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

Tue Mar 17 15:26:32 IST 2009

Dear Shivam

I will agree with you that India should follow a uniform policy towards refugees from any part of the world who seek refuge and are granted refuge. 

If it is suggested so, I will not agree that such a policy should also apply to those who's ingress into India is in a surreptitious manner or those who overstay the period allowed in their Visa. 

You remarked on it in passing, but I would also agree that a uniform policy should be followed towards all Internally Displaced citizens of India.

The sad part however is that people are driven by circumstances to disconnect themselves from their own environment and take refuge in an alien one. 

The magnitude of the desperation is the most significant in those who leave their own country and seek refuge in another country where they have none of the rights of a citizen. They know it and yet they make the choice.

But the same character of desperation also bears upon those who find it impossible to continue living in the land of their forefathers, the land of their heritage and culture and the land where they have the psychological support of being amongst family and friends and render themselves Internally Displaced.

The Internal Displacement to some degree forced upon people by forces of Nature resulting in floods, famines, tsunamis, earthquakes can be understood.

It is the Internal Displacement of people due to factors brought about by Political, Social, Religious, Corporate machinations that I find most disturbing. The State has failed in it's duty towards the citizens in such instances. 

I recognise, in some ways the characteristics of such (not by forces of Nature) Internal Displacement in the thousands who migrate from villages to towns to cities. The State has failed them.

It is therefore equally and perhaps more important in my eyes that the State provides such a protective environment for it's citizens that they are not 'driven' to seek refuge in another country, or to be rendered Internally Displaced in their own country. 

Kshmendra

--- On Tue, 3/17/09, Shivam V <lists at shivamvij.com> wrote:

From: Shivam V <lists at shivamvij.com>
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa
To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com
Cc: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 1:01 AM

Dear Kshmendra,

Thanks for posting this and bringing our attention to it. However,
there is nothing unusual about it. Pakistani Hindu migration to India
continues on an almost daily basis. I once did a story on them. I went
to the Bhati mines area of Chattarpur in Delhi and met a family of 11
that had arrived just two days ago. There are at least a hundred
thousand Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, and with some leadership and
organisation some of them have been getting Indian citizenship. This
shows how the "long" Partition "continues" in the most
literal sense
of the word "continues". This is just like the Partition continues
over the unsettled dispute over the Kashmir Valley and the constant,
complaining allegations about "Bangaldeshis" who come to India, the
corresponding issues of "vote bank politics" and them 'snatching
away'
jobs from Bihari labourers.

Firstly, the situtaion of the Pakistani Hindu refugees in India is
very bad. Indian red tape deals with them in the most insensitive
manner, makes sure that not only their visas but also passports
expire, and then expects them to have the money to get new passports
from the Pakistan High Commission, which is most uncooprative. So,
like most refugees, they just disappear in the mass of the
'unorganised sector' of the Indian economy, away from the watchful
eyes of an Indian state that couldn't care less. Most Pakistani Hindu
refugees are from Sindh as another posting on this list shows.

At the same time, being Hindus they still have it much easier than,
say the Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and
continue to pour into India and work in the same unorganised sector.
There is of course no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to
India despite India having more Muslims than Pakistan. The reason why
this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India
is a Hindu country and not a secular country that treats all refugees
equally.

This discrimination exists within internally displaced refugees in
India as Shuddhabrata Sengupta once showed on this list.

If you're Tibetan you're god; if you're Bangladeshi Hindu
you're just
Hindu and thus Indian; if you're Afghan Sikh you will easily get
Indian citizenship; if you're Sri Lankan Tamil you will live in
abominable conditions in refugee camps and the Tamilians will play
politics in your name but never do anything for your plight.

I think it is important that India passes a uniform national refugee
law and policy and shows compassion towards refugees from all parts of
the world equally.

I hope you agree with me.

best
shivam

On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:43 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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