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Pakistan's Minorities Citizens

Katas Raj temple near Chakwal


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Devotees arrive in Lahore for 176th death anniversary of Ranjit Singh

30th June 2015

On a summery afternoon of June 29, Sikh pilgrims, like every year, gather at the mausoleum of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. With the divine memories of his rule, they commemorate his 176th death anniversary in the eastern city of Lahore.

Hundreds of Sikh pilgrims arrived in Pakistan to attend the ceremony. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh empire, was a former ruler of the united Punjab region under British colonial rule.

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Sikh pilgrims attend a prayer session inside the compound of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's mausoleum. -AFP
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Pilgrims enter the mauseleum. -AFP

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Sikh pilgrims gather at the mausoleum of Maharaja Ranjit Singh during commemorations for his 176th death anniversary in the eastern city of Lahore on June 29, 2015. -AFP

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Pilgrims gathered to pray at the 176th death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit SIngh. -AFP

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Female pilgrims raise their hands as a gesture of praying.
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Alvin Robert Cornelius

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Pakistan Movement
Born in Agra, Cornelius was the notable Christian figures in the Pakistan Movement, closely collaborating with Mohammad Ali Jinnah.Cornelius was an active activist for the Pakistan Movement, among one of the outspoken speaker of the movement, working to rallying the support for the Pakistan Movement. Unlike the opposition led by renowned Muslim leader Abul Kalam Azad to oppose the division of India, Cornelius felt that that the re-creation of the Muslim homeland in India was one of key solution to ill-treatment of Muslims by the British government and the among the leaders of the Congress Party of India, while at same time he revived the nationalism spirit.

Cornelius assisted Jinnah drafting the Pakistan Resolution, adding the legal clauses and articles justifying the rights of Muslims majority, non-Muslim communities and the ill-treatment of under-class both Non-Muslims and Muslims by the Congress Party in 1941.

His activism grew strong and deeper after accepting a legal position in the Punjab government, where he would go on to establish the court system of the newly created country. Cornelius was among one of the earliest citizens of newly created country, Pakistan, opting the country's citizenship as well as taking a federal law government assignment in the government of Liaquat Ali Khan.


In 1960, President Ayub Khan nominated Cornelius to become the Chief Justice of Pakistan, his contest was briefly discussed, but eventually he was elevated to Chief Justice.[2] Alvin Robert Cornelius became the first Christian Chief Justice, becoming one of the most famous and influential figures ever to serve on the supreme court.

After his departure from the supreme court, Cornelius remained influential and was a symbol protecting the rights of minorities, freedom of religious practices, whilst serving as the legal adviser to successive Government of Pakistan on judicial matters.

His opinions, according to legal scholars in Pakistan, were some of the greatest defences of "freedom of religion" written by a Christian Chief Justice of a Muslim state.

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The truth is Pakistan was home to many faiths and ethnics but due to ignorance and stereotypical beliefs most minorities left but still hold a desire to return.
not entirely true pakistan is a vast place i remember watching a documentary once where the hindus and muslims lived so peacefully together that the hindus accepted prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as a prophet of their own though i do get what youre on about you cant generalise it
 
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MINORITY PROJECT

The Minority Project is CAP’s unique venture that taps into the lives and lifestyles of religious minorities across Pakistan. Since September 2010, the team has worked consistently with the Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Baha’i and Zoroastrian communities in the country. With hundreds of personal narratives, the Minority Project archive gives deep insight into the history, culture, traditions, rituals and the valuable contributions made by these communities to Pakistani history and heritage.

