JAMMU, Jun 18: The Jammu Kashmir Sharnarthi Action Committee (JKSAC) has appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to take up with the Central Government the issue of creating a special provision in the upcoming Census 2027 for collecting accurate data on families displaced from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) during the 1947 partition and presently settled in Jammu and Kashmir as well as other parts of the country.
In a statement, JKSAC President Gurdev Singh said that despite the passage of nearly eight decades since Partition, no comprehensive registration or enumeration of PoJK displaced families has been undertaken by any government. He said the proposed census exercise would help ascertain the exact population of displaced persons (DPs) and provide an authentic database for future policy planning and rehabilitation measures.
Gurdev Singh reiterated the long-standing demand of PoJK displaced families for political representation in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. He said the community has consistently sought allocation of seats from the 24 Assembly constituencies kept vacant for the areas of the erstwhile state presently under Pakistan’s illegal occupation.
“The displaced families have been waiting for over seven decades for justice and meaningful representation. In the absence of elected representatives from the community, many of their genuine concerns relating to rehabilitation, welfare and political rights have remained unresolved,” he said.
The JKSAC president recalled that several committees and commissions constituted over the years had recommended de-freezing a portion of the vacant seats for representation of displaced persons. He also referred to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, headed by former Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, which in its 183rd report presented in Parliament in December 2014 had advocated early action on the issue.
Expressing disappointment, Gurdev Singh said that even after the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, no substantial progress has been made on the matter. He further pointed out that although a provision was created before the 2024 Assembly elections for nomination of one representative from among the 24 vacant PoJK seats, the nomination has not been made even after the formation of the Assembly.
Claiming that the displaced population from PoJK may exceed 11 lakh, he said that based on their numerical strength, at least six to eight Assembly seats could be earmarked for their representation.
The JKSAC appealed to the Union Government, Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister to initiate a fair and transparent exercise for enumeration of PoJK displaced families and ensure adequate political representation for a community that continues to await justice and recognition after decades of displacement.