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

Wed Mar 18 09:14:22 IST 2009

Dear Kshmendera

Thank you for a thought provoking mail on political theory 101 and political
philosophy 101 with respect to the idea of just and unjust distribution and
eligibility of recipients with respect to any such distribution. It was most
instructive to go through your thoughts.

I have only one question and I do not even desire a justification of your
position on this one.

In your response you articulate, 'India is not a Nation State.'

Now my question to you is this- Do you actually believe, India is Not a
Nation State? lol (All the brooding anarchists on this list must sit up and
take notice)

Warm regards

Taha

PS: While answering, A simple yes or no would suffice.

On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 12:31 PM, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Dear Taha
>
> In any situation, when the resources are 'more than plenty for everyone' we
> might see the humanistic face of sharing and caring. That humanist
> attitude gets relegated when there is a shortage of resources. People then
> first look after the needs of 'our own'. This is logical and understandable.
>
>
> The 'our own' could be immediate family as the smallest social unit or on a
> larger scale the 'our own' identification could be on the basis of religion;
> or ethnicity; or citizenship; or caste; or gender; a whole range of possible
> identity groupings.
>
> In my opinion, this also happens in the attitude towards minorities in a
> majoritarian demographic environment.
>
> I would therefore not agree that it is always a directed  or designed
> attitude to alienate minorities but can simply be a 'less available for
> many, so let us first look after our own'.
>
> I wrote earlier that it is 'logical and understandable'. But, should it
> be acceptable?
>
> In the private domain of individuals, or smaller scale sets, one can only
> whine about it or argue against it but any legal enforcement to prevent it
> would be highly improbable to succeed.
>
> However in all that is in the domain of 'public life', such discrimination
> should be unacceptable and illegal not only in the fabric of the
> Constitutional Umbrella but in every devolved Legislation or Law applicable
> to the functioning of the State, Semi-Govt & Quasi-Govt institutions and any
> enterprise that enjoys any kind of a support from 'public money' (schools,
> colleges, hospitals, clubs etc).
>
> Here we have to take into reckoning the nature of the State, what exactly
> are the provisions of and under it's Constitutional Umbrella as far as the
> attitudes towards minorities is concerned or any provisions favouring the
> majority are concerned. In this design itself India and Pakistan are starkly
> different.
>
> Before expanding on that, the specifics of the "35 Hindus migrating" do not
> suggest that they were driven out  but that they were overwhelmed and
> intimated by the increasing sway of the Taliban. The changed environment of
> 'kya tha aur kya ho gaya hai' (how it used to be and how it has become now).
> And yet one comes across 'bites' from Hindus in those areas (FATA etc)
> pronouncing how happier they are under the Taliban. These are just 35 Hindus
> compared to many a thousand Muslims (reportedly) who have emigrated from
> those areas (to other parts of Pakistan) for reasons that are similar to
> those that the '35 Hindus' have articulated. The State might be considered
> to be guilty by neglect and not by design and that too not neglect of the
> Hindus specifically.
>
> The other news item I posted about 'conspiracy against Hindus in Sindh'
> could be construed as neglect by the State of Hindus specifically. It could
> be interpreted as the 'design of deliberate neglect'.
>
> But this 'design of deliberate neglect' would not be unique to Pakistan.
> One could cite quite a few hundred scenarios in India which suggest such a
> 'design of deliberate neglect' of minorities that has the dimensions of the
> State being susceptible to being accused of being complicit in the
> sufferings undergone by the minority.
>
> Any non-propagandist recognition of such scenarios in India would reveal
> that the identity of the minority varies. Could be Muslims someplace, or
> Christians, or Sikhs, or Hindus or any other Minority Identity Grouping in a
> particular environment.
>
> Pakistan is a Nation State (Islamic). In Pakistan, it is understandable if
> in the Design of the State, there is 'majoritarianism' in both the
> Constitution and the Laws and the application of the Laws. That is an aspect
> that will be and is seen in any State that declares itself Islamic. It is
> peculiar to Islam because only Islam goes beyond simply theorising about the
> Divine and specifies societal norms and attitudes. This exclusivist nature
> of Islam is further hardlined by the nature of the interpretation of Islamic
> precepts that have taken root and concretised through the ages. In any
> declared Islamic State the 'alienate minorities on the basis of their
> ....religious identities ' is automatically programmed in the design of the
> State.
>
> The same would be true of any Nation State that is Ethnicity based.
>
> India is not a Nation State. No such provision of the Constitution or in
> Law comes readily to my mind that could be seen as being dictated by
> 'majoritarianism'. On the contrary, many Hindu voices whine about
> 'minorityism' or 'pampering of minorities' being the Law of the Land. They
> of course are referring only to religious identities.
>
> In India therefore, any 'design of deliberate neglect'  of any Minority
> Identity Group becomes totally unacceptable and illegal. Yet it happens. I
> know. It is sad. It is disgusting. It is destructive.
>
> I have tried to respond best that I could. Hope that there is some
> 'clarity' in the conveyance of my thoughts.
>
> Kshmendra
>
>
>
> --- On *Sun, 3/15/09, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com>* wrote:
>
> From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.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: Sunday, March 15, 2009, 9:40 PM
>
>
> 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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