The first victims of regular 22 Oct 1947 onslaught by Military & Tribals are still suffering after 7 decades
   22-Oct-2018
 
 
 Daya Sagar 
 
Although the troubles on the borders of the then Princely State of J&K along Pakistan side had started in early September 1947 with the consent/ under the designs of the Government of Pakistan but the final open attack was launched on J&K by Pakistan ‘regulars’ along with ‘tribals’ on 22nd Oct 1947 and some people in Muzaffrabad had started noticing the ‘attackers’ armed with regular weapons / swords/ axes moving towards them in lorries / trucks a day earlier itself.
 
It was on 5th October 1947 that Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru Ji , the Prime Minister of India wrote to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel , the Home Minister <quote> “ I enclose a brief statement of Devan Shiv Lal who has been the Deputy Commissioner of Dera Ismail Khan in the Frontier. Shiv Saran Lal’s statement demonstrates the immediate danger to Kashmir State…. I think you should also inform the Maharaja of Kashmir. Maharaja has some knowledge of this already….”. <unquote>.The statement of Shiv Saran Lal said <quote> “ About a fortnight back a scheme had been started to send armed tribal people to the Pakistan Kashmir border from Malakand to Silkot. Transported by lorries( civilians as well as military) to be provided by Pakistan Government . Arms confiscated and seized from non muslims in these areas are being supplied to the tribal people …. ) (unquote). This means had the actions been taken for accession to India Dominion by Maharaja of J&K and for responding to arms request for the Maharaja Government by GOI many people of J&K and some areas of J&K would not have been mutilated. Mirpur would not have fallen on 25 November 1947 , that too after one of the Accession as was done on 26 Oct 1947.
 
Large majority of the people displaced from ‘PoK’ (POJK) in 1947 /48 due to Pakistan attack are Hindu and are those of Sikh Panth from Mirpur and Muzaffrabad Districts of J&K. Where as there was lesser displacement from Gilgit- Baltistan areas of Ladakh region of the then Indian Princely state of J&K (it was more due to distances/ remoteness and religious affiliations).
  
There was hardly any family who had not lost some of their kin to the sword / axe of the tribal raiders aided and abetted by Pakistan government. While fleeing for life many of them were not able to carry even their personal documents with them and had remained occupied with horrific memories death/ destruction/rapes/ self immolation / suicides or even killing of young girls by own parents for saving their honor for atleast about 3 decades thereafter.
 
Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, the then Prime Minister of J&K in 1950 named the uprooted local people of J&K as Displaced Persons vide order No. 1476-C of 1950 dated 16.12.1950 while those who had left Jammu & Kashmir and gone to Pakistan ( West Punjab) on their own were termed as migrants. This clearly shows the graveness of the conditions under which these people had to leave POJK.
 
But the miseries and continued neglect faced by these families ( 1947 POJK DPs), even after their displacement and having landed in safe zones in other Indian states, could be well assessed from the fact that so far neither Government of India nor Government of J&K has initiated any process even for their regular registration and to their real number count what to talk of providing logical socio- economic support they deserved. Secretary to J&K Government (Rehabilitation -1974 Department), Jammu in response to views sought vide communication No. RS5 (18)/78-Com. II dated 27 July, 1979 by a Rajya Sabha Committee on Petitions ( Persons uprooted from Pak occupied areas of J&K State ) had Vide letter No. RAHAB-9/II/79 dated 27.11.79 summarized that (a) there was no agency to register these refugees immediately on their entry into the State (b) there was no formal; registration of these DPs.
 

 
 
Any one can imagine the extent of pennilessness, agony and helplessness of the Displaced families from Pakistan Occupied Areas of J&K (POJK DPs) in their early days in the ‘fact’ that some parents even got the age of their 3 year infant entered as 6 years or more just to get Rs. 10 /pm as ration money per head ( max Rs.50 per month per family ) . What to talk of increasing the scale, even that very meager financial support ( max. Rs.5 per family) by local government for survival ) was only provided for some time and had been discontinued thereafter.
 
