Why the Congress party does not care about the Pakistani Hindus

Rishi wrote:No place for them to call home


Tuesday, 30 April 2013 | Mahesh Kaul
The influx of Hindu refugees from Pakistan is not new. The Government here is aware of the sorry condition of these unfortunate people, but it has chosen to remain mute on what is an issue of gross human rights violation

Persecution, conversion, rape and religious cleansing have been the fate of the Hindus who were left behind post-Partition, in the Islamic state of Pakistan in 1947.

India adopted a secular and a democratic form of Government and polity, despite being a Hindu-majority nation, and made its ‘tryst with destiny’ — accommodating people of all religious denominations and giving equal opportunities to all for development and progress.

On the other hand, the condition of Hindus in Pakistan can be explained from the exponential decline in their population. At the time of Partition the Hindu population stood at nearly 20 per cent there. Today, Hindus have been reduced to a shocking two per cent — a telling commentary not just on the composition of that society but also the priority of the Pakistani state.

The inhuman condition of the Hindus in Pakistan attracted public attention last year when Rinkle Kumari was forcibly converted to Islam and subjected to unfair treatment not only at the hands of the Islamic zealots but the Pakistani judiciary as well, leaving no scope for justice to the beleaguered community.

Last year, India witnessed an influx of Hindus from Pakistan, who legally entered India in groups to escape unremitting persecution by the Pakistani state and society. The Indian political establishment has played it down due to obvious reasons of vote-bank politics, the 2014 election and a declared policy of minority appeasement.

But matters seem to have crossed the limits of endurance, as the recent influx of a group of 480 Hindus from Pakistan shows. The pilgrims arrived in India to participate in the Maha Kumbh Mela and have now refused to return to their native place in view of the horrific incidents of gross human rights violations they had been subjected to in the neighbouring country. They are currently housed in a 28-room tenement owned by philanthropist Nahar Singh in South Delhi’s Bijwasan area.

India is their last hope, not just in terms of the country being a secular polity, but also as a functioning democracy and an upholder of human rights. A Hindu refugee explained the reason for not going back to Pakistan: “Hindus are not safe there. Daughters are abducted and forced to convert. We can’t cremate our dead, as Pakistanis ask us to bury the corpses. We want Indian citizenship so that at least we can die here peacefully.”

Recounting their saga of woes, the refugees reveal that they had been denied basic education, freedom of religion, culture, and the right to life and property. Reportedly, their wards are forced to acquire Islamic education once they reach the upper primary classes, and any resistance is dealt with severely and immediately.

Intimidation and persecution is routinely employed to browbeat them into submission. The strategy not just affects their cultural and religious freedom, but it also works well for the Pakistani establishment to keep Hindus away from employment and trade. Worse, girls are married off at the age of 10 years to12 years to escape assault, abduction, rape and conversion. Their lands are subjected to encroachment and they are not paid their due wages routinely.

Rajasthan has nearly two lakh Pakistani Hindus who have taken refuge to escape the myriad atrocities which have been inflicted on them from 1965 on. The million dollar question is: Why have successive Indian Governments remained silent on this issue of gross human rights violations?

Significantly, Partition has not only worsened the condition of the Hindus in Pakistan, but it has also subjected India to new demographic threats — this is starkly evident in West Bengal and Assam, where lakhs of Bangladeshi Muslims were illegally made to infiltrate the State to alter the political calculations. Worse, these illegal migrants have been granted citizenship, rights and voter cards — all in a bid to subvert the sovereignty of India from within.

However, in the case of the Pakistani Hindu refugees, the Union Government seems to have adopted a policy of denial and procrastination in

granting these legally migrated refugees, asylum in India. Such status ought to have come a long time ago.

It is clear that Pakistan has declared its policy in uncertain terms, which is that it has no place for the Hindu (and even other) minorities. As such, India needs to patronise the persecuted not because they are Hindus but because, as a secular polity and the cultural fountainhead of Hinduism, it has a moral and human responsibility to offer succour to the landless people.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had once remarked on the fate of minorities, saying, “The treatment of minorities in India (read Muslims) will act as a safeguard towards the minorities in Pakistan (read Hindus)”.