Apart from detailed oral histories, the Minority Project team has also documented religious festivals of the five communities. Photographs, audios and videos have been archived from the Hindu festivals of Holi, Diwali, Shivratri, Vaisakhi, Sri Krishna Janamasthami, Durga Pooja, Dashera and Sri Valmiki’s birthday and the Sikh religious occasions of Guru Gobind’s birthday, Lohri, Sikh New Year, Vaisakhi,Guru Nanak Jayanti, Ranjit Singh’s death anniversary and the martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev. For the Christian community, the team was involved in Christmas, Maryam Yatra,Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday celebrations while the Zoroastrian festival of Navrozand the Baha’icelebrations of Hazrat Bab’s birthday were also documented by CAP. The Minority Project archive adds the holistic element to the Oral History Project, giving a voice to those individuals often left out of mainstream discourse

http://www.citizensarchive.org/projects/minority-project/
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20 years later: Three-day prayer ceremony returns to Kurram Agency

Published: July 21, 2015

Sikh leader Baba Hurmeet Singh leads the prayer ceremony.

PARACHINAR: After almost 20 years, the special three-day-long prayer ceremony held by Hindus and Sikhs made a comeback in Ibrahimzai village in Kurram Agency.

On Monday 500 people, including a large number of Sunni and Shia elders, attended the event. Kurram Agency Assistant Political Agent Shahid Ali Khan was also present at the joint dua’a ceremony on behalf of the government.

A ritual of old

The special three-day-long, joint prayer ceremony, an annual event of the region, was suspended during mid-90’s due to growing militancy. A large number of people—Sikh and Hindu—had then migrated to safer parts of the country. Many left Pakistan altogether.

The APA addressed the participants: “The administration is determined to provide security to all non-Muslims who make the pilgrimage to this area.” He said the construction of a road connecting Talla Sahib with Ibrahimzai town would be included in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas development programme to make the commute easier for the pilgrims.

Shahid said non-Muslims were citizens of the country, and “have rights just like Muslims.” He urged elders and representatives of Sikh and Hindu communities, settled in different parts of Kurram, to come forward and inform the political administration of the hardships and difficulties they encounter.

Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan recently announced the government would issue domicile certificates and award Lungis to elders of non-Muslim communities as a sign of welcome and honour. So far, four elders of non-Muslim communities from Khyber Agency have been awarded their due status.



Kurram Agency neighbours Hangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and its borders also touch North Waziristan, Orakzai and Khyber agencies. Kurram is bordered by Khost and Logar provinces of Afghanistan on the west. All these regions are known for having a large number of non-Muslim settlements.

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..................Bara Darri of Ranjit Singh, Gujranwala ...........................
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National Minorities Day: Lawmakers vow to end misuse of blasphemy law against non-Muslims



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ISLAMABAD: On National Minorities Day in Pakistan, parliamentarians have vowed to fight for the rights of persecuted minority communities, and in particular, work towards stopping forced conversion of Hindus and misuse of blasphemy laws against non-Muslims.

August 11 is celebrated as National Minorities Day in Pakistan, prompting the National Assembly on Tuesday (today) to pay homage to minority communities in the country.

A resolution marking the national day, moved by Minister for Ports and Shipping Kamran, was passed unanimously.

“We pay tribute to the patriotic minority members who sacrificed their lives in war against terror — also for their services in different fields particularly education and health,” read the resolution.

The resolution came in the wake of a motion about minorities moved by Member of National Assembly (MNA) Munnaza Hassan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Leader of the Opposition Syed Khurshid Shah while speaking on the motion, said, “It is a testing time for non-Muslims and other minorities whose persecution could not be stopped, unfortunately, by the rulers.”

He further said that the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) government in its tenure took a number of steps for the welfare of minorities but they were not enough. “We should go extra mile to protect them (non-Muslims],” he added.


NA-Bills

MNA Ramesh Kumar introduced a bill “The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2015″ which was referred to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice for further deliberation. MNA Nafeesa Inayatullah presented “The Right to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2015″.

It was also referred to the committee concerned for deliberations.

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Get the feeling that the Partition dealt the unkindest cut of all to the Sikhs. Hindus have their Benares and Ayodhaya, Muslims have their Mecca and Madina - but so many important places for Sikhs are lost to them.
 
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