The people (POJK DPs 1947) who had left all their movable as well as immovable properties behind while running for ‘life’ under the pressures of the external aggression by Pakistan have been given all these years false assurances by the Government of India as well as the state governments that they will surely get back their land from the illegal occupation of the Pakistan and displaced population will be honorably rehabilitated on the lands / in the properties left back in the occupied areas. Claims of the properties left behind have not been given to these displaced persons as have been given to other 1947 refugees from Pakistan who migrated to Indian side in view of the 1947 partition of India under the plea that they can not be treated as refugees since the areas left by them are Indian territory. For property and material that would cost Rs.1000 in 1947 the compensation if paid after 6 to 7 decades should have been atleast Rs.22.22 Lac in 2015 just by taking 12 % interest annually compounded on cost equivalent. But only Rs.5.5 Lac per family of 1947 times as “one time settlement” has been sanctioned by GOI under PM Development Programme 2015. Where as at today’s scales may be atleast on an average Rs.50 Lac/ family 1947 will have to be paid on account as adhoc grant in aid for properties lost since the composite evaluation exercise as an when (if) started may take another decade and this adhoc payment could be adjusted in the actual amounts worked out.
 
Where as so ‘painfully’ and uncaringly what to talk of NC- Congress Government (2014 ) and PDP-BJP Government 2015 even Government of India too has excluded the 5300 families of 1947POJK DPs recorded with government but staying outside J&K in other Indian states from the ‘register’ of beneficiaries of even the meager amount Rs 5.5 Lac amount to be paid as one time settlement to the POJK DPs while conveying approval of GOI for Rehabilitation package for the Displaced Families from POJK 1947 and Chhamb under the Prime Minister’s Development Package for J&K 2015 – Central assistance of Rs.2000 Cr for 36384 families from POJK of 1947 and Chhamb displaced persons of 1965 and 1971 as one time settlement - to J&K Government ( Chief Secretary) under letter No. 31/01/2011-R & SO dated 22-12-2016 s/d by Director Rehabilitation ,FFR Division, MHA, GOI . Where as these people before displacement belonged to the category of State Subjects of Jammu & Kashmir ( Class-I, Class-II and Class-III) and now fall in the category of Indian Citizens classified as Permanent Residents of J&K as per Section-6 of J&K Constitution. It is unfair and illogical to pay same amount to all and that too just Rs.5.5 Lacs as ‘one time settlement’ of their claims after 7 decades.
 

 
 
The inhuman and undemocratic treatment being given to displaced families from POJK in 1947 is still continuing even in 2018 by in a way unfairly disowning about 5300 families as State Subject of J&K by unduly applying THE Jammu and Kashmir Displaced Persons (Permanent Resettlement) ACT, I97I , Act No 10 of 19711971 Act (An Act to Provide for the permanent settlement displaced persons and for matters connected herewith).No doubt the POJK DPs 1947 who were staying in other Indian states were not included in the definition of “POK’ Displaced Persons in THE Jammu and Kashmir Displaced Persons (Permanent Resettlement) ACT, I97I , Act No X of 19711971 Act since the Act was aimed at to address the issues of the families who were allotted evacue lands/ government lands and evacue properties in J&K without any ownership rights and such requirements did not exist for the POJK DP families that were Staying in other Indian states. A quick reference to Clause -2, Clause-3,Clause-4, Clause-5, Clause-6, Clause-7 and Clause-9 do reflect that the said Act was aimed at to address the issues of the families who were allotted evacue lands/ government lands and evacue properties in J&K without any ownership rights and such requirements did not exist for the POJK DP families that were Staying in other Indian states. Ofcourse the 1965/1975 Chamb families have been very rightly included in the package but one would ask when the definition of DP has been taken from the 1971 Act then how could it could be made use of there by the administration ?
 
And so it has been an error of comprehension / understanding that the definition of the “Displaced Person” as mentioned in Clause-2a as has been applied to decide the beneficiaries of the “Central Assistance for the one time settlement of displaced families from POK and Chamb under Prime Minister’s Development Package 2015” thereby excluding the 5300 POJKDP 1947 families staying in Indian states other than J&K. No doubt J&K Government had erroneously excluded these families while sending proposals of one time rehabilitation to GOI under J&K Government 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. but Government of India should have atleast made the corrections regarding POJK DPs staying out side J&K., but it was not done.
 
.It is fair time that Governor J&K uses his good offices and the constitutional provisions for ensuring a review of the manner in what the case of POJKDP1947 is being handled and immediately (i) getting included the “5300 families” of .1947 POJK DPs included in the Rehabilitation package for the Displaced Families from POJK 1947 and Chhamb under the Prime Minister’s Development Package for J&K 2015 – Central assistance of Rs.2000 Cr (ii) getting the term ‘one time settlement’ deleted from the rehabilitation package as conveyed by GOI under communication dated 22-12-2016 (iii) getting issued an all India level notice inviting application for registration of the families displaced from POJK in 1947 (iv) getting appointed a regular department for taking up issues related to POJK DPs 1947.