By that logic it seems that Pakistan has completely failed to protect its minorities while India has done a stellar job in empowering its minorities. So, New Delhi has every reason to question Pakistan over its policy towards the Hindus.

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

Please...allow me to answer on behalf of our Fakular Friends at SuCH:

JM: Pakistani Hindus are Pakistan's problems and not India's - hence, irrelevant

Merlot: Let us look at how muslims are ignored here in India, and how 10,000 of them were killed by NaMo. Muslims have suffered at every riot in the hands of hindus.

Max: Agree with JM. It is a north Indian phenomenon. North Indian hindus attacked Muslims, Pakistani muslims attack the Paksitani hindus. But these are all North of Vindhyas and hence North Indian phenomenon

KV: Why is Hindia supporting SL while they killed the Tamils and they were after the Commander all the time. Read here: http://www.tamiltribune.com/2004/Why Hindia hates Ealam

Idefix: All persecution should be condemned. I have never stopped criticizing Pakistanis for persecuting its hindus. Those who point to the hindu persecustion in Pakistan should take a look at what happened in Gujarat for the Indian muslims. If the muslims are treated fairly on par with Parsis, the rich Indian muslims will then convince their pakistani muslim brothers to stop persecuting their hindus. The fault clearly lies with Indian Hindus.

Rashmun: NaMo was respensible for 5000 Gujarati muslims. The Pakistani muslims never kill their hindus. They are following the golden rule as demonstrated by Akbar. It is high time the UPA Govt adapts some of the Akbar policies towards Indian muslims, and encourage inter-religious marriages, which will eventually erase the differences.

Confuzzed Dude: If the UPA had not hung Afzal and Kasab, this hindu persecution would not have happened. They could have served as our ambassadors and help educate the Pakistani authorities on secularism. A quota for Indian muslims is sure to alleviate the problems of Pakistani hindus.

ashdoc wrote:how many pakistani hindu votes help the congress come to power ?? none....

so why should the congress help the hindus in pakistan ??

to make the congress care for them these hindus should come to india and breed like the muslims on an exponential scale and make up a sizable vote bank .

or even maybe that will not help because unlike bangladeshi muslims these hindus wont be given indian citizenship and may have to eke out an existence as refugeeeees.......

too bad . just their luck....

Idéfix wrote:Is there a reason this is about Congress party? What did the BJP do during the six years it was in power to improve the plight of the Hindus of Pakistan?

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:
Please...allow me to answer on behalf of our Fakular Friends at SuCH:

JM: Pakistani Hindus are Pakistan's problems and not India's - hence, irrelevant

Merlot: Let us look at how muslims are ignored here in India, and how 10,000 of them were killed by NaMo. Muslims have suffered at every riot in the hands of hindus.

Max: Agree with JM. It is a north Indian phenomenon. North Indian hindus attacked Muslims, Pakistani muslims attack the Paksitani hindus. But these are all North of Vindhyas and hence North Indian phenomenon

KV: Why is Hindia supporting SL while they killed the Tamils and they were after the Commander all the time. Read here: http://www.tamiltribune.com/2004/Why Hindia hates Ealam

Idefix: All persecution should be condemned. I have never stopped criticizing Pakistanis for persecuting its hindus. Those who point to the hindu persecustion in Pakistan should take a look at what happened in Gujarat for the Indian muslims. If the muslims are treated fairly on par with Parsis, the rich Indian muslims will then convince their pakistani muslim brothers to stop persecuting their hindus. The fault clearly lies with Indian Hindus.

Rashmun: NaMo was respensible for 5000 Gujarati muslims. The Pakistani muslims never kill their hindus. They are following the golden rule as demonstrated by Akbar. It is high time the UPA Govt adapts some of the Akbar policies towards Indian muslims, and encourage inter-religious marriages, which will eventually erase the differences.

Confuzzed Dude: If the UPA had not hung Afzal and Kasab, this hindu persecution would not have happened. They could have served as our ambassadors and help educate the Pakistani authorities on secularism. A quota for Indian muslims is sure to alleviate the problems of Pakistani hindus.

Idéfix wrote:Is there a reason this is about Congress party? What did the BJP do during the six years it was in power to improve the plight of the Hindus of Pakistan?

