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Stop raising emotive issues in legislature 3/19/2015 9:22:29 PM When one independent MLA,Engineer Rashid, demanded that all the west Pakistan refugees be sent back to Pakistan he seemed to have displayed his passion for raising emotive issues without realising whether Pakistan was ready to accept these refugees back or not.It is time for Engineer Rashid to understand the plight of Hindus in Pakistan and if he studies the issue thoroughly he is sure to come to the conclusion that these refugees would prefer death in Jammu to returning to Pakistan.Well Engineer Rashid has given vent to sentiments of majority of Kashmir centric political leaders and people in the valley who continue to oppose any permanent settlement of the refugees from West Pakistan.In fact since the time the BJP led NDA Government voiced its favour of granting citizenship rights to the West Pakistan refugees as part of the plan to rehabilitate them mainstream political leaders in the Kashmir valley besides the separatists have aired stiff opposition to the plan of granting citizenship rights to non-state subjects. And when compared to refugees from Pakistan occupied Kashmir the refugees from West Pakistan are not treated as citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.Hence these West Pakistan refugees have neither the right to purchase any immovable property in Jammu and Kahmir, nor the right to vote in the Assembly election, nor are eligible for seeking services in the state Government departments and their wards are debarred from seeking admission in professional colleges in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.Once they are granted citizenship rights,they can enjoy the right to vote in the Assembly election,buy immovable property,seek jobs in the state Government offices and admission in professional colleges in Jammu and Kashmir. It is a human problem deserving some concession on humanitarian grounds.This is what the BJP leadership in the centre had conveyed to the PDP when the two were giving final touches to the Common Minimum Programme. If the majority of people in the Kashmir valley, Kashmir based mainstream political leaders and the separatists oppose to grant of citizenship rights to the refugees from Pakistan they do so under a mistaken belief that it could alter the demographic character of Jammu and Kashmir. They nurse imaginary fears that grant of citizenship rights to West Pakistan refugees can alter the muslim majority character of Jammu and Kashmir without realising that by granting citizenship rights to over one lakh refugees can never change the demographic character of the state.It is so because Muslims constitute about 98 per cent population in the Kashmir valley.Hindus constitute 65 population in the Jammu region and in Ladakh province Muslims comprise 47 per cent population against 45 per cent of Buddhists.This way by allowing over one lakh west Pakistan refugees to have permanent citizenship rights the Muslim majority character of the state cannot get altered. These very separatists,valley centric political leaders did not raise any hue and cry when refugees from Tibet,Xinjiang and other central Asian belts were settled in Kashmir.Most of them have been granted citizenship rights as some of them have owned land and houses.Possibly there was no hue and cry because majority of these refugees were Muslims.Well can it be a case of discrimination ? Why ? Since several thousand West Pakistan refugees,who had migrated from Pakistan in 1947-48,had stayed in Jammu. However,after some years they left for other states in the country,including Delhi,where they have become citizens of those states.But those who opted for staying in Jammu have neither been settled nor have become citizens of the state.It is because of the separate state subject law that has been in force since 1927.This law can be changed by amending the relevant portion of the state constitution for which there is need for support from a two-third majority of MLAs.Since the PDP and the National Conference are opposed to grant of citizenship rights to the west Pakistan refugees possibility of securing support of two-third majority of MLAs in the Assembly continues to be very remote.Yes, there is only one way.Let the PDP treat this issue on a humanitarian basis and explain to its constituents that by granting citizenship rights to the refugees from West Pakistan the demographic character of the state cannot get altered. It is better if the coalition Government issues a white paper on the matter so that people are able to understand the reality.   Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network     Comment on this Story

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