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Chak Jaffar (Jammu):
Tears effectively up within the eyes of 87-year-old Lal Chand and his 82-year-old spouse Trivita as they maintain up their inked fingers after casting their votes within the third section of District Development Council (DDC) elections at a polling station in Jammu on Friday.
“Today, our wish to vote once in our lifetime was fulfilled,” mentioned the couple in unison.
Mr Chand and his spouse are West Pakistan refugees who fled to India throughout the Partition in 1947. They, together with practically 1.50 lakh others grew to become eligible to vote in Jammu and Kashmir’s native elections after the Centre abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5 final yr, paving the best way for granting them domicile standing.
“This is first time in my life that I have cast a vote,” mentioned Mr Chand, who was simply 14 years previous when he fled from West Pakistan in 1947.
“Our last wish has been fulfilled,” he mentioned.
Mr Chand and Ms Trivita weren’t the one ones ecstatic to have exercised their franchise.
Their village, Chak Jaffar, house to a number of different West Pakistan refugees, wore a festive look. People, young and old, danced to drum beats as they celebrated “independence” and shedding the “unwanted citizens” tag.
President of Pakistan Refugees Action Committee Laba Ram Gandhi led the celebrations and danced with different members of the neighborhood.
“We are very happy to have voted in these elections. It is a message to the entire country that justice has been done to us after seven decades. We got our independence today,” Mr Gandhi mentioned.
The villagers thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for giving them their rights.
“We thank Modi ji and Amit Shah ji. They have done justice with us. We were living as unwanted citizens of Jammu and Kashmir. We had no rights, from voting to getting jobs. Now we are proud citizens of Jammu and Kashmir. Now our children will get all the rights,” a villager, Sukh Ram, 80, mentioned.
“It feels like a rebirth for us. It seems like we have started a new life. It is all because of the prime minister,” he mentioned.
Another villager, Asha Devi, mentioned, “Now our children will not live a miserable life as we did. They will have rights to vote, jobs, education and own property.”
Till August 5 final yr, aside from parliamentary elections, these refugees have been barred from voting in Jammu and Kashmir’s meeting, panchayat and concrete native physique polls.
The refugees, who migrated from elements of west Punjab and Gujarat that are actually in Pakistan, have been additionally barred from authorities jobs, scholarships and admission in faculties, welfare schemes, and proper to personal land.
The refugee youths are largely illiterate and earn their livelihood by working as labourers in agriculture fields in border belts of RS Pura, Samba, Hiranagar and Jammu, whereas the aged work as home assist.
After the scrapping of Article 370 final yr, West Pakistan refugees cannot solely vote in native elections but additionally contest polls.
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