Valmikis vote for first time in Assembly polls

Jammu: Lon denied the right to vote, members of the Valmiki community exercised their franchise for the first time in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections on Tuesday and termed it as a “historic moment”.

The Valmikis were originally brought to J-K in 1957 from Punjab’s Gurdaspur district for sanitation work by the state government. “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,” Gharu Bhati, who voted at a polling station in Jammu, said.

Bhati, who has led efforts for over 15 years to secure citizenship rights for his community said, “This is a festival for the entire Valmiki community. We have voters as old as 80 and as young as 18. Two generations before us were denied this right, but justice prevailed when Article 370 was abrogated, granting us citizenship of J-K.”

“For decades, our community, brought here for sanitation work, was denied basic rights, including the right to vote and citizenship of J-K. It is a historic moment for the entire Valmiki community,” he said.

The Valmikis along with West Pakistan refugees and Gurkha communities comprise around 1.5 lakh people. They reside in various parts of Jammu, Samba, and Kathua districts, particularly in border areas.

Approximately 12,000 members of the community residing in Gandhi Nagar and Dogra Hall areas were previously deprived voting rights, education, job opportunities, and land ownership due to absence of a state subject certificate.

“Two generations of our people have lived without these rights, but justice prevailed with the abrogation of Article 370. We were once a dark spot on Jammu and Kashmir’s justice and constitutional framework. Today, as part of the largest democracy in the world, Valmiki Samaaj, West Pakistan refugees, and Gurkha communities have finally gained their constitutional rights after 75 years,” Bhati said.