While the historic decision to abrogate Article 370 on August 5, 2019 brought a sigh of relief to several communities in J&K who were suffering for the past 70 years, the decision had a major impact on the Gorkhas in the union territory, who were allegedly leaving. discriminated against.
According to Gorkhas, the discriminatory Article 370 deprived their children of fundamental rights in J&K, who settled in the erstwhile princely state nearly 200 years ago.
“Our ancestors were part of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army and when Maharaja Ranjit Singh anointed Gulab Singh as the Raja of Jammu, he asked him to join his army and protect the people of Jammu in large numbers. Soldiers given” said Tej Bahadur, one of the progeny Gorkha soldiers.
He said that many of his generations fought for J&K from the time of Raja Gulab Singh till the post-independence wars, but despite living in J&K for more than 200 years, they were not given the right of citizenship here.
“My family members fought in wars against Pakistan in 1947, 1965 and 1971 and against China in 1962, but we were never treated as residents of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Thousands of Gorkas living in different parts of Jammu region were denied Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) and hence were not eligible to buy immovable property, apply for government jobs, study in government-run educational institutions And their children were deprived of all state scholarships.
“During the time of the Maharaja we were allotted a small plot of land (three marlas), at that time it was enough for a family, but as time passed and families grew we were not able to go out and buy land. , so we had to manage that small plot itself,” said Kishan Bahadur.
The Gorkha residents of Jammu and Kashmir, who, after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, enjoy all the benefits and privileges that are being enjoyed by every other citizen of Jammu and Kashmir, said on August 5, 2019. The decision taken ended 200 years. of discrimination against his entire community.
“In the history of our 200 years in Jammu and Kashmir, August 5, 2019 will always remain as a golden chapter, it is the day when the devastation that our forefathers and our generations had endured finally came to an end. Every year we celebrate this day as a festival.”
The Gorkhas in Jammu said that for the last 70 years their elders tried their best by persuading the state governments to give them citizenship rights, but it never happened.
Bahadur said, “Our representations were sent in the dustbins by successive governments, but after the abrogation of Article 370, we have got all the rights and privileges which were enjoyed by the ordinary citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.”
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