Jammu Tawi, September 13 (KIP): If the refugees from West Pakistan have
filed yet another petition in the Supreme Court seeking Court order
on abrogation of Article 35-A they are not to be blamed. During the
last several decades, in fact right from the partition of India they
have been given a raw deal.
These refugees feel that they had sinned by settling in Jammu where their live in houses but these houses are not in their names.
Under Article 35-A they have no right to buy immovable property in the state. Under the same Article neither they can vote for the Assembly elections nor seek admission in educational institutions run by the state Government for their wards nor can they seek employment in Government offices.
And recently the central Government decided to issue identity cards to them and this was mistaken for state subject certificates. These identity cards have become necessary because during search operations against the militants these refugees from Pakistan are in soup in the absence of any identity cards.
And what causes aware among the Kashmir centric politician is that their permanent settlement may alter the demographic character of the state. How can a few thousand people can alter demography of the state?
Former union minister and former Member of Parliament, Saifuddin Soz has said people of the State should take note that
another petition has been filed by some West Pakistan Refugees (WPR) in Jammu, before the Supreme Court, also seeking revocation of Article35A.
In a statement issued here, Soz said the petition of the RSS before
the Supreme Court, seeking revocation of the Article 35A of the
constitution of India has assumed further dimensions with portents of
considerable importance to the J&K State. However, as a matter of fact the petition has been filed by an NGO ‘We the Citizens' at New Delhi
“The RSS and its designs should not distract our attention from the
fact that we live in a democratic country where a sound judicial
system is in shape,” he said in the statement.
Soz said in fact, the refugees want protection of their rights as
permanent residents under Article 35A. “I think I must plead with the
people of Jammu and Kashmir to remain steadfast when the system wants
to respond to the aspirations of certain sections of society including
the refugees,” he said.
