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

Thu Mar 19 13:33:08 IST 2009

Dear Yasir

Perhaps you missed seeing it; in an ensuing conversation I had written to Taha:

""""" 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.""""""

That was preceded by:

""""" 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. """""""

Take care

Kshmendra

--- On Thu, 3/19/09, yasir ~يا سر <yasir.media at gmail.com> wrote:

From: yasir ~يا سر <yasir.media at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa
To: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
Date: Thursday, March 19, 2009, 1:39 AM

apart from the hindus, 400,00 - 700,000 people have also left the area
during the last few months, so. they are other humans in the area.
best

yasir

On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:13 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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