Movement for Rights of the Religious Minorities (Hindus) in Pakistan Missing ???

By Gopinath Kumar (PHP editor from USA)
Thursday,May 27,2010

(Pakistani Hindus celebrate Holi in Karachi City,Sindh)

Pakistan : The tectonic events of the past few years - including September the ‘11’ and the war against terrorism in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond - have dramatically affected the Muslims and their attitudes toward the non-Muslims in general. However, some of the dynamics that are influencing the socio-cultural environment in Muslim countries and especially in Pakistan are also the product of trends that have been at work for many decades.
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Falsely presumed religious mission and self-proclaimed righteousness has provided a vehicle through which different governments/leaders have sought legitimacy to discriminate against the non-Muslims. Some of the political parties even contest elections around an agenda of Islamizing the state and reforming the society around religious lines. Based on the ideology of two nation theory, the notion that a separate country "only" for the Muslims where they can live according to their own religious values has indeed proved lethal for the possibility of co-existence with other faiths for all times to come. It is predominantly a Muslim country but we need to be mindful of the existence of Christians, Bahais, Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Parsis and Sikhs who identify themselves as non-Muslim but true Pakistanis.
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In the past two decade or so, religion has become increasingly intertwined in the political turmoil that envelops Pakistan. The Hindu and Sikh community in Pakistan are very much under represented and is inherently sub divided into various castes. AA while siding with the poorest of the poor will work with the scheduled class hindus all across Pakistan. Their representative groups will be formed at the provincial level and strengthened to amplify their political voice and bring their grievances to the public fore will help us to promote diversity and ensure their rights. Capacity building of these groups will be done especially to empower them to participate in the upcoming census in 2010.
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This campaign will contribute in increasing their participation in the national process as it provide the base of fiscal settings, services and programs provided to remote communities.

Low-Caste Hindus (Dalits) Face Strict Discrimination Even Today In Pakistan

By Ramesh Jaipal ,*PHP Guest Editor & Leader of Scheduled Caste Rights Movement (SCRM)
Tuesday,May 25,2010

(Hindu metal workers working their craft in Thar region, Pakistan. Hindus are still in majority in some southern parts of Pakistan, a region which borders India. Unfortunately, due to prevailing injustice in the country against minorities and a general lack of order, many Hindu families have gone to India recently. With Strict Visa rules for Pakistani Hindus, India has become an only option to go)

ISLAMABAD : Sixty-nine per cent of those surveyed said that their upper caste Hindu and Muslim neighbours either do not invite them to their social gatherings like weddings, or if invited they were being served food separately. This attitude was relatively more prevalent in Rahim Yar Khan (87 per cent) then in Tharparkar (60 per cent).

In schools, Scheduled Caste students are obliged to sit on back seats, leaving front seats for students from non-scheduled castes. Though they are not asked to do so on regular basis, the practice is in place for so long that it had become a custom.

Scheduled caste population, according to official statistics, is only 332,343. Ordinary scheduled castes as well as their political representatives, which consider that the discrimination starts from their exclusion in headcount, challenge these figures. 

They said that their numbers had been deliberately shown less and their low number was also a main reason of their backwardness as they were not considered a major group in numbers thus they were not provided adequate share in development budget.

According to the last census held in 1998, the total population of Hindus in Pakistan was 2,443,514 of which 2,111,171 are Hindu Jatis (upper castes) and 332, 343 are scheduled castes Hindus (lower castes).

Scheduled caste population is overwhelmingly living in rural areas as 90 per cent or 3,07,509 live in villages and only 24,834 are living in urban areas. Majority of Pakistani rural population are agriculture workers with no rights and facilities.     

Economically, scheduled caste people in Pakistan are very backward. Majority of them are working as bonded labour Haris in agriculture and in other sectors such as brick kilns in both Sindh and Punjab. Scheduled caste women, due to their low and marginalised status, are the most vulnerable and considered sexually available by men of Muslim dominated communities.

