What Pakistani Hindus Says about Pakistan?

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Why would you leave your home and place where you born and grew up?
Why would you leave your business that you set up?
Why would you leave your relatives, cousins and friends?
Why would you risk your life and future to another environment that has uncertainty ahead?

The world does not know about religiously persecuted Pakistani Hindus!
Some of the statements that will show the real conditions of Pakistani Hindus and what it feels like!

Following:

“We were leading our lives in Pakistan as animals. Religious minorities have no place in that country. Torture, rape, killing and forced conversions are normal practice there,” said Dr Kishan Mal, who migrated to India on a pilgrimage visa in 2013 with 100 other people.

“The authorities denied a passport to my younger child, so I had to leave her behind at my brother’s place,” “My wife and my elder daughter accompanied me as soon as we got the pilgrim visa for India.” Kishan Ram, 32

“Women are also disrespected there” “We had to face verbal jibes, sometimes they were directed at us, sometimes towards our religion and customs. We were scared, however, coming here has been no good for us until now as people don’t treat us well here either. We are being neglected both by society and the Indian government.” Jamna Devi, 50,

“I cannot study here, nor can I find any job,” “Nobody lends any help. I am educated but still I have to sell things on the streets.” Raja, 26,

“Being a Hindu in Pakistan is like a curse. They come and rob us; we are not allowed to send our children to good schools. We are forced to pay money to the local goons because we are Hindus. Why should we stay there? This is our country, we will not go back from here,” Tarol

“When Pakistan would lose a cricket match against India, our houses would be attacked. They blamed us for the loss. I was once beaten up in school because Pakistan could not win against India.” “I am an undergraduate. I was in my final year of college when I came here. But now no one gives me a job because I am a Pakistani. So I sell vegetables in the neighbourhood to make ends meet. I came here with a lot of hope, but that is shattered,” Rahul, 21

“We came here in 2011 on pilgrimage visas. Since then we have been staying in this camp. We are not entitled to any government jobs there; even in private jobs we are discriminated against. Pakistan is an intolerant country. Hindus do not have any place there. Our temples are destroyed; our children are given only Islamic education. We did not celebrate any Hindu festival until the time we came here. In fact, we were not allowed to celebrate festivals,” Sona Das

“When I came here I was completely unlettered. Today I can write my name,” Mala Das
“Our children don’t feel welcome in schools there. Muslims taunt us for being Hindu. Our girls are also sexually harassed,” Mr Das says
“Here Hindus pray without fear in temples and organise religious festivals outdoor. In Pakistan we prayed at home. If we went to temples, we avoided the gaze of our neighbours.” Mala

“We have full religious freedom here. We are free.” in India “everyone is respectful of each other’s faith”. Ishwar Lal

“We applied in 2011 but nothing has happened. The BJP government which claims to have sympathy for us is no different from other governments. We feel frustrated,” Arjun Das

“Recently 37 members of five Hindu families migrated to India from Thul town owing to discrimination while three Hindus, including a doctor, were murdered in Shikarpur district,” “Lots of violent incidents are happening daily. Most go unreported, which shows vested interests are trying to force Hindus to leave Pakistan.” “Hindu migration is a brain-drain for Pakistan as most of them are doctors, engineers, agriculturists, businessmen and intellectuals,”
Rubab Jafri, Human Rights head Sindh

“Two of my brothers have migrated to India and an uncle to the UAE,” Jay Ram,

“When I first went to a local college two years ago, students and teachers gave me a strange look,” “They gave me a bizarre glance because being a Hindu I was an alien to them and such a situation always hurts me but I don’t express my feeling,” “Although we have mixed up with Muslim villagers in such a way that we do not feel alienated, sometimes the feeling of loneliness haunts us,” 18-year-old Manisha Chhiber

“Life in Delhi refugee camp was painful for such a man who lived a luxurious life. This forced my father to come back,” Daleep Singh
“I requested them many a times to find some other place for their animals but they did not pay any attention. I could not do nothing but plead,” says a distressed Ravindar.

