[Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa

Mon Mar 16 01:52:15 IST 2009

What's so good about it mr. Inder...I do not think that everything which is
illegitimate 'in the eyes of the law is bound to face oppression'. The South
Asian experience at least tells us that structural arrangements pertaining
to big governement sometimes takes a back seat to human agency when it comes
to 'dealing' with law, in most cases. 'Jugaad' is a poignant example such a
negotiation. And what you suggest as a paradox regarding the tendency to
'tolerate' liberals etc is perhaps an all pervasive modern myth, something
which we all want to believe in for, and again I would like to drag in
Nandy's argument here, when he suggests that, 'Data on mass violence show
that secular states, backed by secular ideologies, account for at least
two-thirds of all the deaths in organized mass violence during the twentieth
century.' (Nandy, A 2009 p-5) So there you go, it seems as if the only way
when voices of the other can be heard is perhaps when they acquire a state
like power or perhaps when the state itself starts decaying by its own
rotten or rottening mass.

Regards

Taha

On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:01 PM, Inder Salim <indersalim at gmail.com> wrote:

> good mr. Taha
>
> just to intensity
>  that how minorities and plus all the vulnerable
>  around us goes into the building of a nation state,
> the word ' legitimate' is very interesting here, i feel
>
> because what is illegitimate in the eyes of nation and  its Law is
> bound to face oppression.
>
> there is however, a paradox, that how the same Nation State protects (
> or as Nation Sate lovers say 'tolerate; ) the liberals, not as its
> duty but its lenient/flexible  approach... ( as a Lion ignores the Rat
> who teases him while deep slumber )
>
> The State, a hardened state, infact does not want any interruption in
> the Laws that have been recongnized as legitimate.
> the question is how
>  voices of the other
> can force the State to bend
> and recognize the ' blood' that has gone into the steel of its structures
>  and is lustily looking for more 'blood shedding', unfotunately,
> legitimately
>
> best
> is
>
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 9:40 PM, Taha Mehmood
> <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote:
> > Dear Kshmendra
> >
> > Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a general
> > tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the
> basis
> > of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the
> > situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' of
> > Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome a
> long
> > time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or
> > 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, when
> it
> > comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism.
> >
> > This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence and
> > blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. Are we
> > witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive'  form a religious
> > nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' families as
> > yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy was
> > kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we
> witnessing
> > signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan?
> >
> >  It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo
> political
> > class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them.
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Taha
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com
> >wrote:
> >
> >> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have
> also
> >> appeared in:
> >>
> >> - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship"
> >>      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL
> >>
> >> - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India"
> >>
> >>
> http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi
> >>
> >> Kshmendra
> >>
> >>
> >> "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa"
> >> JAGMOHAN SINGH
> >> Saturday, 07 March 2009
> >>
> >> AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu
> migrants
> >> from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly
> in
> >> tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children
> had
> >> crossed over to india few days back.
> >>
> >> The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried
> the
> >> nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get
> extension
> >> in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in
> >> Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year.
> >>
> >> Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said,
> “We
> >> were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the
> domination of
> >> strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In
> such
> >> circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our
> female
> >> members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can
> >> breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in
> India”.
> >>
> >> Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to
> allow
> >> us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the
> >> hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”.
> >>
> >> Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would
> never
> >> prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here
> >> permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint
> the
> >> Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in
> Pakistan”.
> >>
> >> Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar
> said,
> >> “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the
> >> fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property.
> Even
> >> Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe,
> since
> >> none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for
> required
> >> necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local
> >> executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the
> tribal
> >> area of Pakistan”.
> >>
> >> Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the
> needful
> >> for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our
> >> business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”.
> >>
> >> Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of
> relief
> >> while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were
> observing
> >> close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were
> always
> >> worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist
> people.
> >> Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in
> the
> >> four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education,
> since
> >> girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”.
> >>
> >> Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of
> >> Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets
> chance
> >> only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In
> >> Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble.
> Numerous
> >> Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as
> >> unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship.
> Since
> >> for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and
> for
> >> women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal
> >> area”, she quipped.
> >>
> >> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
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>
> --
>
> http://indersalim.livejournal.com
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