Jammu: The representatives of the Displaced Persons of 1947, ’65 and ’71 on Sunday demanded that after the abrogation of Article 370, the time was ripe to “reclaim parts of Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan in the spirit of resolution passed unanimously by Indian Parliament in 1994.”
This demand was raised in “Punyabhoomi memorial meeting” organised at a grand scale at Government Padma Sachdev Women’s College, Gandhi Nagar here by RSS-backed Jammu and Kashmir People’s Forum (JKPF) to pay tributes to the people who lost lives during “Pakistan invasion on October 22, 1947” and later in 1965 and 1971.
The participants from different walks of life and whose ancestors hailed from Mirpur, Muzaffarabad, Bhimber-Kotli, Rawlakore, Bagh, Chhamb and other parts on the other side of Line of Control (LoC) recalled the poignant memories associated with their native land and the ancestors who lost lives in 1947.
Toeing the official line of the government of the day, the Displaced Persons from PoJK settled in J&K and other parts of the country, maintained that the only issue to be resolved after the abrogation of Article 370 was to take back those parts of Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan.
The Chhamb refugees, who were displaced in 1965 and 1971, also participated in the meeting which was preceded by a “Tiranga bike rally”.
Swami Vishwatmanand Saraswati Maharaj, Swami Dharamdev, central joint general secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Dr Surendra Jain, famous film actor and producer Mukesh Rishi, Renu Bhatia, Brij Bhushan Bali, Mahant Manjit Singh and Mahant Swaranjit Singh addressed the meeting. Several BJP leaders, Jammu Chamber president too participated in the meeting.
Jain, in his address, called for taking back parts of J&K “illegally occupied by Pakistan and China.” He stated that the tragedy befell on both Hindus and Muslims of PoJK alike, who wanted to be part of India, in 1947.
“But the present ruling dispensation, which abrogated Article 370 to end alienation of J&K, under the strong leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to take back parts under the illegal occupation of Pakistan and China to “complete India.” Article 370 is gone for good and contrary to the expectations of few, it can never be restored. Now J&K is witnessing a new wave of change and it is free from the rule of few families which exploited its people for their vested interests,” he stated, while taking an oblique dig at the Congress, National Conference and PDP. He averred that all the PoJK DPs should get their domicile certificates to be part of this change.
Jain lauded the Delimitation Commission for recommending reservation for PoJK DPs yet requested the Centre to defreeze at least eight seats out of 24 reserved for PoJK.
Brij Bhushan Bali said that POJK DPs struggled in life yet scaled heights in every sphere of society including judiciary, education, sports and business etc.
Chairperson of State Commission for Women Haryana, Renu Bhatia, who is also a daughter of a POJK displaced family, described the agony of displaced families who suffered the pain of invasion in 1947.
Noted actor Mukesh Rishi, who specially reached Jammu to attend the Punyabhumi memorial meeting, said that he, being a citizen of Jammu and Kashmir, understood the problems of the POJK Displaced Persons.
Mahamandaleshwar Swami Dharamdev also informed about the work being done in Haridwar with regard to POJK people. Mahant Manjit Singh discussed in detail the culture of POJK displaced society with Kirtan Garh Gurdwara and Guru Hargobind Singh Gurdwara.
Swami Vishwatmanand Saraswati, who too belonged to a PoJK displaced family, informed about religious places located there viz., ‘Maa Sharda Peeth’, ‘Mangala Mata Mandir’ etc. Senior member of Jammu and Kashmir People’s Forum, Prof Rajeev Ratan presented the vote of thanks.
Earlier, a special documentary film depicting the life of POJK refugees was screened during the event while mementoes were also presented to the guests.