Low-caste representatives including five former legislators, in a consultation held in June 2007 in Karachi, simply rejected the official statistics about the population of upper and lower caste stating that it is totally incorrect. According to their estimates the population of scheduled castes should be more than two million.
As the men of scheduled caste families are also economically weaker with no social support or political leverage in the community, their younger women are lured into matrimony or abducted and wed through forced conversions.

Abduction of young scheduled caste women is frequent and often reported in regional newspapers. They are kidnapped or lured and then used sexually and sometimes abandoned after keeping them in custody.

The economic situation has become worst when it comes to scheduled castes, as 84 per cent scheduled castes do not own any land, which is far greater than general patterns of landlessness in over all country. An overwhelming majority of the 16 per cent said that they own a small piece of land up to five acres.

Low-caste people in Pakistan feel politically isolated and marginalised; otherwise they said that under the Constitution of Pakistan they had equal rights. Obviously, marginalisation has kept them economically weaker so they cannot compete with upper castes in fulfilling demands of party leaders in monetary terms.

An overwhelming majority of 91.5 per cent of the respondents in Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Tharparkar and Umerkot districts said they did not think any political party give importance to scheduled caste. Only 8.5 per cent agree that political parties do pay some heed to their issues.

Similarly, political parties have also not enhanced their membership base within scheduled castes as only 7 per cent of the adult respondents said that they were affiliated with any political party.

Hindu (Dalits) demand their rights in Sindh , Pakistan

Source http://www.centralasiaonline.com
Tuesday,April 20,2010

Pakistan has nearly 4m Hindus, 75% of whom are Dalits. About 70 Dalit families have moved from Aakli to the plains near Mithi, where they are protesting the abduction of their women and demanding security.

THARPARKAR, Pakistan – Long accustomed to discrimination, Pakistan's Hindu Dalits are fighting a new form of harassment that is driving them from their ancestral villages in the Tharparkar District of Sindh.

About 70 Dalit families have left to protest the growing incidence of kidnapping of their young women. The kidnapping typically leads to rape or forced conversion to Islam and marriage.

That fate befell a 15-year-old Dalit girl, Daya, recently, the Dalits say. Kidnappers snatched and forcibly converted her, after which a local Muslim landlord, Mumtaz Hangorio, married her, said Arjan Meghawar, a Dalit.

"Daya ... was kidnapped when the entire family was asleep", he told Central Asia Online. "They were told that she converted to Islam in a local madrassa".

Her family have been unable to see her, he said, calling that situation typical for the families of such kidnapping victims.

"The kidnappers have ordered the Dalit community to stay quiet; otherwise, they will abduct more girls", Meghawar said.

He rejected the claim that the girl converted voluntarily.

"First, Daya is only 15", he said, "which means she is not legally eligible to marry; second, she was not produced in any court to record her statement in this regard". The minimum age for marriage in Pakistan is 16.

Daya was the second Dalit girl victimised by men from the majority community, according to the Dalits. Local men kidnapped and gang-raped Kasturi, 17, on January 24, said Veerjee, head of the Kohli Association.

The abductors are "local bigwigs belonging to the ruling Pakistan People's Party, who are now issuing threats to keep the Dalit community silent", he said.

Kasturi's parents have paid a price for disregarding such threats and complaining to the police, he said; even the police are now harassing them.

"Even though (rape) is a nonbailable offence", Veerjee said, "the local court granted bail to the accused". Kasturi and her family had to flee their village because the suspects threatened them, he added.

Section 365-B of the penal code allows only higher courts, not local ones, to grant bail to those suspected of "kidnapping ... any woman" with forced marriage or sexual intercourse in mind, Arshad Malah, a legal scholar, told Central Asia Online.

Fed up with injustice and fearful for their safety, the fleeing Dalit families (about 400 individuals) have abandoned the village of Aakli and relocated to the plains near Mithi, said Hot Chand Toghani, a social activist with the Thardeep Rural Development Programme.