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

Idéfix wrote:Is there a reason this is about Congress party? What did the BJP do during the six years it was in power to improve the plight of the Hindus of Pakistan?

Leave aside Pakistani Hindus. What did the party of Hindutva do for the Hindus of Kashmir??

And why do chaddis who breastbeat limpwristedly about random groups of people in random countries do nothing (other than breastbeating some more) about the displaced Kashmiri Hindus?

If you look at Israel, the actual physical occupation i.e. building and organizing the settlements in disputed lands is carried out by right-wing political parties under the state's benign gaze. The chaddis on the other hand are only good for slapping about women in pubs. If they were really the hyper-patriots they claim to be, and if they had even an iota of the courage and toughness they aspire for, they would have by now resettled the Pandits by sheer people power and changed the demographics of that state.

But all that alas, is too much for the chaddis. So they'll continue to breastbeat limpwristedly even as cheerleaders like Doctor Ashraf exhort them to kill and eat more goats so they can become tougher.

Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:If chaddis behave like Lekud, you and the other extremely brilliant fukularists will jump up and down like monkeys on hot burning coal.

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

What did the party of Hindutva do for the Hindus of Kashmir??

.

insurgency in Kashmir was at its peak. Three and a half lakh Kashmiri
Pandits were thrown out of their homeland, making them refugees in
their own country. It was one of the biggest exoduses in the Indian
history. These people were rendered homeless, killed brutally, while the
politicians, who were supposed to be their saviours, didn’t act because
they could not see a vote-bank. Either that or they simply did not have
the heart to settle these people – with their open wounds of terrorism –
who were taking refuge in various parts of the country. The doors of
each of these so called secular, populist politicians closed on me when I
went knocking, seeking help for those who had taken refuge in the
Maximum City, except for one man, who not only opened his doors, but
also welcomed them.
It was very important that the next generation of Kashmiris didn’t
feel inadequate in the absence of proper educational institutions that
they had to abandon overnight in their homeland due to the insurgency.
It was Balasaheb Thackeray who immediately ordered a reservation to be
fixed for the refugee Kashmiri youths in all the colleges of
Maharashtra. The reservation included Muslims, Ladakhi, Pandit and the
children of security forces serving in the valley. When he announced the
reservation, he didn’t demarcate on the basis of religion. The
announcement was for everybody. This way, he secured the future of
50,000 youths who had the choice of picking up guns in the absence of
education. For me, this was Balasaheb Thackeray who did not shy away
from taking a stand while those in Delhi were taking refuge behind the
diplomacy of terrorism.

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

What did the party of Hindutva do for the Hindus of Kashmir??

.

insurgency in Kashmir was at its peak. Three and a half lakh Kashmiri
Pandits were thrown out of their homeland, making them refugees in
their own country. It was one of the biggest exoduses in the Indian
history. These people were rendered homeless, killed brutally, while the
politicians, who were supposed to be their saviours, didn’t act because
they could not see a vote-bank. Either that or they simply did not have
the heart to settle these people – with their open wounds of terrorism –
who were taking refuge in various parts of the country. The doors of
each of these so called secular, populist politicians closed on me when I
went knocking, seeking help for those who had taken refuge in the
Maximum City, except for one man, who not only opened his doors, but
also welcomed them.
It was very important that the next generation of Kashmiris didn’t
feel inadequate in the absence of proper educational institutions that
they had to abandon overnight in their homeland due to the insurgency.
It was Balasaheb Thackeray who immediately ordered a reservation to be
fixed for the refugee Kashmiri youths in all the colleges of
Maharashtra. The reservation included Muslims, Ladakhi, Pandit and the
children of security forces serving in the valley. When he announced the
reservation, he didn’t demarcate on the basis of religion. The
announcement was for everybody. This way, he secured the future of
50,000 youths who had the choice of picking up guns in the absence of
education. For me, this was Balasaheb Thackeray who did not shy away
from taking a stand while those in Delhi were taking refuge behind the
diplomacy of terrorism.

Kris wrote:Why is this news? The abduction of women, the forcible conversions, the discrimination and second class citizenship are all par for the course. I am not sure why the Hindus there haven't left already.

