Cave-men of Rawalpindi

Wrinkled-faced Lal Khan was sitting outside his cave-turned-hovels. His eyes fixed on the floor, his mind elsewhere. He is fantasized by the stories of his ancestors’ glory. He claimed to be the scion of a wealthy landlord owning vast land in Poonch, now situated in India-controlled Kashmir.

He was not born with silver spoon. His father, Israel Khan, now over 100, had to migrate in 1947. The divide turned him into a rolling stone with no house, no money and no respect. He failed to give better future to his children. A sea of deprivation in the eyes of Lal Khan was an evidence of his father’s and his own bad luck.

Just celebrating his 50th birthday a few days ago, Lal Khan is still waiting for a miracle that could ameliorate his nomadic life. More of less same stories every elderly member of Kashmir ‘Colony’ would narrate about himself. Some may get wrong idea of the place due to the word ‘colony.’

Established some 20 years ago on a hillock, adjacent to Adiala Road Rawalpindi, the Kashmir ‘Colony’ was a place of caves and shanties. “It was a haphazard hill. We cut it according to our needs. There used to be small caves, now converted into makeshift houses. Some traces can still be found,” Khan uttered.

The ‘colony’ consisted of not more than 100 households, and the number of dwellers runs to slightly over 800. The poverty engraves deprivation on their faces. They all belong to one single clan. They are like a one big family, which seems to have compromised with its fate.

They wear shabby clothes and eat cheapest available vegetables. Lal’s wife was ready to cook some flyblown vegetables, which she might have chopped earlier. “It has been an year sine we had purchased meat. Sometimes, the good people living in nearby bungalows give us the food.”

The colony is situated a few hundreds yards from the cozy drawing rooms of those who never get tired of making long sermons on human rights and dignity. Less than half a kilometer big Askari Housing Schemes reflect the ‘glory’ of armed forces. Actually, the entire area including the hillock is owned by the army.

“Are you from the army,” was the first question of 20-year old Muhammad Latif who intercepted us at the muddy track of the ‘colony.’ Asked reason of his question, he replied that the army personnel were threatening that they would destroy our houses if we did not vacate their land. He claimed that a few years ago the army had made an attempt, but refrained on the intervention of local elders.

“Perhaps they don’t have any immediate plan for this area. But we are at the mercy of the army. We don’t have any other place to live,” commented Latif, who works as daily wages laborer. Almost all the male members are daily-wages laborers. On average they get work three days a week and earn Rs 100 against each working day.

The availability of clean drinking water and hygienic food is out of question here. Employed in the nearby large houses, fetching water is responsibility of the female members.

The medical facilities are no less than a dream. And dirty and narrow pavements are playgrounds of the bare-foot children wearing scruffy clothes. When they get bored of playing in the pavements, the infested animals’ shed is their favorite place to have some fun.

Amin is a little boy of three. He has never tasted the comforts of life enjoyed by the children sitting in soft seats of luxurious cars. His face is dirty and eyes sad. Children have lost their innocence and women their beauty. The men are looked down upon.

Thanks to the unhygienic conditions of the area the diseases like malaria, jaundice, tetanus and diarrhea are common. The doctors are consulted in extreme cases only. The medicines are not purchased. For years they are living a static life with not a slight improvement.

Less than a dozen of common toilets cater to the need of the entire population. Covered with bamboo, the each toilet consists of two bricks so that a person can sit slightly above the ground level. Everyone has to bring his/her own water. Each toilet covers about five feet space.

The poor migrants from Kashmir don’t want to fight legal battle to obtain permanent settlement. According to National Kutchi Abadi Policy 2001 the government is bound to either regularize the slums or rehabilitate all the slum dwellers in the country. However, it is not yet determined whether Kashmir ‘Colony’ falls under the ambit of recognized Kutchi Abadi.

Secretary of Chaklala Cantonment Board, Chaudary Hameed, says the ‘colony’ was illegally established on a private land. “The law does not provide them to live there. They would have to vacate the place whenever the owners want them to do so.” According to him the government has no plan to rehabilitate the dwellers of the ‘colony.’