Minorities in Pakistan
Shiban Khaibri
A little girl in Pakistan was denied admission in a school where her father had taken her to get introduced to the world through the light of knowledge to become a useful future citizen of Pakistan, her motherland. Her only fault was that her name was Devika Rani. This startling incident has appeared in New York Urdu Times a few days back. A heart broken father whose elders opted not to leave their country, their birth place of hundreds of years at the time of partition and who along with 30 odd families live in a semi urban area near Multan, engaged in petty agricultural activities, narrated the woes and horrendous acts of intimidation and discrimination his community has been continuously facing . Makhan Ram says, “Our children do not get school admission due to names identified with the miniscule Hindu minority community. Teachers in most of the cases, if not all, insist that it was obligatory to keep Muslim names in an Islamic country.” The teacher of the unfortunate Devika Rani said that since the girl’s name was a Hinduian, her tongue could get polluted as and when she had to call the girl. Despite being Pakistani citizens, the likes of Devika and Makhan Ram are denied their basic rights to live as normal ordinary citizens of their country with respect and security.
Brazen disrespect is thus shown to the founder of Pakistan, Late M. A. Jinnah who is also known by Pakistanis as Quad-e- Azam and Baba-e- Qaum, by indulging in such acts against which he, on August 17, 1947 had amply assured national minorities that they were free, free to go to their temples, mosques or any other place of worship in the state of Pakistan since “all were equal citizens of our state.” It is again to the credit of Jinnah that there being no Dr. Iqbal around or any Muslim poet of his taste at the time of partition, he had, therefore, requisitioned the services of a Hindu poet to write the original national anthem of Pakistan. Iqbal who had conceived the idea of Pakistan had composed our national song -Sare jehan se Acha, Hindustan hamara…. which is fondly and proudly sung and played across the country in schools, educational institutions, public functions and the like. Jinnah wanted to emulate the example although at the time of writing of ‘sare jehan se acha’, by Iqbal, the country was not then partitioned. He , therefore had summoned Jagan Nath Azad, the son of a noted poet Trilok Chand Mehroom, a Lahore based poet on August 11, 1947 to write the country’s first national anthem . Soon a fierce debate got stirred up in that country and the very idea that Jinnah was trying to project himself as a secular leader in his own right to get a small niche in the pages of history, was resisted, resulting in Azad’s National Anthem being discarded in 1950 , two years after the death of Jinnah. Pakistan’s policy was to get succor and strength from the anti India elixir which as a state policy, continues even now.
How can a part of society in the modern world be excluded from full participation and respect in today’s society and be the victims of the motives emanating from medieval and obsolete thinking? It should be the theme and the goal of the government of Pakistan in shaping policies with intent to putting a brake to such inhuman treatment by an individual or groups of individuals against the other ones on the basis of religion to make the later subservient to the orgy of hatred and discrimination. It is to the credit of the modern communications media to highlight such shameful acts against humanity and human dignity on the basis of faith, gender or language. These decidedly could not be the basis where equality, security and protection of law could be agreed upon. The obscurant perpetrators of such apartheid policies do know that their acts are getting exposed and abhorred the world over as nothing in modern society can go unquestioned. More so, the whole world knows that it was Pakistan where Osama Bin Laden was hiding and as per recent reports, the then President of Pakistan was in know of this fact. Impliedly, the people of such a mind set were doing a disservice to and lowering the very concept of true religion. Perhaps, Late Mr. Jinnah must have anticipated this phenomenon emanating from his deceptive two nation theory when while addressing a group of army men in Malir, Karachi on Feb21, 1948, he said,” you have to stand guard over the development and maintenance of Islamic democracy, Islamic social justice and equality of manhood in your own native soil.” Where is then the equality of manhood when the elected legislator of the area of Makhan Ram along with his associates, instead of providing safety and security to the minority community members, harass them and coerce them to change their faith? Where are the universally sought after religious freedom and human equality existing in Pakistan? Are political leaders of Pakistan , Administrative authorities, Police, judiciary and other government institutions concerned about the atrocities being perpetrated against minorities in Pakistan and have they any explanation for the percentage of Hindus to total population dipping there from 22% in 1948 to a mere 2.5 % in 2010? Why are families after families crossing over to India from Rajasthan and Gujarat borders? A mere trickle a few years before has now turned into a stream, why?
According to Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO) , there has been a rapid increase in the number of Hindus coming from Pakistan . Till mid 2011, it used to be around 8 to 10 families a month but during past 10 months more than 40 families have arrived.
A dim light is appearing to get visible at the end of the dark tunnel in the shape of some fearless young journalists and Human Rights Protection groups who highlight the plight of the oppressed minorities in Pakistan. They are even filing reports but of no perceptible avail. Not only this , a very important development with intent to attempt to wash off and somewhat reverse the stigma of consistent dwindling demographic trends and fast diminution of Hindu population in Pakistan is the role of Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho the elder sister of Pakistani President, Asaf Ali Zardari who happens to be member of the National Assembly. She has told a pvt. TV Channel , ” It is true that Hindu girls are being forcibly kept in Madarassas in Sindh and forced to marry Muslims. We have to take steps to end this practice, including (by) legislation.”
India is a secular country where no religion is endorsed for any preference , can it however not speak for what is happening with the minorities in Pakistan and ask Pakistan , again in the words of Shakespeare :- ” Go to your bosom: knock there and ask your heart what it doth know…..”
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