Jammu- Ruldu Ram’s joy knew no bounds after he voted for the first time in his life at the age of 90, nearly eight decades after migrating from Pakistan during the Partition. He was among hundreds of West Pakistan refugees in the border town of R S Pura who cast their votes for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
“I voted for the first time. I was not entitled to vote before. We came from West Pakistan in 1947,” he said.
This marks a historic moment for many who have long lacked political representation in the J&K assembly for the past 75 years.
Around 1.5 to 2 lakh people residing in various areas of Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts, particularly in the border regions, members of three communities — West Pakistan refugees (WPR), Valmikis, and Gurkhas — finally have domicile status following the abrogation of articles 370 and 35-A.
This made them natives of J&K and therefore get rights to vote in the assembly elections, employment, education and land ownership. Previously they could only vote in the Lok Sabha polls. In July of this year, the J&K administration decided to grant proprietary rights to WPR families for the state land allocated to them during their resettlement after the 1947 migration.
“For us, it is a national festival today. It is a red-letter day in the history of these three communities, particularly West Pakistan refugees. We became part of true democracy in Jammu and Kashmir as we exercise our right to vote for the first time in our lifetime today,” President of the West Pakistan Refugees Action Committee Labha Ram Gandhi said.
Gandhi, who led the celebrations of the community in the border town, also known as the home of Basmati rice growers, said this was a dream come true for the community which had so far lived as “unwanted citizens”.
This paves the way to elect an MLA from the community in the future, said the 63-year-old refugee leader whose name in the electoral roll at the Nundpur polling station in Samba.
“Credit goes to the prime minister and home minister for revoking Article 370, which enabled us to become voters of Jammu and Kashmir. We are grateful to them,” he added.
According to records, 5,764 families of WPRs settled in various parts of Jammu after escaping West Pakistan during the Partition in 1947. The number of WPRs has increased to over 22,000 families or 1.5-2 lakh individuals.
Ahead of voting day in the final phase of polls in J&K, West Pakistan refugees celebrated by carrying out a parade through the markets in R S Pura’s Purnapind area as hundreds of community members danced to beats of dhols and bands.
They visited a temple, offered prayers and exchanged sweets on the occasion. Similar scenes of celebration were witnessed in Samba and Akhnoor as well.
Enthusiasm was high among WPR voters at several polling booths in Charka, Bishnah, Chabbay Chak, Bhour Pind, Maira Mandrian, Kot Ghari, and Akhnoor in the Jammu and Samba districts.
Fifty-two-year-old Parveen Kumar, whose family had fled during the Partition and camped in R S Pura’s Bhour camp area, voted at Bhour Pind.
He said, “The decades-old curse has been lifted today as we become voters of J&K. My father Nirmal Chand was a matriculate when they came here. He did not get any job when in 1947, a matriculate could secure positions like Tehsildars and officers. He was forced to do labour to feed his family. Who is responsible for that?”
“It was all because of Article 370, which barred us from becoming citizens of J&K. But we are thankful to Modi ji, who changed our fate. It is a festival for us. This day will be etched in the memory of all of us,” Kumar added.
Mohinder Kumar, whose family came from Jhelum town in Pakistan and settled in Jammu, arrived with his son Ankit to vote at the Gandhi Nagar polling station.
“We lived under the symbol of the half-moon and star (Pakistan flag) for 75 years in Jammu and Kashmir. There was a black spot on our foreheads. Today, it has been removed by the central government. It is a national festival for us,” Kumar said.
Sikh Magar Singh (80), whose family came from a village in Pakistan after losing four family members to communal violence there in 1947, said the first generation who migrated are voting along with the young generation for the first time in the assembly elections.
“We thank the prime minister for restoring the respect and dignity of over 2 lakh people by granting them citizenship. It restored all our rights, including the right to vote, the right to jobs, and the right to own land. It is a moment of celebration for us,” he said.
Twenty-year old Trishika and her grandmother Sarveshwari Devi voted at a polling station in the border area of Akhnoor.
Around 2,000 members of the Gurkha community in Jammu’s Gorkha Nagar, too, are brimming with excitement now that they have voting rights.
Long denied the right to vote, members of the Valmiki community also exercised their franchise for the first time in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections on Tuesday and termed it as a “historic moment”.
The Valmikis were originally brought to J&K in 1957 from Punjab’s Gurdaspur district for sanitation work by the state government.
“I am a first-time voter at the age of 45. In my lifetime. We are thrilled and filled with enthusiasm to participate in J&K’s assembly elections for the first time. It is like a big festival for us,” Gharu Bhati, who voted at a polling station in Jammu, said.
Bhati, who has led efforts for over 15 years to secure citizenship rights for his community said, “This is a festival for the entire Valmiki community. We have voters as old as 80 and as young as 18. Two generations before us were denied this right, but justice prevailed when Article 370 was abrogated, granting us citizenship of J&K.”
“For decades, our community, brought here for sanitation work, was denied basic rights, including the right to vote and citizenship of J&K. It is a historic moment for the entire Valmiki community,” he said.
The Valmikis along with West Pakistan refugees and Gurkha communities comprise around 1.5 lakh people. They reside in various parts of Jammu, Samba, and Kathua districts, particularly in border areas.
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