September 13th, 2009
JODHPUR – “We Hindus in Pakistan are being discriminated against, tortured and harassed,” complains Ram Lal, a 45-year-old migrant from Pakistan, one of the estimated 10,000 migrants from that country settled in and around here in the desert state of Rajasthan.
He came to Jodhpur with his family of five over six months ago when, he says, things started to worsen.
“I do not want to go back….being a Hindu, there are so many problems for you in Pakistan,” Ram Lala told IANS, adding that only one member of his family, his brother, now lives in Pakistan.
“In Pakistan we, being Hindus, are not allowed to eat in a restaurant or a dhaba and if allowed by chance, we are served food in different utensils which we have to clean ourselves after eating,” said Ram Lal, whose name was changed on request, as he feared for the safety of his brother.
Ram Lal, who used to work in a farm in Dilshakh near Hyderabad in Sindh province, said: “Hindus were given a paltry remuneration in comparison to Muslims and we had no one to complain to”.
Imran Kumar, another Hindu refugee, adopted a Muslim name saying this was the best way to live peacefully in Pakistan. His father’s name is Nemi Kumar.
“I come from a Hindu family. I did not change my religion, I only changed my name and it helped me to get admission in school easily,” said Imran, a man in his early 30s, adding that if you are a Hindu in Pakistan it is most likely that you will not get admission in educational institutions.
Lal and Kumar are not the only Pakistani refugees in Jodhpur. According to rough estimates by Seemant Lok Sangathan (SLS), a group working for refugees in Rajasthan, over 10,000 Hindu migrants from Pakistan are living in this city.
Over 5,300 of them were granted citizenship till 2005 and SLS says more than 5,000 others have now already applied for long term visa (LTV).
SLS president Hindu Singh Sodha said: “The LTV number keeps on changing because whoever stays here for six months can apply for it to the union home ministry and according to our information, the displaced who have applied for LTV till date are around 5,000.”
“Religious persecution, discrimination and harassment of the Hindu minority are the main reasons behind people wanting to come to India. While the Pakistani government has discriminatory policies for the minority community members, they are also victims of rising fundamentalism in Pakistan,” Ranaram told IANS.
Ranaram, a farm labourer, who used to live in a village in the Pakistani part of Punjab, said he was held hostage by fundamentalists, was tortured and was forced to convert to Islam.
“Me and my family were tortured by a fundamentalist group which forced us to convert to Islam. My wife and children were kidnapped when I complained about it. I was told that I would only get back my son and daughter and I should forget about my wife as she is a Muslim now. That day, I decided to come to India and now I am here,” Ranaram said. He came here over eight months ago.
“I am not alone. There are thousands of others who are facing this torture and harassment. But they have nowhere to go. We had no option but to come here,” Ranaram said.
With tears in his eyes, another farmer said: “Our children are forced to perform Namaz and they call us Kafirs. The life for Hindus is very difficult there.” He was too scared to reveal his identity.
According to him, such incidents have increased after the ouster of Gen.Pervez Musharraf from the post of Pakistan’s president in 2008.
Sodha criticised New Delhi for rarely taking up the issue with Islamabad. “At the same time, it is getting more difficult for these people to get Indian citizenship,” he held.
“The minimum period of stay in India to apply for citizenship has been increased from five years to seven years and the fees have been hiked steeply.”
“Most of these people are agricultural labourers and from 2005 onwards the government has raised the prescribed citizenship fee structure from Rs.100-500 to Rs.3,000-20,000. It has just become impossible for this deprived group,” Sodha said, adding that the process of acquiring Indian citizenship is also very complicated.
(Anil Sharma can be contacted at anil.s@ians.in)
MY PASSION 
DEAR SHRAVAN,
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT, RIOTS AGAINST MUSLIMS, IN GUJRAT,BHIWANDI,HYDERABAD-INDIA,DELHI,MUMBAI,BIHAR,UTTAR PRADESH,BHOPAL,AND MANY MORE PLACES, DO U THINK HINDUS R RIGHT, AND WHAT ABOUT BABRI MASJID DEMOLISH??????? I AM INDIAN AND I AM PROUD MORE THAN HINDU TO BE INDIAN MUSLIM BECAUSE I LOVE INDIA AND INDIA’S ENEMY IS MY ENEMY. LIVE IT PAKISTANI THEY ARE ILLETERATE I HAVE EXPERIENCE IN UAE, I FEEL SHAME ON US (INDIANS) ON EVERY PLATFORM WE SAY WE ARE DEMOCRATIC AND SECULAR COUNTRY….. DO WE??????
