Shiban Khaibri
Vanquished in Kashmir, isolated internationally, bankrupt and penury, facing voices of revolt in PoK , Sindh and Baluchistan and mired in confused, befogged and dazed condition, Pakistan in pursuance of its state policy has directed its ire against the already persecuted Hindus in Pakistan. Had the hard shelled Indian political pseudo secularists and die hard ‘intellectual ‘ followers of the brazen appeasement ‘School of thought’ and almost most of the print media been raising protest voices at national and in particular international platforms against forcible conversions of Hindus , abductions of their girls and demolition of hundreds of Hindu ancient temples in Pakistan right from 1947, the position about second class citizens, the Hindus would have not been as precarious as it is now in that country. While fanatic and ardent followers of two nation theory and hate mongers in that country with full support of the ‘governments in power’ , especially the Military junta from time to time, under a well organised long term diabolical plans to decimate Hindus and their existing symbols of faith, existence and roots – kept going on unabatedly , successive Indian Governments on the other hand, well realising that only India could speak for Hindus being the only country in the world with over 82 percent Hindus of its total population , did practically nothing except keeping silent and consistently remained with buttoned lips.
That is the tragedy. And, when the present government led by Narendra Modi has been trying to cut Pakistan down to size on that country’s support and spread of terrorism and deflating its ‘nuke ego’ , we have some septuagenarian Congress leaders or those Congress persons who feigned to have separated from the parent party but are pursuing the same policy of Congress, astonishingly heap praises on Pakistan and even provide ammunition to it to quote and insert in dossiers presented at International forums against India. Most of such Indian political leaders are doing this only due to nursing “Khundak” or sworn opposition to Modi for reasons better known to them. Later, seeing the public reaction of the foot in their mouth , they retract by saying “the statement was misinterpreted”. That , from 20.7% in 1948 , Hindus having ‘vanished’ fast from Pakistan – their birth land and homeland to crash down to less than 1.6% as on date, does not bother them , not even in the least.
Apart from 30 to 40 Hindu girls routinely being abducted every month across Pakistan and converting them forcibly and that making absolutely no headlines in this country, no hue and cry and Lutyens writers thinking that to be their fait -accompli and not worth inserting in columns where instead some advertisement could preferably get better fitted in , the latest bouts of ire and attack on Hindu temple in Gohatki in Sindh province is symbolic of how Pakistani establishment and fanatics were running amok and reacting hysterically to constitutional and administrative adjustments in Jammu and Kashmir by revoking its special status . A Hindu ‘Headmaster’ Notan Mal of Sindh Public School was falsely charged under the dreaded Blasphemy laws, a student was made the tool to frame him to stoke trouble and terror against Hindus in the area resulting in the assault on the Hindu teacher and Police registering an FIR against him . Hundreds of fanatics demonstrated and vandalised the Hindu temples . The boy is stated to have used social media against the Headmaster alleging about his blasphemous remarks. However, the concerned boy named as Rana Mohammed Ibtisam when contacted, later confessed that a fake ID, made on his name was spreading the uproar over social media. Not only this, the father of Ibtisam claimed and clarified that his son had not uploaded those videos and someone else was using his son’s name to spread the hatred against the Hindu minorities. Still, the organised fanatics were demanding immediate arrest and prosecution of the Hindu teacher .
Member National Assembly Vankwani who also ‘heads’ the Pakistan Hindu Council told that the case had been handed over to Hyderabad Deputy Inspector General Naeem Sheikh , the Headmaster has been handed over to DIG Sheikh and as per Pakistani Penal Code under Article 295, he could face sure death penalty . There was, however, no dearth of saner elements everywhere including in Pakistan and not putting up with gross injustice and manufacturing the story and framing the teacher with perverted and motivated desires, a local resident Bilal Farooqi has claimed vide a tweet that… “a Hindu teacher in Gothaki Sindh has purportedly been accused of committing blasphemy by extremists, who have vandalised the school . Hindu community in the area is in danger and they must be provided with protection immediately…. .” Not only this, some more activists and journalists in Sindh took to twitter to share videos and images of rioting and appealed the Sindh government to protect the minority Hindu community. Noted Rightist Pakistani activist Sattar Zangejo said the Hindu community of the area was forced to remain indoors due to widespread riots.
While writing these lines, one more heart rending incident , again from the same Gohatki Sindh, has come in . A Hindu medical girl student Nirmatta Chandani was brutally killed after she resisted being forcibly converted . The infamous forcible conversion of one Rinkle Kumari in Sindh in 2012 and the absolute sham court proceedings where nothing could be heard from the victim and where the magistrate was under a great deal of pressure because of hundreds of noise making and drum beating armed tribesmen present in the court and loyal to one Mian Abdul Haq , the then MP of the Pakistan People’s Party who had fully supported and engineered the kidnapping and forcible conversion , decided the ultimate fate on expected lines of poor Rinkle Kumari and that is the entire modus operandi and an established practice of kidnappings , converting and forcibly marrying Hindu girls in Pakistan.
The sword of the threat of Blasphemy concocted charges against already persecuted second class Hindu citizens who are now reduced to a mere 1.3 percent of the total population of Pakistan makes them vulnerable to all types of atrocities in Pakistan . In building modern Karachi , the capital of Sindh as a major industrial and financial hub, Hindu community has contributed significantly and in the entire Pakistan, Sindh is the only province where Hindus are constituting nearly 6 percent population and that is why their fast decimation is progressively organised and implemented. It seems utterly nonsensical and laughable that while within Pakistan Hindu minority is persecuted , denied religious and political freedom and right to live with honour and dignity and often charged with being “Indian spies” , at the same time Pakistani leadership is busy propagating ‘violation’ of human rights by India and that it was using force and intimidation against Muslims in Kashmir and even in other parts of India.
We need not waste time in putting forth Data and figures to convince Pakistan which already knows as to how Islam was the fastest growing religion in India and growth rate of Indian Muslims had been consistently higher than the growth rate of Hindus since the census data of independent India was available. While in 1951, Muslims in India constituted 10 percent of the population , in 2011 it rose to 14.2 % and as on date, it is expected to be nearing 17 percent. That is a big slap and a bash on the face of Pakistan. There is a civilization(al) antagonism between the two countries, though theocratic Pakistan was a part of India prior to its birth and that is, while we take pride in respecting all religions and faiths and are united as one nation, Pakistan is rabidly fanatic and does not believe in giving any space to religions other than Islam but still is not united and is unconsolidated and unsettled. India’s commitment to plurality and diversity and equal rights to everyone is our greater strength and Pakistan must feel ashamed and surely needs to introspect, stop forthwith persecution of Hindus and other religious minorities failing which Pakistan would be broken in more parts. In this connexion, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement given a few days back is apt , timely and appropriate when he says, “Minorities are currently suffering in Pakistan and if this situation continues, then Pakistan is bound to see another disintegration and no power in the world will be able to help it.” Choice is, therefore, exclusively that of Pakistan.
feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel