Pakistani Hindus left an Islamist nation to escape daily religious persecution and atrocities at the hands of the Muslim majority, but even on the other side of the border they found no relief. The government and the majority population ignored the concerns of the Hindu refugees. In the latest case, 12 Pakistani Hindus have been arrested by the Indian authorities in Rajasthan, on the charges of flouting visa rules and illegally staying in India.
According to Rajasthan Police, the group of Hindus had come to India to perform last rites of one of their family member. The group entered into India via Wagah Border using proper authentic visa. According to the Police after visiting Haridwar, the group went to meet their relatives in Rajasthan instead of going back to Pakistan. According to Times Now report, the authorities are investigating the matter and the case is also being viewed from a humanitarian angle.
Today Pakistan is celebrating their Independence Day but minorities in Pakistan hardly have any independence at all. Minorities in Pakistan face all sorts of atrocities at the hands of the majority Pakistani community.
https://twitter.com/ASJBaloch/status/1029135188356411392
Every year thousands of Hindus flee Pakistan to avoid persecution. Every year, thousands of Hindu girls are kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam, and later, they are forcibly married to Muslim men. In Pakistan, the Hindus and other minorities face discrimination in all walks of life, be it schooling, employment or sports. Hindu places of worship are targeted and destroyed. Hence, one can conclude with that the Hindus in Pakistan have only three options:
Convert to Islam
Leave Pakistan
Get Killed
The Hindu population of Pakistan has declined sharply since 1947. In 1947, the Hindu population of Pakistan was around 20 % but now it is just 1.85%. The Hindu refugees are fighting for their survival whereas the Rohingya Muslims and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants get political patronage in India. This is the very same country where top lawyers contested against PM Modi’s move of deporting Rohingya immigrants even though the intelligence data showed links between some of the Rohingya refugees and Pakistan-based terror groups.
The Hindu refugees from either Bangladesh or Pakistan have hardly found any respite in the land they thought would be their own and it will put a full stop to all their sufferings. Zee News and AAP rebel leader Kapil Mishra have exposed horrific details about how Hindu refugees coming to Delhi from Pakistan due to widespread anti-Hindu violence have been subjected to the most inhumane conditions by the Kejriwal government. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been accused of removing the sole power connection in the Adarsh Nagar rehabilitation camp for Hindu refugees. Kapil Mishra stated in his tweet, that he visited Hindu refugees coming to Delhi from Pakistan. He added that they have come to India in order to live with dignity and pride and save their dharma. Since 2013, they had one electricity connection that has now been removed by the Delhi government. In another tweet, rebel AAP leader Kapil Mishra stated that 600 refugees, including 140 kids and 7 infants, have been living without electricity in the national capital for the last twenty two days.
https://twitter.com/KapilMishra_IND/status/1011818121185972224
According to Kapil Mishra, while the Kejriwal government removed the only electricity connection to the Adarsh Nagar Hindu refugee rehabilitation camp in the middle of scorching summer, air conditioners were installed at the Bangladeshi basti right across the road. Kapil Mishra rightly added, that had the refugees living in the Adarsh Nagar Hindu refugee camp have been Rohingyas and not Hindus, they would not have been suffering like this. Various NGOs and other groups are also involved in providing better living conditions to Rohingyas and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants but only the Hindu refugees are ignored by these politically motivated NGOs and even by the government.
Although, the incumbent government at the centre has taken some steps to ensure the rights for Hindu refugees but they are not enough. According to the Times of India report, in many areas of western Rajasthan, Pakistani Hindu refugees have been waiting for Indian citizenship for over a decade now. Till now, the central government has organized camps to provide citizenship twice but nothing fruitful has come out of it. Only the forms were filled and formalities were done but no one was given citizenship. According to the report, around 968 Hindus have returned to Pakistan between the year 2015 and 2017. In the year 2017, 44 Hindu refugees returned to Pakistan, whereas in 2018 till now 59 have gone back to Pakistan. In 2016, the number of refugees who returned to Pakistan was 9.
Former Jaisalmer councilor and Pakistan Hindu refugee activist Nathuram Bheel had said, “Pakistani Hindus who are coming to India leaving everything in Pakistan are not getting anything here as well. They are coming here with the hope of leading a good life but eventually are losing all hope. The waiting period is getting longer, they have come here on religious visas and due to the lack of proper papers and documents, they are forced to go back”.
Whoever is responsible for this sad state of affairs, whether it is the state government or the central government, they should be ashamed. Instead of helping the Hindu refugees in need they have sent them back to suffer and die. The government needs to ensure that these refugees are cared for because India is their rightful land. They should not to be treated like intruders.