Daily Times

We know a lot about the people and the habitat of Jammu and Kashmir. However, there is a lot more left that most of us have never tried to know. For example, many Kashmiris and Pakistanis do not know that there are Kashmir properties, land, and structures in India and Pakistan, which have a ‘sovereign’ status. They are situated in India and Pakistan, but the sovereign rights vest in the administrations of Kashmir.

The immovable properties vested in the State of Jammu and Kashmir on the 15th day of August 1947 are currently managed by the Government of Pakistan, under The Jammu and Kashmir (Administration of Property) Ordinance 1961 dated 13 February 1961.

The bulk of these properties is situated in Punjab province. Other properties are situated in Sindh, KPK, and Baluchistan. The proceeds from these properties (sale, rent, and other income) are deposited in a special account called “The Sale Proceeds Account of Immovable Property of Jammu and Kashmir State.” The “Sovereign Status” of these properties is protected under article 257 (inherent) of the constitution of Pakistan.

New Delhi wants to steal bread from the mouths of the people of Kashmir.

Around 1382 Kanal of the Jammu and Kashmir land with a “sovereign status” has remained under the illegal occupation of the Government of India or citizens of India in Delhi, Haryana, Amritsar, and Chandigarh since 1946.

In a written reply to a question by Member of Legislative Council (Upper House) Bashir Ahmad Veeri, Hospitality and Protocol department revealed in October 2015 that the state land of Jammu and Kashmir measuring 1251 and 4 marlas was under illegal occupation of Bajwa Brothers to whom the land was initially leased out for a period of 5 years with effect from 1957 to 1962. The Hospitality and Protocol department further revealed that the private party had got a stay order from the court of Punjab and Haryana. Therefore the matter was sub judice. The case was listed for hearing on 20-11-2015 in the High court of Punjab and Haryana. No one knows about the fate of these proceedings.

It was also revealed in the J & K Assembly that state land measuring 32 kanals at Tapai Road, Amritsar was under illegal occupation of the family members of the original leaseholders. The land measuring 96 kanals with huge building infra-structure on it at Kashmir House, Raja Ji Marg, NewDelhi was under the occupation of Ministry of Defence, Government of India from 1946 at an annual rent of Rs. 97,642.

It is half the good news that the J & K state Government has been vigorously perusing the State land matter with the concerned ministry at the highest level right from 1977. The state land measuring 2 kanals in Chandigarh, was being “vigorously” followed up with the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India to vacate the state-owned building at SCO28-31, sector 17, Chandigarh.

Kashmir properties with “sovereign status” spread all over India continue to be illegally occupied either by the Government of India or by private Indian citizens. It is half the good news that the Government of Kashmir has remained actively engaged in a legal battle to recover these properties. The Indian action of 5 August 2019, has divested the J&K of its Assembly, Government, and laws that would protect these properties.

It is deeply disturbing that around 570133 kanals of land are under the occupation of the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir. In a written reply to Ghulam Nabi Rattanpuri’s question in the Rajya Sabha in 2012, Defence Minister A K Antony said that under the jurisdiction of the Defence Estate Office (DEO) of Udhampur that comprises-Doda, Udhampur, Ramban, Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, Kishtwar and Jammu-209239 Kanals of land are under Army occupation. While as under DEO Srinagar which comprises Anantnag, Budgam, Ganderbal, Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian, and Srinagar, the Army occupies 56221.2 Kanals of land.

The governments of Azad Kashmir and the Governments of Pakistan, past, and present did not have reliable knowledge about the Kashmir cause. They stereotyped the Kashmir case and made Indian land grab easier. Under the Governor’s rule in Kashmir (Indian administered – now occupied) CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) is preparing to take over the land of the village Ukhoo in South Kashmir.

Ukhoo is famous as the “Pencil Village” or the “Pencil wala Gaon” and exports pencils to more than 150 countries. Prime Minister Modi in his monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, said that the district was an example of how to reduce the country’s dependency on imports. “Once upon a time we used to import wood for pencils from abroad but now our Pulwama is making the country self-sufficient in the field of pencil making.”

There is no elected Government in Srinagar that would inform the Indian Prime Minister that the land of the “Pencil wala Gaon” is being taken over by his Security Forces. Covid has already hit the employment of more than 2,500 people working in the village’s 17 pencil factories and the industry supported about 250 families. After nearly two years of school closures and a dramatic drop in demand for the village’s products, factory owners reduced their workforce by more than half. Ukhoo supplies 90% of the wood (pencil slates) used in pencils manufactured in India.

A recent ministry of home affairs report said that the village would be developed as a “special zone” for manufacturing. “Now the whole country would be supplied finished pencils, manufactured completely in Pulwama,” the report noted. The CRPF has decided to evict the people of the village and deprive them of their honourable living.

Under an order, issued in October, the Government has transferred more than 65 acres of “state land” and “grazing land” to the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) to set up their camps. Ever since the lieutenant governor-led administration decided to transfer chunks of land to paramilitary forces for setting up a camp in the village, the residents, most of them farmers, say this will hit their livelihood badly as they have been tilling it for generations.

Prime Minister Modi has said that “Pulwama in Kashmir (Pencil Village) is playing an important role in educating the entire nation. Almost 90 percent of the demand for pencils in the country is met by Kashmir Valley and Pulwama has a big share in that. At one time we used to import the wood for pencils, but now, our Pulwama is making the nation self-reliant in this field.”

Chai Wala Prime Minister needs to answer, “What has changed in the character of Pencil wala Gaon”, that it needs to be depopulated for guns wielding CRPF personnel. Nothing is understandable except that New Delhi wants to steal bread from the mouths of the people of Kashmir and extinguish symbols that put Kashmir on the world’s economic map and wants to hurt the dignity of the people. “Pencil Village” of Ukhoo has placed Kashmir on the economic world map in the same manner as the Right of Self-Determination has placed Kashmir on the political world map.

The writer is President (Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights).