A one-day seminar on the topic “Contextualizing the Real Issues of PoJK DPs in the Emerging Socio-Political Scenario” was jointly organized by PoJK Pahari Speaking DPs Forum, Sharnarthi Action Committee, SoS International and MJR47 on Sunday (May 1) at SV Farms, R.S. Pura. More than 150 individuals participated in the seminar. The seminar was conducted in two sessions. In the first session, the representatives, namely from various organizations fighting for issues of the PoJK DPs, spoke on the topics allotted to them. TR Shastri, Retd JKAS officer, chaired the first session, and the representatives of various DPs organizations expressed their views on the topics allotted to them.
Rajeev Chuni, President of SoS International, while speaking on the topic Unsettled Resettlement of PoJK DPs, highlighted the unsettled status of land, compensation, Political Reservation for DPs, Quota in admission to various technical and professional institutions of Higher education. S Suchwant Singh, Chief Spokesperson, MJR47, spoke on Political Apathy and Question of Political Representation for PoJK DPs and highlighted the Political neglect of the genuine issues of PoJK DPs and how the issues can be properly represented. He emphasized that these issues can only be resolved by reserving one-third of the seats in the J&K legislative assembly for PoJK DPs.
Antar Nirav, Pahari Poet and Writer, expressed his views on Politics of Exclusion over Pahari Identity and explained that PoJK DPs are original Pahari people and how the larger movement for Pahari identity has systematically marginalized them. He emphasized ethnically that PoJK DPs are Pahari and deserve the 4% Reservation under the Pahari Speaking People category. S Gurdev Singh, President of Sharnarthi Action Committee, shared his views on Unsettled Issues of PoJK DPs: Challenges and Way Forward and threw light on how the committee has spearheaded the movement for the rights of the PoJK DPs since 1947. He emphasized that the PoJK DPs need a credible redressal of their long unresolved real issues rather than hollow slogans, and the leadership needs to genuinely focus on the resolution of PoJK DPs here rather than the projection of taking back the territory of PoJK as the ultimate solution. He expressed people are more important than the territory.
Speaking in the second session, the spokesperson of the congress party, J&K Sh. Ravinder Sharma urged members of all political parties to rise above party politics to achieve the genuine issues of PoJK DPs. He said that he would pursue the interests of PoJK DPs within the congress party. Ashok Khajuria, convener BJP refugee cell, ensured that his party is committed to the cause of DPs of PoJK. He also informed that his party has smoothly dispersed the compensation amount of 5.5 lakh to families of PoJK DPs. Whereas convener of AAP Sh. Om Parkash Khajuria asserted the long neglect of PoJK DPs and urged all DPs to adopt a political line that can claim the community’s due rights. Sh. Pawan Raina, secretary J&K congress and Sh. Mohinder Raina, vice-president of Shiv Sena J&K, also expressed their view on the main theme of the seminar.
While concluding the seminar, all the participants collectively adopted four resolutions
1- that the government should reserve 1/3 of seats for PoJK DPs in the legislative assembly of J&K.
2- To implement the package as recommended by the parliamentary panel on Home Affairs of 2014 in full.
3- To include the leftover families of PoJK in the said package.
4- 4% PSP reservation should be immediately given to the PoJK DPs.
