Raising concerns on the plight of Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh, BJP Member of Parliament Chandan Mitra on Wednesday took on the Government saying it lacked the guts to talk about the Hindus living in neighbouring countries.
He compared their plight to those of the Jews during the regime of the Nazis as he also said the Indian Government was ‘impotent’ that could not resist atrocities against the Hindus in the two countries. Speaking during a panel discussion on ‘Human Rights Violations in Pakistan and Bangladesh’, Mitra said fundamentalism was the main cause of the plight of Hindus. Two Pakistani Hindus who migrated to India over a month ago, were also present on the occasion.
“At the time of Independence, the minorities in Pakistan comprised 20 per cent of its population, but now Hindus and Christians there have been reduced to less than 2-3 per cent. Most of them flee and surreptitiously come to India. The Government then declares them missing. The visas of around 48,000 people have expired but they are still here in our country,” said Mitra and suggested to accommodate all migrants in India coming from across the border. “Those who do not want to go back must be accommodated on humanitarian grounds and citizenship be granted to them,” he maintained. He also talked about Muslim fundamentalism which is growing within India through various political parties especially in States like Assam and Andhra Pradesh. Mitra referred to a study by a professor in Dhaka University that said around 400-500 Hindus flee Bangladesh everyday, which is an alarming number.
Another panel discussion titled ‘Human Rights Violations in Pakistan and Bangladesh’ organised by the India Foundation at the India International Centre on Wednesday also had former diplomat G Parthasarathy as a speaker. Emphasising on the immediate need for the Government to issue visas to the minorities and victims, Parthasarathy said that “the Government can give visa to cricketers, but they fail to even notice such victims — forget about giving them visas.”
Questioning Pakistan’s ideology he informed that Sections 62 and 63 of Pakistan’s Constitution state that to stand for elections a person must follow Islam. The declaration of Islam as Pakistan’s ideology by Zia-ul-Rehman, sowed the seeds of endless tensions and has not only affected Hindus, Christians and other minorities but has also led to the Shia-Sunni conflict. Parthasarathy also mentioned about the Blasphemy law in Pakistan because of which any Muslim person could put false allegation on an individual of other religion.
“We are tortured and humiliated everywhere. We feel very unsafe there. They force us to convert into Islam and if we resist they threaten to kill us. They pick young girls and rape them and convert them into Muslims. Many are even married to Muslim men,” lamented Hanuman Singh, a victim of such torture in Pakistan.