@prashanthamine
New Delhi
For a man who is the rage in Pakistan over his “Akhand Hindustan” comment in Rajya Sabha on August 5 following the abrogation of Article 370, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has once again forewarned Pakistani’s not to raise claims to Jinnah House and other Enemy Properties in India, if it were to be auctioned now. Speaking to TheNews21.com, Raut remarked that there are many of such enemy properties scattered across India, that includes the Jinnah House (Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah) located at Malabar Hill in South Mumbai. The enemy properties also include enemy properties left behind by Chinese nationals.
Although the survey of these enemy properties had begun in March 2016, some estimates put the total number of the enemy properties of Pakistanis ranges between 9,280 to 16,000 and its value is projected to be well over Rs 1,04,219 crore. Most of these properties include immoveable properties, gold and silver Jewellery, company shares, bank deposits. Most of these enemy properties are located in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, New Delhi, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat and Uttaranchal. In comparison, there are only 149 enemy properties of Chinese nationals in India.
Raut disclosed that the Parliament has passed The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act, in March 2017. He expressed surprise as to why it is taking the government so long to attach these properties and auction them. Raut warned the Pakistanis not to raise their hackles if the Indian government attached these enemy properties and sold them off.
It may be recalled that during the debate on the abrogation of Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha on August 5, Raut had famously remarked “aaj Jammu and Kashmir liya hai, kal Balochistan, PoK lenge. Mujhe vishwas hai desh ke PM Akhand Hindustan ka sapna pora karenge” (today we have taken Jammu and Kashmir, tomorrow we will take Balochistan, PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir). I am confident that the PM shall fulfill the dream of a Unified India”. His comments attracted eyeballs even in Pakistan as shocked Pakistanis in Islamabad woke up to banners being put up on the streets with Raut’s picture and his quote.
What infuriates Nonagenarian like Prakash Kaur who along with her husband fled from their native village near Lahore in Pakistan during the partition of 1947, is that they had to leave their ancestral home, agricultural fields, cattle and everything else and somehow managed to reach New Delhi and later on migrate to Mumbai in search of work. She says Sikh refugees like her lost everything, did not get anything in return and feels that by now the Pakistani government must have liquidated their ancestral property back in Pakistan. Prakash Kaur, a resident at Aarey Milk Colony, Goregaon East is at loss of words as to why Indian government is standing guard to properties whose owners are no longer citizens of India.
Each time there is a mention of the Jinnah House in south Mumbai, it automatically raises the hackles of the Pakistanis. Built around 1936 by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, he left the palatial mansion in 1946 and migrated to Pakistan. However, there is a raging debate whether the Jinnah House is an Enemy Property or an Evacuee Property. Enemy properties are immoveable and moveable properties that were left behind by people or nationals who migrated to Pakistan in 1947 or to China.
In Maharashtra, most of these enemy properties of Pakistani nationals are located in Mumbai and Thane district’s. Most notable are the Estate of KBHS Meherbaksh and two cinema halls owned by one Mohammaed Suleman. Rest of the significant enemy property holders include Raja of Mahmudabad (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand) who owns 936 enemy properties and Sayed Kamaruddin Hasan who owns 600 acres of land in Telangana.
Out of the total 9,429 enemy properties of Pakistanis and Chinese nationals, 9,280 alone belong to Pakistani nationals, while the rest include 149 enemy properties of Chinese nationals. As per a report of the Joint Select Committee of the Parliament at present there are a total of 9,280 enemy properties of Pakistani nationals comprising of 11,882 acres of land. The value of the total vested immoveable properties stands to the tune of Rs. 1,04,340 crores.
Besides this moveable vested properties consist of shares in 266 listed companies having valuation of Rs. 2,610 crore; shares in 318 unlisted companies with a value of Rs. 24 crores; Gold and Jewellery with a value of Rs. 0.38 crores; bank balance of Rs. 177.60 crores; Investment in Government securities of Rs. 150 crores and Investment in Fixed Deposits of Rs. 160.58 crore.
While some argue that by December 31, 2015 official data, Rs 310 crore belonging to Pakistani nationals was locked in the form of Fixed Deposits, treasury bills and government stock holdings. Besides this, there are 149 immovable enemy properties of Chinese nationals vested in the Custodian of Enemy Properties in India (CEPI), spread over in States of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Delhi.
Recently the government had sold shares of Wipro company worth Rs 1,100 crore owned by two Pakistani nationals. Most of these shares were brought by Life Insurance Corporation. According to some estimates there are 6.5 crore shares bought by Pakistani nationals in 996 Indian companies. Out of these 996 companies 588 companies are functional, active companies and 139 companies are listed in the Indian stock markets.-Prashant Hamine