BYE AND GOD BLESS YOU AND READ PURAN (YOUR RELIGIOUS BOOK) AND BHAGWAT GITA,RAMAYAN, AND MAHABHARATA, ALHAMDULILLAH I AM MUSLIM BUT I READ ALL THESE BOOKS IN THESE BOOKS I DIDNOT FOUND ANY HATE THING EXCEPT CASTE, IF WE REMOVE CASTE SYSTEM AND IDOL PRAY FROM HINDUSIM THEIR IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN U AND US, BECAUSE WE BELIEVE ON ONE GOD AND ALL YOUR BOOKS ARE GIVING EDUCATION ONE GOD, FOR YOUR KIND INFORMATION IDOL PRAY IS PROHIBITED IN HINDUSIM.
I LOVE INDIA AND MY CITY AND MY RELIGION AND MY COMMUNITY AND MY ALL INDIANS I DIDNT HATE ANY INDIAN BECAUSE I AM MUSLIM ALHAMDULILLAH.
AND PLEASE WATCH MOVIE ” KINGDOM OF HEAVEN” THIS MOVIE ON SALAH UDDIN AYYUBI HE CONQUER OF JERUSELUM WATCH HOW WE TREAT OTHER RELIGION HOW WE RESPECT OTHER COMMUNITIES.
THANKS
MAY GOD SHOW U HIS PATH (AMEEN)
DEAR INDIAN,
I HAVE HEARD ABOUT, RIOTS AGAINST MUSLIMS, IN GUJRAT,BHIWANDI,HYDERABAD-INDIA,DELHI,MUMBAI,BIHAR,UTTAR PRADESH,BHOPAL,AND MANY MORE PLACES.WHAT DO YOU THINK IS MY OPINION ON THOSE STUFFS?
DEAR FRIEND YOU MAY BE THINKING THAT I AM A HINDU FANATIC….BUT TO YOUR SURPRISE I AM NOT.LETS NOT SPEAK ..SPEAK AND SPEAK… LETS GO THROUGH THE FOLLOWING DATA WHICH ARE CRYSTAL CLEAR ON SHOWING WHO IS RIGHT AND WHO IS WRONG:
Presently it is estimated that Hindus make up 2% of Pakistan’s population. This is at least five times the number of Hindus in Britain.
Before the end of colonial rule in 1947, the land that was to become Pakistan had a large proportion of Hindus, accounting for over 26% of the population. The Partition of India was the biggest forced migration of people in human history, and was accompanied by large scale massacres. During this period, the population of Hindus dropped to 15% in this region.
The constitution and legal system that was framed for the new country openly discriminated against Hindus. During periods of tension between India and Pakistan, Hindus were killed and expelled in large numbers. In 1965 a law was passed that openly incited and legitimised confiscation of Hindu property. This was called “The Enemy Property Act”.
AND ABOUT BABRI MASJID DEMOLISH I THINK IT IS THE GREATEST MISTAKE THAT HINDU FUNDAMENTALISTS DID.THIL LED TO FEEDBACKS IN MANY COUNTRIES WHERE HINDUS WERE IN MINORITY.
In 1989 and 1992 over 300 Hindu temples were destroyed. Many Hindus lost their homes. The largest outward migration of Hindus from Pakistan since Partition took place during these years.
NOW LETS HAVE A LOOK AT INDIA:
Islam is India’s second-most practiced religion after Hinduism, with more than 13.4% of the country’s population (over 138 million as per 2001 census and 160.9 million per 2009 estimate) identifying themselves as Muslims.
India’s Muslim population is the world’s third largest and the world’s largest Muslim-minority population.
However, unofficial estimates claim a far higher figure supposedly discounted in censuses. For instance, in an interview with a well circulated newspaper of India The Hindu Justice K.M. Yusuf, a retired Judge from Calcutta High Court and Chairman of West Bengal Minority Commission, has said that the real percentage of Muslims in India is at least 20%.
THIS SHOWS THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF MUSLIMS IS EVER-GROWING IN INDIA.
THANKS FOR READING PURANS,BHAGWAD GITA,RAMAYAN,MAHABHARAT AND OTHER TEXTS.BUT,SYMPATHY ON YOU FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND AHYTHING EXCEPT CASTE SYSTEM .YOU MUST HAVE GONE THROUGH THE SURFACE.BUT TO KNOW HOW DEEP A POND IS YOU NEED TO GO WITHIN.I HAVE HEARD THERE SINCE YOU PEOPLE ARE CONVERTS YOU ALL CARRY THE SAME CASTE SYSTEMS.IN U.P I HAD SEEN A NEWS SHOWING “DALIT-DALIT EK SAMAN HINDU HO YA MUSALLMAN”.WHAT DO YOU SAY?
AND REGARDING IDOL WORSHIP LET ME CLEAR YOUR CONCEPTS.NOT ALL SCHOOLS OF HINDUISM WORSHIP IDOLS!
YOU HAVE SAID THAT IDOL PRAY IS PROHIBITED IN HINDUISM..CAN YOU JUSTIFY???
AND AT LAST,I REMIND YOU ONCE AGAIN THAT I RESPECT ALL RELIGIONS.