The fishing communities in Gujarat, Diu and Pakistan’s Sindh province suffer the most due to the unfriendly and tense relations between India and Pakistan. The fishermen who get arrested for trespassing’ into the other country’s waters have to spend at least one to two years in prison. The families of the fishermen suffer. My children have to abandon studies and the long wait for their dear ones begins. These fishermen belong to conventional fishing communities. One sees more arrests when cross-border firing escalates. Fishermen get released and repatriated to their country when the governments decide. Their suffering is going on for years. There is no serious dialogue to find a permanent solution to the not too complex issue. Indian and Pakistan governments lack the will to resolve the issue and diplomats and bureaucrats are too insensitive towards the problem. In this background, it is heartening to note that Pakistan released 220 Indian fishermen on December 25 and 219 more will be released and repatriated on January 5. Incidentally, December 25 is the birthday of Quaid-e-Azam late Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Pakistan’s PM Nawaz Sharif. But, unfortunately on December 28, Pakistan arrested 65 Indian fishermen and seized their 13 boats. The cycle of arrest and release goes on. As of today there are 320 Indian fishermen in Pakistan’s Malir jail and 150 Pakistani fishermen in Indian prisons. Recently, I visited Porbandar and other towns of Gujarat’s Saurashtra region to meet the fishermen. The Kharvas, a traditional fishing community, mainly live in Porbandar, Veraval, Mangrol and Diu. Subhash Nagar area of Porbandar has a large number of Kharvas. It is full of dirt and so mosquitoes, houseflies, dogs and pigs can be seen everywhere. Everyone lives in small rooms. Drinking water is an issue. Some fishermen of Subhash Nagar were in Pakistani jail when I visited. Now, some of them are back and more will return by January. Every house has some story of pain and helplessness. The community is poor and most are semi-literate. The story of Chimanlal Solanki’s family is shocking. He knows the importance of education and so his children are trying to study even in a difficult condition. His elder son Vishal was arrested in 2014 and now is back as he was released on December 25. His daughter Bhavika did her graduation and was planning to do her post-graduation but had to stop as her elder brother was in prison. Her family cannot afford her education expenses. Only a few girls from the Kharva community have done their post-graduation. Most of the girls get married early. Bhavika said her brother was looking after the family as well as the education of herself and her younger brother. Her younger brother is studying in a polytechnic in Porbandar. The family somehow manages to survive. Their mother works in the fishing industry and earns a paltry sum after working for 12 hours a day. The other family whom I met is different. As the husband is in jail in Pakistan, wife Kantaben works in the fishing industry and earns a small amount after a day’s tiresome job. They have four sons. Elder son lives with her parents. Two are studying in Porbandar and the youngest is too young to go to school. As the mother goes to work during daytime, the children play the whole day in the street after school. Two sons were studying in a private school but now one of them was shifted to a government school. Kantaben’s husband will be released on January 5. The government gives family members of arrested fishermen Rs 150 per day or Rs 4,500 per month. But a few families like Kantaben’s are not getting the amount. They need to apply to the fisheries department, which she could not as she is illiterate. Others have now assured her of completing formalities. It is the responsibility of the government and the community to see that nobody is deprived of the benefit. Gujarat is number one in exporting fish. The fishermen of Saurashtra and Diu have no option but to go towards Pakistan to catch fish. They do not get sizeable quantity of fish on the Indian side primarily because of pollution and catching of juvenile fish. Often, even if they know they are entering Pakistan waters, they cannot do anything because of heavy winds or currents. These fishing boats are small so they cannot be anchored in the sea nor turned back. Their and their families’ suffering begins the day they are arrested. It is believed so far Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency (MSA) has seized 900 boats of Indian fishermen. India is in possession of 150 boats of Pakistani fishermen. The boats are their only source of income and livelihood. They need to be released. Out of 900 Indian boats, I believe, 200 boats with some repairs can sail back to India. Nationality verification is a major issue. Sometimes prisoners have to languish in jail even after completion of their sentences because of delay in verification. I spoke to the father of Rashid Mallah, a Pakistani fisherman in an Indian jail. His sentence is over but so far Pakistan has not confirmed his nationality and so India cannot repatriate him to Pakistan. Hearing him was painful. We live in the age of information technology. Confirming nationality in a couple of days is now possible, but it does not happen in case of poor fishermen. Similarly 14 Indian fishermen were stuck in Pakistan’s jail earlier as their nationality was not confirmed. They had to spend a few more months in Pakistan’s prison even after completion of their sentences. The nationality of prisoners needs to be confirmed in three months. Both the countries need to be sensitive to the plight of fishing communities. They need to resolve the issue. The most simple is they should adopt No Arrest Policy’ in case of traditional fishermen. There are other suggestions like creating a Free Fishing Zone for fishermen of both countries. The issue can be resolved if there is a will. Otherwise, the poor fishermen of India and Pakistan will suffer.
2015 Kashmir Images.