Remembering Fellow Refugee, Dr. Manmohan Singh
Kashmiri Refugees aka Kashmiri Migrants aka Internally Displaced
Kashmiris, fled Kashmir due terrorism; most of us fled in January’1990
and moved to refugee camps in Jammu; with Government providing a tent
per family to live. Sometime in 1999, tents got replaced by asbestos
roofing; with poor sanitation, no drinking water, no drainage and
irregular electricity.
We would be switching off the only light bulb in the tent/room, for
our women to change clothes. Many of us died due to sun stroke,
snake/scorpion bites; our elders dying within a few years of moving to
the camps in Jammu. Young couples had no privacy, reducing the
birthrate of the community and bringing a culture of late marriages.
There were no medical dispensary and no proper schools, in the camps.
Our lives became a living hell in summers, with mercury touching
around 44 degrees centigrade.
In October 2004, I got to know from the media that the Prime Minister
(PM) Dr. Manmohan Singh was visiting Jammu. I wrote to the PM; urging
him to visit us. To my surprise, PM Singh visited Muthi Camp at Jammu,
on 18th November’2004; the Muthi camp houses families, who have lost
their kin to terrorism.
At the camp PM Singh said, “he had come to share our pain”; and
empathised as a fellow refugee; sharing his experience as a refugee.
Singh said the government would work sincerely towards mitigating our
problems. Terming as genuine our demands for — permanent
rehabilitation, jobs, compensation for our damaged and encroached
houses, land and temples; minority community status. This was followed
by a visit of a team from the PMO, who assessed our requirements in
employment, education, health and rehabilitation.
The following stands done, as of today:
A) A township at Jagti on the outskirts of Jammu; providing housing
and infrastructure with Community Halls, Higher Secondary School,
Prime Health Centre, Water Supply, Electric Supply, 40 bed hospital,
Road & Drainage, STP plant, Parks etc under Prime Ministers
Reconstruction Program (PMRP).
B) Nearly 6,000 Government jobs were provided to Displaced
Kashmiris; back in their districts, in Kashmir, under the PM
Employment Package. Giving impetus to reverse migration and our
resettlement in Kashmir.
Since 2014, the NDA Government, continued with the same policy impetus
and made the above possible; augmenting flats for PM Package employees
at Districts in Kashmir; filling the vacancies, providing funds and
streamlining the process.
Displaced Kashmiri is a civilizational wound on the collective
consciousness of the Country; and a tragedy for the mankind. Rehabilitating them and addressing their
concerns, is a small step in healing this wound. There is so much more
that needs to be done; irrespective of the Government in power; Dr.
Manmohan Singh made the beginning in 2004.
Reapan Tikoo
A displaced Kashmiri, remembering with gratitude, Dr. Manmohan Singh
on his birthday; a fellow refugee, whose empathy, improved our lives.
