Lets pay Tribute to the Martyrs by giving Permanent Residentship to them in Jammu Kashmir
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has immediately announced compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the families of deceased CRPF Jawans who have been killed in the Pulwama terror attack on 14th February in addition to providing e "complete support to the education of the ‘martyred’ soldiers' children". Even UP CM Yogi Adityanath has already announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 25 lakhs each to the families of the 12 CRPF jawans who belonged to UP along with proving a job to one family member and naming the link road in the native village after the ‘martyr’. Other states like Odisha too have announced ex gratia. But J&K Government has lagged behind once again.
Imagine how soothing and timely it would have been had the J&K Government also announced to pay special tributes in the form of right to have property & join services in J&K to the families of non permanent resident of J&K Indian citizens who have sacrificed their life for the people of J&K on 14th February in Pulwama.
Many “nonpermanent residents of J&K” have made exemplary contributions to the extent of sacrificing their life or getting inflicted with total disabilities but so far J&K governments have not come up with any regular socio economic rehabilitation programmes / policies for their families even when their ‘parent’ states have been coming forward immediately for offering some ex gratia to them in addition to the benefits / support their families are supposed to receive under provisions of services they belonged to. What has stopped J&K government from extending the socio- economic benefits to non- permanent resident martyrs has been asked many a times in the past by people like me inspite of the fact that there are provision available for even granting the status of permanent resident of J&K to the non permanent resident Indian citizens ?
The channels for making one to ‘ship in’ the arena of Permanent Resident of J&K have not been totally blocked by Section- 6 of J&K Constitution since there are also Section-8 as well as Section-9 ( ofcourse Section-147 too ) in Constitution of J&K for making/ facilitating corrections / modifications / additions. So far the provisions drafted in J&K Constitution and some administrative orders of the J& K Government that have otherwise the so “ unfair” distinction of denying the fundamental rights granted under constitution of India totally to some citizens of India have not been held invalid by Indian courts since an article by the name Art-35A added in Constitution of Indian simply by a Presidential order in 1954 has so far been considered as a valid provision of COI to provide constitutional validity to such provisions/ orders .
The corrections have not been got made by the J&K political leaderships less to the benefit of the Indian citizens classified as Permanent Resident of J&K but it has been more to use the provisions made under the shelter of Art 35A to project J&K to the ‘other world’ as an Indian state different than other Indian states , it will not be an over statement if one says :it has been to use such provisions some thing like a ‘separatist’ symbol since had it not been so Indian state of J&K would have shown the courtesy of awarding the status of Permanent Resident of J&K to the families of atleast the 15 out of 21 PVC ( Param Vir Chakra) decorated non permanent resident of J&K indian soldiers who have made extreme sacrifice while protecting the borders along China & Pakistan in J&K.
And ofcourse the Indian citizens who have so far ‘enjoyed’ the status of permanent resident of J&K too have not been that serious and ‘honest’ worth paying real tributes atleast to those non permanent of JK Indian citizens who have been making extreme sacrifices for protecting the borders and people in J&K by not putting needed pressures on the local governments / legislators all these years. They should do it now.
J&K is under President Rule in February 2019, the present Governor Satya Pal Malik has initiated some very daring but legitimate administrative as well as legislative corrections , will he take the initiative at least now after the Pulwama incident and make a beginning by making the way for awarding the status of Permanent Resident of J&K to atleast families of over 40 CRPF men killed in Pulwama blast as well as awarding Permanent Resident of J&K status to atleast families of 20 Indian soldiers decorated with PVC after since 1947 ? ( Subedar Major and Honorary Captain Bana Singh, is the only PVC decorated Permanent Resident of J&K who captured Quaid post on 26 June 1987 in Siachen that has been now named ‘Bana Top’).
Ofcourse Governor administration can undo the lapse by making a statement immediately and complete the job through proposals for bringing a Presidential ordinance in this regard even before getting through the proposals like that of reservations in education as well as government services for some communities / sections of the society based on economic ( like extending 124th Constitutional amendment ) or ethnic criteria. No any ‘impossible’ amendment to Constitution of J&K is required to be made by the state legislature ( when ever in place ) for this purpose since J&K constitution already has Section-8 in the constitution and that has to be simply made use of for legitimizing the ordinance.
‘People of J&K’ must have on their agenda priority first to see that the families of the Martyrs share the lands and legislature in J&K with the Permanent Resident of J&K.