Other States - Jammu & Kashmir   

Voting right to refugees a poll issue

By Luv Puri

Suchetgarh (Jammu) Sept . 7. The denial of voting rights to over a lakh Punjabi refugees who have been living in the State for the past five decades has become an important emotive election issue in the areas along the International Border in Jammu region which go to the polls on September 24.

About 3,000 families — mainly belonging to the Scheduled Caste communities — had migrated from Pakistan in 1947 and settled down in the areas along the border in R.S. Pura and Kathua sectors. As Jammu and Kashmir had its own citizenship, namely permanent resident of the State, only a person having this citizenship was entitled to vote. Hence these refugees had been denied the right to vote and they were not eligible for any Government job. Also, they could not buy land.

Bachan Lal, a social activist spearheading the cause of these people, said, "a survey by me shows that all these refugees are poor landless labourers and belong to the lower socio-economic strata of society.'' Now, with the election campaign in these areas in full swing, political parties were promising to get them equal status.

The State Congress chief, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said, "it is unfortunate that the community is being denied the right to vote and any of its member cannot hold any office". The Congress was committed to giving them the voting right and other privileges, he said.

The ruling National Conference also promised to resolve the problem. The villagers said that even during the 1996 election campaign it had promised the same. But, instead, it took away their right to vote in the panchayat elections.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Border residents keen on participating in elections
• Voting right to refugees a poll issue
• Terrorists behind Rajiv Nagar carnage arrested
• Iftekhar Geelani chargesheeted

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu