Image courtesy: new-pakistan.com
The December 21, 2010 kidnapping of Lakki Chand Garji, one of the most revered Hindu spiritual leaders in Pakistan and an official of the Kala Mata temple in the Kalat district of Pakistan's Baluchistan province, led to strong protest by minority Hindus in the province.[1] This kidnapping is just one in a series of such violent incidents against the Hindu minority in Pakistan.
In recent years, a number of Hindus in Pakistan have been kidnapped for ransom or for forced conversion to Islam, especially in Sindh province. These incidents are generally ignored by the Pakistani authorities, because the Hindu minority lacks support among government officials as well as in the local society, which is predominantly Muslim.
In addition, such incidents are rarely reported by the leading Pakistani media groups. During the Pakistan floods of August-September 2010, Hindus and Ahmadi Muslims were denied flood relief by Pakistani government officials. The News daily reported that government officials at the Mir Imdad camp, outside the historical Jhirk Town in the Thatta district of Sindh province, denied aid to Hindu children.[2]
The kidnappings of Hindus have become frequent recently in the interior areas of Sindh; according to a report, members of the minority community are now migrating to urban centers and in many cases to India. A media report of mid-October 2010 noted: "Since the beginning of this year, at least eight children of this family have been kidnapped and released in return for a hefty ransom [in interior Sindh]."[3]
In March 2009, 35 Pakistani Hindus from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs) of Pakistan went to India and asked for asylum. Jagdish Sharma, the Hindu community leader who accompanied them to India, said: "In Pakistan, we were living in extreme fear, due to the domination of a strong group of Taliban who are running a parallel government."[4] Also in July 2009, a group of 100 Pakistani Hindus went to India and sought permission to live there.[5]
This migration to India is part of a pattern. In September 2009, an Indian website reported: "In the past four years, some 5,000 Hindus may have crossed over from Pakistan, never to return."[6]
In March 2010, Amarnath Motumal, an advocate and member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), said that as many as 20 to 25 girls from the Hindu community in Pakistan are abducted every month and converted forcibly to Islam, adding: "According to estimates, in Karachi alone, a large number of Hindu girls are being kidnapped on a routine basis [and converted to Islam]."[7] Bherulal Balani, a former legislator, reported: "Once the girls are converted, they are then sold to other people or are forced into illegal and immoral activities."[8]
In October 2010, a committee of the Pakistani Senate expressed concern over reports that Hindu girls in the country's Sindh province are being abducted for forced conversion to Islam. At a meeting of the Senate Committee on Minority Affairs, Senator Dr. Khatu Mal Jeewan reported the same.[9]
In a recent article, acclaimed Pakistani lawmaker Marvi Memon, who belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) party, criticized the failure of the government officials to stop discrimination and violence against Pakistani Hindus. Noting that she has altered her position against death penalty due to continuing violence against Pakistani Hindus, Ms. Memon said: "The tragedy is that as a result of these kidnappings, many Hindu families have migrated to India. After all, it is better to live in another country than in perpetual fear [in your own country, Pakistan]."
Following are excerpts from her article:[10]
"It's Not Easy These Days Being a Hindu in Pakistan"
"It's not easy these days being a Hindu in Pakistan. The number of cases of members of the Hindu community being kidnapped for ransom is on the rise, both in Sindh and in Baluchistan. While recently attending a meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee for Law and Justice, I realized that a stringent law was already in place under which a person convicted of this offence could be sentenced to life in prison or even death. As usual, the discussion revolved around the fact that while we had good laws, they were not being implemented.
"Personally, I am against capital punishment – and the logic is quite straightforward: since we don't give life, we have no right to take it away. And hence life imprisonment is acceptable but not capital punishment. However, the rise in cases of kidnapping, often of children, has altered this view. Those who kidnap people for ransom need to be dealt with a heavy hand – more so because in Pakistan where we hardly ever see anyone punished for this crime. In August, before the floods hit [the province of] Sindh, I visited a Hindu Sindhi family in [the town of] Kashmore whose six-year-old had been kidnapped. The mother's [mental] state was enough to convince me to press for severe punishment as a deterrent to stop this kind of crime.
"I was told that Hindus were being targeted because, by and large, they lacked political clout and made for easier targets. Furthermore, those involved in kidnapping for ransom often had connections to powerful people, and this explained why, in most instances, the kidnappers were never caught."
"The Tragedy Is That As a Result of These Kidnappings, Many Hindu Families Have Migrated To India – After All, It Is Better To Live In Another Country Than In Perpetual Fear"
"The tragedy is that as a result of these kidnappings, many Hindu families have migrated to India. After all, it is better to live in another country than in perpetual fear. This is the biggest failure of the so-called Islamic Republic of Pakistan – that its minorities don't feel safe on their own soil.
"Clearly, the government's package, called 'Aghaz-e-Huqooq Baluchistan' has not achieved much in that province. For instance, in 2009 a 13-year-old was kidnapped and released after a ransom of 1.8 million Pakistani Rupees was paid. Another Hindu was kidnapped from the busy Sariab road and released after a ransom of 4.2 million Pakistani Rupees was paid. A Hindu man was kidnapped and released after his family paid 1.5 million Pakistani Rupees. A Hindu shopkeeper was asked to pay 6 million Paksitani Rupees at which point he migrated to India – this happened in August of this year. And this is just a partial list."
"The Hindu Community Is Peaceful – So What Is Its Biggest Sin? It Is a Minority In a Land Where There Is No Rule Of Law"
"The Hindu community is peaceful – so what is its biggest sin? It is a minority in a land where there is no rule of law. All that is needed is the political will to go after those involved in these kidnappings – the incidents will stop and our Hindu compatriots will stop fleeing to India."
[1] The Express Tribune (Pakistan), December 23, 2010.
[2] The News (Pakistan), August 30, 2010.
[3] The Express Tribune (Pakistan), October 16, 2010.
[4] Dawn (Pakistan), March 9, 2009.
[5] www.hindujagruti.org (India), July 7, 2009.
[6] www.timesofindia.com (India), September 10, 2009.
[7] The News (Pakistan), March 30, 2010.
[8] The News (Pakistan), March 30, 2010.
[9] Roznama Nawa-i-Waqt (Pakistan), October 19, 2010.
[10] The Express Tribune (Pakistan), December 20, 2010; The text of the article has been lightly edited for clarity.
