UJAS continues efforts to put a human face on refugees, displaced people

Jodhpur-based Universal Just Action Society has been advocating integration of displaced communities into society and granting them long-term visas, if not citizenship

Meet Chanda Devi. Illiterate and a mother of two, she and her husband fled with their infant daughter from their village in Pakistan two years ago on a 15-day religious visa. They are yet to obtain a long-term visa in India and live in Anganwa camp outside Jodhpur. They dare not return home where young Hindu women like her face the daily fear of kidnapping, forced marriage and rape. Her family’s prospects in India aren’t too bright either: Without any valid ID papers, her two toddlers may not easily be able to go to school here. Indian citizenship remains a distant dream even as her husband works as a daily wage labourer to make ends meet.

At a time when the country has been divided in its opinion on the newly tabled Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, the human face of the refugee has been somewhat obscured by politics. In reality, religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan seek refuge in India only when they have no other option left to survive. Many manage to cross the border with no identification papers, jobs or education prospects. Which is why, as the political debate on granting early citizenship to Hindus from other countries sharpens, the work of Universal Just Action Society (UJAS), a tiny NGO in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, which advocates for religious minority refugees from Pakistan bears mention.

Set up in 2008, UJAS works to empower people like Chanda Devi and advocates for their rights. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ 1951 Refugee Convention states that any individual with a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion or nationality should be deemed a refugee.

“India is not a signatory to this convention or to its 1967 Protocol, which specifies the rights and services that host countries must provide refugees,” says Hindu Singh Sodha, founder of UJAS. Yet, Rajasthan alone has 1,000-odd settlements (12 are in and around Jodhpur itself) of Pakistani Hindus. He estimates there are over five lakh Pakistani Hindus in the state. About 13,000 have been granted citizenship since 1997.

Indian citizenship is their ultimate dream, since the law of the land treats them as “displaced” people and not refugees. “The process of gaining citizenship is complex, expensive and inconsistent,” says Sodha, a Pakistani refugee (now Indian citizen) himself. “While a few have been granted citizenship, the majority has been denied basic rights and access to government schemes such as health care, education and employment.”

UJAS has been advocating that such displaced communities be integrated into society and be granted long-term visas, if not citizenship.

“Much of our work centres around ensuring proper living conditions in these refugee camps,” says Sodha. Married off at an extremely young age and with little access to health care, education or employment opportunities, women like Chanda Devi are especially vulnerable.

Refugees at a camp

“Most bear multiple children which impacts their health,” Sodha says.

Unsurprisingly, maternal and infant mortality rates are high. Personal donations and volunteers have helped UJAS organise regular medical camps. UJAS is also training people, especially the women in these camps to use their innate needlework skills to produce marketable crafts. Recently, because of their efforts, a men’s shirt-making factory has started working with some of the women in Anganwa, enabling them to earn about Rs 350 a day.

The debate on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill might have brought refugees and displaced people into the national spotlight, but the focus on their religious identity is not helping their cause. Whether the amendment, which seeks to reduce the residency period in India for non-Muslim immigrants from 11 to six years before they can apply for citizenship, sees fruition remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Sodha and his cohorts at UJAS are continuing their efforts to put a human face on refugees and displaced people — something that could facilitate their integration into their host country better than any Bill can.
 

Names changed to protect identities

To learn more visit http://slsujas.org or follow UJAS Jodhpur on Facebook