West PAK refugees, Valmikis vote in J&K

Jammu: A group of West Pakistan Refugees standing in a queue in Govt middle school Nihalpur in Kathua district to cast their votes.social media
Nonagenarian Ruldu Ram could not control his emotions and happiness after casting his vote for the first time in his life for the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
Ram, 92, feels proud that his vote would also matter in forming the new government in Jammu and Kashmir, as he was deprived of this constitutional right for decades together.
Although Ruldu Ram and his family have been living in the Jammu region since 1947, they were singled out to become part of forming a state government in Jammu and Kashmir. They were also denied the right to elect Panchayat members of their village.
Ram is not an isolated case; there are about 1.5 lakh voters, and the majority of them belong to Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), who were denied voting rights in Assembly, Panchayat, and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) elections.
Ruldu Ram, 92, a West Pakistani Refugees, first time cast vote in the Assembly elections in J&Ksocial media
Along with his son Arjun Kumar, Ruldu Ram exercised his right to franchise in the Prem Nagar area of Jammu district.
“First time in my life I am casting my votes in electing MLA of my choice”, Ram told media persons after exercising his right to franchise.
From Jammu city to the border areas of Kathua district, West Pakistani Refugees were over-enthusiastic for the first time cast their votes in the Assembly elections of Jammu and Kashmir, where they have been living for the last 76 years.
The refugees have reasons to be overjoyed, as it is for the first time since independence that they got a taste of real democracy.
Earlier, they used to cast their votes in Lok Sabha elections but they were not eligible for casting votes in J&K’s local elections.
As per data, there are 21,149 West Pakistani refugee families in the Jammu region. Of them, nearly 90 percent are Dalits. They are spread in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts
“First time since 1947, members of our community participate in the Assembly elections despite the fact that our families have living in villages of the Jammu region for the last 76 years,” Labha Ram Gandhi, leader of the refugees, said.
West Pakistani Refugee families have been living in rural areas since 1947 but they were outcast as refugees and denied democratic rights. Their elders had entered Jammu and Kashmir from West Pakistan during the partition.
The Valmiki community, which was long denied the right to vote, exercised their franchise for the first time in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections on Tuesday and termed it a “historic moment”. Originally brought to J-K in 1957 from Punjab’s Gurdaspur district for sanitation work by the state government, they were not considered citizens of the state, despite residing for decades.
The happiness and satisfaction after casting votes were visible on their faces. Gharu Bhati, who voted at a polling station in Jammu, said, “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.” During the voting on 24 seats of Jammu division under the third phase, the people of Valmiki community were seen overjoyed. During this, some voters of this community shared their experience .
An 85-year-old member of the Valmiki community, while talking to the news agency, said, “Today I have cast my vote for the first time. I am very happy. The only issue for us is that our children are sitting idle at home even after studying for many years. The poor should be heard.”
A young voter from the Valmiki community said, “Every government has its vote bank. When we did not have the right to vote, how would anyone have cared about us? Only the Modi government has understood our pain. We are thankful to them for this. They removed Article 370, after which the path of progress has opened up for us. The dreams of our children of business and good jobs are coming true. A boy from our community has become a JE. I have also been able to progress in my studies. I would appeal to you to choose a government that promotes development. Do not choose people who are promoting terrorism and wrong deeds.” A 45-year-old voter said, “There is a lot of curiosity. I am voting for the first time in 45 years. An 84-year-old gentleman is standing with me. India is the largest democracy but our rights were violated in Jammu and Kashmir due to some black laws, Article 370. After the removal of Article 370, the central government gave us the right to vote, put us in the Scheduled Caste. This is the society that gave cleanliness to Jammu and Kashmir, but was itself suffering from a disease – slavery and bonded labor.” He said that the main issues during voting are that the colony of the Valmiki community should be regulated. Our children who have grown up should be given jobs, those who want to do business should be given cheap loans. Apart from this, we have a lot of shortage of living space. So the government should settle us under the rehabilitation scheme. We should also get a chance to live in a good and clean environment. There are about 6-7 thousand voters of this community in Jammu. Will the voice of these people be suppressed after the formation of the new government? On this, he further said, “We have our beloved government at the center. PM Modi had also mentioned the Valmiki community four or five days ago. This makes our heart happy. He is our leader who has taken care of our deprived society. Therefore, there is no possibility that the government that comes to Jammu and Kashmir will ignore us.