NEW DELHI: India would be open to giving asylum to Hindus from Pakistan if they ask for it. Some 250-odd Hindus have arrived recently and most are keen on seeking permanent residence in India as they fear persecution in Pakistan.
India is "surprised" at the sudden influx of Hindus from Pakistan who have indicated that they will ask for asylum after arriving here for an annual pilgrimage or tourism visit, said government sources. In the past week, at least three batches of Hindus have come to India from Pakistan.
Although they were made to sign documents promising to return before being allowed to cross into India, many of them have said they would ask for asylum here.
If these Hindus approach the government sources said they had not yet done so it would be an inter-ministerial decision. However, sources said "India does not generally turn away asylum seekers."
The plight of Hindus in Pakistan has figured in Parliament with BJP leader Rajnath Singh forcefully raising the religious and human rights violations the community faces in the neighbouring country. He found the support of other parties with BJD's Bhartruhari Mahtab saying India should offer shelter to Hindus migrating from Pakistan. Mahtab said Pakistan has been unable to protect its minorities.
Migration of Hindus an embarrassment for Pakistan
The plight of Hindus in Pakistan figured in Parliament on Tuesday with BJP leader Rajnath Singh forcefully raising the religious and human rights violations the community faces in the neighbouring country.
Punjab Congress has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking for government intervention to provide Hindus refuge from Pakistan. Mulayam Singh Yadav of SP said the issue should be dealt with on a humanitarian level and India should not stay silent.
The latest group of 14 Hindus came via Attari on Monday, after 250 came over last week. They bring harrowing tales of harassment, violence and death at the hands of Islamists.
These migrations are embarrassing to Pakistan. In his Independence Day speech, Pakistan army chief General Kayani made a pointed reference to the security of minorities. He recalled that in the original mandate, Pakistan was to be an Islamic welfare state. Without a specific reference to the Hindus, Kayani said minorities in Pakistan should be free to live and work and practice their faith without fear.
The Hindus who crossed the border on Monday said they would flout their promise to return and would stay on in India. They alleged severe persecution, harassment, forced conversion, extortion and abduction and forced marriages of young girls by Islamist groups in Pakistan. The groups are mainly residents of Sindh and Balochistan. About 250 Hindus were briefly detained at the border by Pakistani authorities. They were allowed to enter India after signing a commitment to return, and told not to criticize Pakistan while in India.
Government sources said these Hindus had been given visas like other regular Pakistanis, as this is generally the time of the year when they arrive on pilgrimage around Janmashtami.
The issue is certain to feature in the discussions when foreign minister S M Krishna travels to Islamabad for talks with his counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar. In May, Krishna had told Parliament, "It is the responsibility of the government of Pakistan to discharge its constitutional obligations towards its citizens, including those from the minority community." But the migrations might change the issue.
The trials and tribulations of Pakistani Hindus came into limelight when a 14-year-old girl, Manisha Kumari, was kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam and married off. Earlier this year, Pakistan's Supreme court heard the case of three women, Rinkie, Asha and Lata, who allegedly faced the same fate. Last month, a 20-year-old, Sunil "converted" to Islam on TV, during Ramzan, to the delight of a cheering audience.
India willing to give asylum to Hindus from Pak - The Times of India
Thank you so much, when can we send the next batch
I love the stories about how they were stopped at the border and ask not to criticize Pakistan. Oh, and not to forget how they were made to promise to come back....real nice, my heart weeps
Hindus from Pakistan flee to India, citing religious persecution
They barge into our homes in broad daylight, snatch jewelry from the women, money from our shops, and kidnap Hindu girls and convert them to Islam, Mukesh Kumar Ahuja, a young Hindu from Pakistan, told Indian reporters in the northern state of Punjab. We want India to let us stay and ease visa rules for our relatives who are still in Pakistan.
Tejinder Goggi, a hotel owner and peace activist in Punjab, said he saw at least 100 Pakistani Hindus arrive last week with bedding, pots and pans stuffed into jute sacks and cardboard cartons.
They are worried about their daughters because 20 girls were kidnapped and married to Muslim boys in the past year, Goggi said.
An immigration officer said that only half of those who have come to India in the past year have returned to Pakistan.
They come for pilgrimage on a 30-day visa, and they keep extending it, the officer said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the politically sensitive issue. They produce medical certificates to say they are ill, or report a marriage or death in the family.
On Monday, several Indian lawmakers raised the issue in Parliament and urged the government to take it up with Pakistan.
If persecuted Hindus dont come to India, where will they go? asked Prakash Javadekar, spokesman for the Hindu nationalist opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
Hindu protests have been growing in Pakistan. Last week, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari set up a three-member panel to address the Hindus grievances, and Interior Minister Rehman Malik has promised to examine the situation.
The government will first look into the matter and then allow them to leave Pakistan, Malik said of those seeking visas. He did, however, question why India had given such a large number of visas to the Hindus.
Not all Pakistani Hindus want to leave.
I was born in Pakistan, Kanhaiya Nagpal, a retired professor, said in a telephone interview from Karachi. I like to live here. This is my country.
Nagpal said he had participated in a demonstration organized by several Hindu groups Monday to protest harassment. But he added: The solution is not to run away. If the rule of law is followed in Pakistan, then everything will be all right.
Nisar Mehdi in Karachi contributed to this report.
Hindus from Pakistan flee to India, citing religious persecution - The Washington Post
In Karachi every house has been broken into, can we all come to India please, please, please....they barge into our home too, lock us in room and stole all the jewlery...please india let me in now, I love your stupidity wrapped in generosity, i love you india