The government could do more to help them, he said. It has only "distributed 100 application forms for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP)", he told Central Asia Online.

The government is doing its best to protect the Dalits, replied Shaarjeel Memon, a member of parliament representing Tharparkar from the ruling party.

"The district government has been directed to establish houses for them and provide food and water", he told Central Asia Online. "They'll be receiving aid money from the BISP very soon. We are trying to convince them to end their protest and return to their villages".

That idea doesn't sit well with some aggrieved Dalits.

"No one can imagine how difficult it is to leave one's ancestral village", said 70-year-old Mehendero Meghawar. "But we've decided not to go back".

Kidnapping brides from the Dalits and forcibly converting them are common abuses, said Sono Khangharani, a Dalit social worker who pins the blame for such acts on local landlords and other influential residents.

"The Dalits are the poorest of the poor and are discriminated against daily, even though the Pakistani constitution promises equal rights to all", he said.

Khangharani is the first Dalit to receive a governmental award. President Asif Ali Zardari named him a recipient of the Thamgha-e-Imtiaz civilian honour in August 2009.

Pakistan has nearly 4m Hindus, 75% of whom are Dalits.

Dalits encounter discrimination from both Muslims and higher-caste Hindus, Khangharani told Central Asia Online. The Dalits' "untouchability" bars them from accessing public places.

"Neither Hindu nor Muslim barbers will shave Dalits or give them a haircut", he said. "Hindus and Muslims won't eat food prepared by the Dalits, either. Such practises concerning untouchability are very common in Sindh".

Islam not only forbids forced conversion and forced marriage, it mandates equal treatment of all religious minorities, said Mufti Wali Khan Almuzaffar, a prominent Islamic scholar. Islam has no concept of untouchability and the idea of an untouchable social class comes entirely from tradition and myth, he added.

Introduction to Hindus in Pakistan (Youtube Vedio)

Source http://www.youtube.com
Monday,April 19,2010
 

ICFJournalists — March 30, 2010 — Participant Rasheed Channa, who traveled to Egypt with other journalists to participate in a cross cultural discussion, produced a video on Hindus in Paskistan.

25 Hindu girls abducted every month, claims HRCP official in Sindh , Pakistan

Source http://www.thenews.com.pk

Tuesday, March 30, 2010
By By Rabia Ali
Karachi

As many as 20 to 25 girls from the Hindu community are abducted every month and converted forcibly, said Amarnath Motumal, an advocate and council member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

“There is no official record to support this statement, but according to estimates, in Karachi alone, a large number of Hindu girls are being kidnapped on a routine basis,” Motumal told The News. “The families of the victims are scared to register cases against the influential perpetrators as death threats are issued to them in case they raise their voice. So, the victims choose to remain silent to save their lives,” he said.

Motumal said the word ‘Hindu’ had become an insult and a kind of abuse for the Hindu community. “Almost 90 per cent of the Hindu community comprise poor and impoverished families whose needs and rights have been neglected by the ones at the helms of power,” he said, adding that since a majority of the people feel helpless, only a few families come to him with their cases.

A former MPA, Bherulal Balani, said that the Hindu girls, especially the ones belonging to scheduled castes, were mostly being abducted from the Lyari area. “Once the girls are converted, they are then sold to other people or are forced to do illegal and immoral activities,” Balani said. He added the perpetrators were very powerful and that was the reason that no cases were being registered against them.

The number of attacks against the Hindu community has increased in the interior Sindh during the last three months. At least nine incidents have been reported which range from forced conversion of Hindus to rape and murders.

In one incident, a 17-year-old girl ‘K’ was gang-raped in Nagarparker area. In another incident, a 15-year-old girl ‘D’ was allegedly abducted from Aaklee village, Tharparkar, and was forced to convert. About 71 families migrated from the village in protest against the girl’s abduction.