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:If anything the same Muslim Pimps in Bombay and Delhi will sell them into prostitution.

ashdoc wrote:

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

What did the party of Hindutva do for the Hindus of Kashmir??

.

insurgency in Kashmir was at its peak. Three and a half lakh Kashmiri
Pandits were thrown out of their homeland, making them refugees in
their own country. It was one of the biggest exoduses in the Indian
history. These people were rendered homeless, killed brutally, while the
politicians, who were supposed to be their saviours, didn’t act because
they could not see a vote-bank. Either that or they simply did not have
the heart to settle these people – with their open wounds of terrorism –
who were taking refuge in various parts of the country. The doors of
each of these so called secular, populist politicians closed on me when I
went knocking, seeking help for those who had taken refuge in the
Maximum City, except for one man, who not only opened his doors, but
also welcomed them.
It was very important that the next generation of Kashmiris didn’t
feel inadequate in the absence of proper educational institutions that
they had to abandon overnight in their homeland due to the insurgency.
It was Balasaheb Thackeray who immediately ordered a reservation to be
fixed for the refugee Kashmiri youths in all the colleges of
Maharashtra. The reservation included Muslims, Ladakhi, Pandit and the
children of security forces serving in the valley. When he announced the
reservation, he didn’t demarcate on the basis of religion. The
announcement was for everybody. This way, he secured the future of
50,000 youths who had the choice of picking up guns in the absence of
education. For me, this was Balasaheb Thackeray who did not shy away
from taking a stand while those in Delhi were taking refuge behind the
diplomacy of terrorism.

Yes Dr Ashraf, that was indeed a very manly and courageous way of resettling the Kashmiri refugees thrown out of their own lands. Reservations clearly solved the problem there once and for all, and showed those Kashmiri insurgents who's their daddy.

Maybe you should try the same panacea with the Paki Hindus. Offer them reservations in the colleges of Gujarat and teach those Paki Islamists a lesson they'll never forget. And while you are at it, reservations for Ladakhis to teach the PLA a lesson too.

ashdoc wrote:resettling kashmiri hindus in muslim majority regions is beyond the realms of possibility considering the ferocity of muslims and their sheer murderousness . this only proves that right wing hindus are not as ferocious as muslims and cannot match muslim cruelty . all propaganda about shiv sena being murderous fanatics is utterly false.

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

ashdoc wrote:resettling kashmiri hindus in muslim majority regions is beyond the realms of possibility considering the ferocity of muslims and their sheer murderousness . this only proves that right wing hindus are not as ferocious as muslims and cannot match muslim cruelty . all propaganda about shiv sena being murderous fanatics is utterly false.

Aiyyo. I'm deeply disappointed to learn that the Hidutva warriors that I was banking on to protect me from those ferocious Muslims are only good for slapping around women in pubs, stoning cinema halls and stabbing the odd Muslim tailor going about his business. If 800 million Hindus can't prevail over the 4 million Muslims in the Kashmir valley, then sir, there really is no hope for you. You really need to kill more goats. Many many more.

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Dr Ashraf, admit it - Article 370 is a lame excuse, befitting cowardly chickenhawks. If it's really that big a showstopper, why didnt the chaddis do anything about it while in power?

More importantly, it's high time chaddis stopped looking for excuses. If Biharis and UPites can occupy Mumbai and change its demographic without owning a single inch of land here, why is land ownership such a great impediment to your resettling the Kashmiri Hindus??

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Dr Ashraf, admit it - Article 370 is a lame excuse, befitting cowardly chickenhawks. If it's really that big a showstopper, why didnt the chaddis do anything about it while in power?

More importantly, it's high time chaddis stopped looking for excuses. If Biharis and UPites can occupy Mumbai and change its demographic without owning a single inch of land here, why is land ownership such a great impediment to your resettling the Kashmiri Hindus??

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Dr Ashraf, admit it - Article 370 is a lame excuse, befitting cowardly chickenhawks. If it's really that big a showstopper, why didnt the chaddis do anything about it while in power?

More importantly, it's high time chaddis stopped looking for excuses. If Biharis and UPites can occupy Mumbai and change its demographic without owning a single inch of land here, why is land ownership such a great impediment to your resettling the Kashmiri Hindus??