“Every month about eight to 10 Hindu families migrate from Pakistan. Most of them are well-off ” Ministry New Delhi

“They are abducted, raped, and forcibly converted after a forced marriage. They never get justice as neither their families, nor they, can prove that they were married. They also cannot apply for a divorce nor get alimony or remarry as they do not possess any marriage certificates,” Surinder Kochchar

“Allegations of kidnappings of Hindu women, followed by forced conversions to Islam and forced marriages to Muslim men, continued to rise throughout 2014.” the USCIRF 2014-15 report

“Nobody listens to the poor. But to be from a lower caste on top of that, worsens the matters for our community,” “We only facilitate their wish. We don’t impose our own will on them,” said Kundan Mal Meghwar

“You can not understand our pain. My father recently passed away; I could not even find a place to perform my father’s last rites,” the BBCUrdu quoted one of the people arriving with the group. “We will not go back to Pakistan. You may kill us if you wish, but we will not return.” Bheel community of Hindus
, “whereas my daughter was handed over to the police on Friday after we requested help from an influential man in the area.” “It’s been nine days since my daughter was taken away,” he said, “but there’s no indication about what might happen. I’m hopeful, but deep down I also know that most lawmakers representing us in the assemblies are from the upper caste, and they’ll try and protect their own first.”Kundan

“Pakistan’s blasphemy laws disproportionately affect Hindus, Christians, and Ahmadis. Hindus have been arrested and abused in recent years due to their religious identity.” Jinnah Institute

“Hindus have particularly been singled out for criticism in the textbooks, with negative depictions of Hindus pervasive through both“historical distortions and the framing of concepts through religious language that promotes the superiority of Islam over Hinduism.” “This modern day form of slavery, which disproportionately impacts poor Hindus, operates on a debt bondage system and is characterized by patterns of abuse, detention, and exploitation. Bonded laborers work in a number of sectors, such as agriculture, brick-kilns, mining, and domestic households.” The HAF report

“Hindus are repeatedly described as extremists and eternal enemies of Islam, whose culture and society is based on injustice and cruelty, while Islam delivers a message of peace and brotherhood, concepts portrayed as alien to the Hindu.” Dawn newspaper

“I was a Hindu in a Muslim country and there was no space for my future there,” Ramesh Pawar, 32

“During last two months, six incidents of religious desecration happened only in Sindh province. In all incidents, religious books of Hindu minority and their places of worship were burnt,” said Wankwani, who also heads the Pakistan Hindu Council.
He said the government has so far neither made arrests nor taken action against any extremist group involved in attacks. “No one from the minority community feels safe in Pakistan,” Ramesh Kumar

“The Hindus in Sindh are largely traders, businessmen and landlords. By targeting them for ransom with death threats and abductions, forceful conversions and marriages, the extremists are able to spread fear and drive them to migrate, thus taking over their houses and business.” “collective fear and collective silence” the situation of the Hindu community was so dire that people lived in perpetual threat. “When the state itself has failed to protect the rights of its own people, who dare to stand for the minorities, what hope does the minorities themselves have? What will they do if not flee,” Assad Iqbal Butt, a member of the Human Rights Commission Pakistan

“There is no intervention by the Indian government or international agencies for the plight of Pakistani Hindus,” complains Sodha

“I am qualified enough to work on my merits in India, but no one is willing to hire me once they know I am from Pakistan,” “My life was dark in Pakistan where I had to hide my identity as a Hindu. And now in India, my life continues to be in darkness as I have to hide I am Pakistani.” Pawar

“That question has always perplexed my mind. Why are we treated as second-class citizens by the state and why are we discriminated in every walk of life just because we are Hindus? “I can safely say this on behalf of my community that we often feel like citizens of “no man’s land” because here in Pakistan we are treated as Indians and those of us who migrate to India are called Pakistanis. For our love and patriotism for Pakistan, right-wing Indians call us ISI agents, while here just for being Hindu, we are labeled agents of RAW. Where should we go?” Kapil Dev, a Human Rights activist.

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