Issue of Enemy property to be racked up with govt planning to acquire Jinnah House

New Delhi, Dec 21: The Indian government is planning to acquire Jinnah House in Mumbai and ready to take this battle up any extent. But this has once against started the debate about Enemy Property in India. The battle for Jinnah House was fought by Deena Wadia - the daughter of founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Deena Wadia fought a long battle but she died in November 2017 in UK. Meanwhile, the Modi government has made some amendment in 49-year old Enemy Property Act. After the amendment in this bill, people who had left the country to settle down in Pakistan and China, their successors will not have any claim over these properties.

The government started exercise of selling these enemy properties in the beginning of this year. The government has the target of getting Rs 1 lakh crore by selling these enemy properties. The central government has asked the office of the main custodian to provide the list of all such properties by June-July. Union home ministry has instructed the custodian to take control and management of these enemy properties.

A provision was made in the Enemy Property Act that during the partition if anyone has either migrated to Pakistan or China, such people will not have any claim or argument over the property of their ancestors. People had left India to settle down in Pakistan after Partition. The government has also seized properties of such people after 1962 war with China and 1965 war with Pakistan. These properties have been called as enemy property.

These properties included land, houses, agriculture farms, share, bank balance and provident fund besides many other kinds of movable and immovable property. At present, the responsibility of these properties is with Custodian of Enemy Property for India. The government of India has taken this decision as people have left for Pakistan and China and their properties cannot be protected.

As much enemy property was in India that much enemy property was in Pakistan and looking at the dispute over these properties, a pact was signed in 1965 at Tashkent that status quo will be maintained after properties are identified. But Pakistan government did not follow the Tashkent Pact and sold the enemy properties belonging to Indians around 47 years ago in 1971 while enemy properties are still with Custodian of Enemy Property in India. So the issue will be racked up again.