Moreover, the Hindu communities were not even spared on the occasion of their joyous festival of Holi as two girls, Anita and Kishni, were kidnapped in Kotri. Moreover, two Hindu boys, Ajay and Sagar, were abducted from another place on the same day.

One Amir Gul was murdered in the beginning of March in Tando Haider, Umerkot, allegedly by a landlord. Later in the month, a boy, Kishan Kumar, was kidnapped from Kandhkot, Jacobabad.

MPA Pitamber Sewani told The News that these acts were being done by certain elements who believe that these minority communities might support the government in the upcoming local bodies’ elections, and these elements want to harass them.

However, President Pakistan Hindu Council Ramesh Kumar criticised the minorities’ representatives for not raising their voice at relevant forums. He said that they were simply representing their respective parties and not the poor people. He added that poor economic conditions had led to an increase in kidnapping cases in the province, especially in the Kandhkot and Jacobabad areas.

Coordinator HRCP Task Force Sindh Dr Ashothama Lohano told The News the according to their one fact-finding report, the most affected persons of violence belonged to Hindu and Christian communities. He said that various reasons have been cited for this. “The recent wave of extremism is one reason, which has destroyed the harmony of the land of Sufis. Another reason is the destruction of the agriculture sector and small markets that has led to frustration and lawlessness. Yet another reason is that the elected representatives are working only for the party and not for the community,” Dr Lohano added.

He further said that minority communities were easy targets as the Hindus were generally hesitant to raise voice against the injustices. “When the Hindu communities become politically active, they are blamed for having Indian connections,” doctor Lohano said.

Pakistani Hindu Women Meena's Story (Discrimination and Persecution)

Source http://www.youtube.com/user/withlovefrompakistan
Monday,March15,2010

Meena's Story - A Thirsty Fish (Urdu/Hindi)

  Meena's Story - A Thirsty Fish (English Translated)

Meena Daya is a 37-years-old Hindu living in Pakistan.

We go to the Shu Shankar Bolanath Hindu temple in Karachi on a , the special day of the week to worship god Bolanath. This god is the caretaker of children and home life. "There is one god. He's just in different, multiple forms but all forms are him," says Daya.

The Hindus believe this temple to be over 5000 years old if not there from the beginning of time. The temple itself is actually a large underground cave with construction in front of it and on top of it. Standing outside the entrance of the temple, one can see the rock of the cave in the right corner with a large picture of Bolanath on the left. The inside looks like an ordinary temple with statues of gods all over till one looks up at the roof; concaved rock.

Daya comes to this temple  to ask Bolanath to give her children health and happiness and to bless her married life. "They are the most important things in life to me, so I pray for them."

Since Bolanath is the god of marital bliss, a lot of young couples, married, or those wishing to be married, come to this temple to pray as well.

Today's worship involves a short black stone with a rounded top. "The stone is a memory of the place Bolanath used to worship at," says Daya. "The rituals performed at the stone were first performed by his wife after he died. First, you touch the place of the stone and run that hand over your head to get the gods blessings, and you prostrate. Then you can pour the milk, break the coconut, spread flowers and light the incense in whichever sequence you please."

Daya works at a hair and beauty salon. She was married into a poor Hindu family and when the time came to put the first child in school, her husband told her there wasn't enough income. "I told him, 'then let me work. It's important our son goes to school.'"

She got a job as a janitor at a school and requested them to admit her son. "They made all kinds of excuses. And then the truth came out. We were Hindu and he would be a janitor's son. I quit the job."

Daya then decided to sell her wedding jewelry and learn the skills of a beautician which would get her a job at a salon.

"The first couple of salons I worked at, things would start off okay. Then gradually some of the women working with me would start complaining to each other 'we read the Quran, what does she do! Worship idols!' They would tell the owner, 'now that you've kept her, you'll have no success in your business because Allah won't send his blessings.' I would eventually be asked to leave."

Daya is happy at her current workplace where even though she's the only Hindu, she's not the only minority. Half the girls working at the salon are Christians.

This clip tells her story, very concisely, in her words.