A View Point
Ramesh Manwati
That Hindus in Pakistan are treated as second class citizens is a well known fact. That their numbers have sharply dwindled to less than two percent as of now from an approx population of 20 % twenty percent of Pakistan’s population at the time of its formation in 1947 speaks volumes about the pathetic conditions of minority Hindus in that country.
One knew about the miserable plight of minorities living in Pakistan since its formation in 1947 only through scant media reports till now. But then when one is face to face with the actual victims in flesh and blood, such reports turn into extremely bitter facts. Meeting and listening to the pathetic conditions back in Pakistan viz-a-viz Hindus, one’s soul simply gets shaken and the hot blood in one’s body starts to boil. That is what exactly happened to five member group of exiled Kashmiri Pandits who met many of the Hindu refugees from Sind province of Pakistan (total 480 souls-including old men, women and children) on Wednesday, April 17, 2013 in Ambedkar Colony, Bijwasan, New Delhi where they have been provided a temporary shelter by a passionate local resident Sh. Nahar Singh (ex- Sub-Inspector, Delhi Police and an ex-serviceman) supported by many of the local residents (one of whom treated the visiting KPs to a cup of tea) including one elderly senior citizen Mr. Narayan Singh.
“…We are treated as Kafirs and denied even the basic human rights most of the times…..forced to get converted to Islam…..Our women folk abducted and raped……Our children treated differently and forced to read Kalima and holy Quran if admitted in a school…At times we get beaten up if Pakistan cricket team loses a match…..” woefully narrated Pak-Hindu refugees to the group of exiled Kashmiri Pandits who met and listened to their heart wrenching plight. As has been reported by the media, these Hindu refugees from Pakistan have petitioned President / PM/ HM of India and UNHRC seeking a permanent citizenship of India and are determined not to return back to Pakistan. “…..kill us here and we will give you in writing that nobody should be held responsible for the same….but please do not push us back to that hell…we will not return back to Pakistan, come what may…..” pleaded these Hindu refugees – who had arrived in New Delhi some time back on a pilgrim visa. Many of them have left behind their immediate kith and kin, including old age parents, small children; reason: not all have been granted the required visas.
Couple of young children, mostly girls, who were seen holding some note books in their hands ( sitting in the corner of a room at the camp) and turning pages of some pre-primary level books replied, “Yes, we would like to read and go to a school” when probed by this writer.
As per a rediffmail story dated January 14, 2013, “….Hindus live in all the four major provinces and tribal areas in the country, but a majority of them are settled in the Sind province. Hindu citizens face different problems depending on the province in which they are settled. Hindus in Balochistan face kidnapping for ransom or killings and this is the main cause behind their migration to India or elsewhere…In Sindh, the Hindus face conversion, kidnapping and rape or get neglected in job offers.
In Punjab, the Hindus…are in search of recognition both from the government and the society…. Also, the Hindus have no representation in the provincial assembly since 1990…..A report of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan mentions that most of the forced conversion cases do not get much attention but at least 20 such incidents are happening every month in the country….”(based on reports by Rawalpindi based Shiraz Hassan-an Urdu journalist with Daily Jehan Pakistan newspaper with additional inputs by Lahore-based journalist Ali Abbas ).
It is high time that all right thinking people of this country, including genuine Human Rights bodies/activists, raise their voice so that these minority Hindu refugees, presently camping in New Delhi on an extended visa of one month, are not pushed back and are accepted and treated as honorable citizens of India. Yes, We Can !
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