputed territory which can be resolved under the right to self determination guaranteed by United Nations and that settlement of non-state subjects will alter its status. They say the Indian government is trying to make demographic changes in the state by settling these non-state subjects. They have threatened of an agitation if the government proceeds in this regard. The regional parties, like separatists, feel that giving these refugees citizenship is a step towards altering J&K’s demographic status. While the NC has termed the JPC recommendations a “wicked conspiracy”, the PDP too has opposed them. The state Congress is silent on the issue.
What if J&K state subjects, who migrated to PoK or Pakistan before 1947 want to come back?
In 1977 when Sheikh Abdullah returned to power, the assembly passed the resettlement bill under which anyone outside the state who could establish that he was a J&K subject between 1947 and 1953 or a descendant, could have earned the right to return. When the bill passed by assembly went to then Governor B K Nehru, he sent it back. The assembly passed it again but Nehru refused to sign it. Since then, the case is pending before the Supreme Court. If the bill would have become a law, lakhs of Muslims who fled during the anti-Muslim riots in Jammu would have been able to return and reclaim their property.
Are recommendations of the JPC binding on J&K government?
No, the recommendations are not binding. J&K has its own constitution. During the Governor’s rule, the Centre can issue an ordinance in this effect but that would need ratification from the state legislature in the future.
