By Daya Sagar
The unofficial quotes of ‘elders’ may not be that exact but can surely present the agony that the uprooted families might have faced in 1947. Many of the families could not even carry with them their property and other records. It may surprise many that neither Govt of India nor J&K Government can this day tell the number of the families that were displaced from the Mirpur District, Muzaffrabad district, Gilgit, Baltistan, Skardu and like areas in 1947. As per unofficial quotes nearly 15,000-20,000 families might have lost some of their dear ones while fleeing from the occupied areas and about 3000 – 5000 families might have been fully eliminated enroute.
Inspite of repeated requests from civil society including persons like the writer, so far even after nearly 70 years of displacement, what to talk of rehabilitating these families through some designated special socio- economic support and compensating them for the claims of the properties left behind that have remained unpaid for over 6 decades no any intentions have been shown by GOI / State government to even know the exact likely number of families displaced in 1947 from POJK areas. Going by the rough estimates and by the expressions of some elders of these families the total number in 1947/48 may be around 40,000 to 45,000 since many families did not apply for ex gratia in 1960 because they did not fall in the criteria as was fixed by government , many heads of families were killed by the invaders while fleeing from POJK and many families under the stresses of the havoc they had faced went to even other Indian states (state government quotes the number of such families as 5,300).
Due to splits and growth, the number of families in 2016 may be something like 1,30,000 to 1,50,000 or even more.
What to talk of taking the issues of 1947 POJK DPs with compassion, it has been so painful that those 1947 POJK DPs whose information is also available with the government but are staying in states other than J&K have been excluded from the definition of 1947 DPs from POJK through an Act of J&K Legislature passed in 1971 (The Jammu And Kashmir Displaced Persons ( Permanent Settlement ) Act 1971 Act No X of 1971 ) and the number of such families is mentioned as 5300 by J&K Government. State Government had sent on 22.10.2014 proposals to GOI for making some payments to POJK DPs as ‘one time settlement’ but the state government had excluded these 5300 families from the accounted for stake-holders and taken into account only 26319 families out of the half data of 31619 for the 1947 POJK DP families available with Government while working out demands at the rate Rs 25 lakh per family.
How strange, the J&K Government had disowned its 5300 own families of Permanent Resident of J&K. And to add to it no one including the leadership of POJK DPs, has questioned Act No 10 of 1971 as well as the approach adopted by J&K government for working out the funds requirement even after 2014.
Proposals sent by J&K government to Ministry of Home Affairs GOI under D.O. letter No. Rev/Rehab/08/2011 dated 20-10-2014 for rehabilitation for one time full and final settlement of the claims of the pojk displaced persons of 1947 and Chamb displaced persons lacked logical considerations from many angles.
The clarifications and information sought by GOI vide D.O. Letter no :31/1/2011R&SO( Part-II) Dated 07-11-2014 and Letter no :31/1/2011R&SO( Part-II) Dated 21-11-2014 addressed to Secretary Revenue J&K Government too have not been fairy attended /sent even after two years ( 2016) by the BJP – PDP . No doubt it was not possible for JK Government to provide all the working details asked for by GOI from available records since for that some new exercises and actions had to be initiated but the BJP- PDP Government could at least correct the funds requisition ( from Rs.9096 Cr to Rs.10 421 Cr taking total 41684 families of 1947 ( 31619) /1965 (3500) /1971 (6565) POJK DPs instead of 36,384 families i.e 26,319 plus 3,500plus 6,565) by taking into account 5,300 DPs ( as per statement of the Government ) who went for immediate shelter / survival support in1947/48 outside J&K in other Indian states .
More so it is surely wrong on the part of J&K Government to say that 5300 families from POJK opted to settle outside J&K since no such option was neither asked by Government nor did people had any reasons for exercising such option if asked for as per records / information available.
More so, in case inclusion of left out DP families for assistance .made in the proposal sent by state government in Oct 2014 are also accepted ( which will have to be ultimately accepted so as to let the process go ahead with out any interruption ) then how the cases will be processed would be a big question in the absence of there being a regular department for these families for identification, verification and certification. …
To be Continued
(Daya Sagar is a Sr Journalist and a social activist can be reached at [email protected])
