Comments - India: A Paradise For Pakistani Hindus? - PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network 2024-03-28T21:37:47Zhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profiles/comment/feed?attachedTo=1119293%3ABlogPost%3A305196&xn_auth=noIn Pakistan’s Karachi, South…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2023-07-24:1119293:Comment:4256472023-07-24T00:49:13.827ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p><span>In Pakistan’s Karachi, South Indian immigrants keep the taste of Tamil food alive over decades</span><br></br><br></br><br></br><span><a href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2342506/lifestyle" target="_blank">https://www.arabnews.com/node/2342506/lifestyle</a></span><br></br><br></br><br></br><span>The southern Pakistani province of Sindh is home to a small community of Tamils, a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group, who migrated from southern India in the 1930s. There are around 5,000 Tamils currently living in…</span></p>
<p><span>In Pakistan’s Karachi, South Indian immigrants keep the taste of Tamil food alive over decades</span><br/><br/><br/><span><a href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2342506/lifestyle" target="_blank">https://www.arabnews.com/node/2342506/lifestyle</a></span><br/><br/><br/><span>The southern Pakistani province of Sindh is home to a small community of Tamils, a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group, who migrated from southern India in the 1930s. There are around 5,000 Tamils currently living in Pakistan, who include Muslims, Hindus and Christians, according to the Swamis, according to the community members. Some of these families have been settled in the Pakistani culinary and commercial hub of Karachi since the pre-partition British Colonial era.</span><br/><br/><span>The small community speaks Tamil, which is the official language of India’s Tamil Nadu state, while some of its prominent dishes include dosa (a thin pancake made from a fermented batter of ground black lentils and rice), idli (savoury rice cake usually served in breakfast), upma (a thick savory porridge made from dry-roasted semolina) and vada (savoury fried snacks made with ground chickpeas and lentils).</span><br/><br/><span>“Over the years, the food [we make in Pakistan] has gone through a transition. It is inspired from the Pakistani cuisine. Some of the masalas (spices) have come in from here,” Swami, a 41-year-old Tamil Hindu who works as a manager at a software house in Karachi, told Arab News.</span><br/><br/><span>“[Similarly,] Tamils in Sri Lanka, their food is also inspired by some of the Sri Lankan cuisines.”</span><br/><br/><span>Tamil cuisine, according to the Swami family, originated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu that has a rich history.</span><br/><br/><span>“We make vada during weddings at the Haldi ceremony,” said Swami’s sister, Sunita Swami, as she mixed the batter before frying it. “It takes place in the morning in our culture. So, we make daal chawal and this (vada). They are deep-fried.”</span><br/><br/><span>The savoury fried snack is made with split chickpeas and split lentils, which are ground after being left to soak in water overnight.</span><br/><br/><span>Swami’s grandparents moved to Karachi, now a bustling megapolis of more than 15 million, when the South Asian port city had been booming under the British Raj, while their fourth generation is currently residing in Pakistan, according to Swami’s another sister, Renuk Swami, who said it was the food and the language that connected Tamils all over the world, irrespective of the religion they practiced.</span><br/><br/><span>“Kolachi (former name of the port city) was a booming industry [back then]. So, he (grandfather) came for better prospects sometime in the late 1930s,” Renuka said. “In Sindh, particularly in Karachi, there would be around 300 households. They are spread across various localities in Karachi. In a land where Tamil [language] is alien, it kinds of connected people.”</span><br/><br/><span>Swami’s mother, Annadanam Swami, shared they make dosa on special occasions as it requires a lot of efforts.</span><br/><br/><span>They first grind rice and black lentils before combining the two and adding tarka (heated oil or ghee in which spices and onions are well-stirred and browned), according to Annadanam. It is then fried with minimal oil in a non-stick pan.</span><br/><br/><span>“People in India mostly make it daily. It is available everywhere now, but it originated in Tamil Nadu. Previously, only Tamils used to make it,” Annadanam said. “The filling is a chutney. It’s up to the people to have it with potato filling [too]. A Tamil will have it with chutney only. Now there are a lot of variations and fillings.”</span><br/><br/><span>Many people believe dosa is the only Tamil food, but reality is that rice dominate the Tamil cuisine, according to Swami.</span><br/><br/><span>“It [Tamil food] was here [in Pakistan] since the 1940s, but it came to prominence in the early or late 90s with dosa. Most people know dosa,” he said.</span><br/><br/><span>“As my father was also telling that they never used to eat roti in the beginning. Everything was rice. Tamil Nadu is a rice-eating nation. Roti came later. If you are not eating rice, you are not a Tamil. We grew up hearing that.”</span></p> Meet Sangeeta, Pakistan's ric…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2023-06-04:1119293:Comment:4244592023-06-04T18:12:14.591ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p><span>Meet Sangeeta, Pakistan's richest Hindu woman and actress who is aunt of Jiah Khan;</span><br></br><br></br><br></br><span><a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-meet-sangeeta-pakistan-s-richest-hindu-woman-and-actress-who-is-aunt-of-jiah-khan-het-net-worth-is-3046007" target="_blank">https://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-meet-sangeeta-pakistan-s-richest-hindu-woman-and-actress-who-is-aunt-of-jiah-khan-het-net-worth-is-3046007</a></span><br></br><br></br><span>One of the wealthiest women in…</span></p>
<p><span>Meet Sangeeta, Pakistan's richest Hindu woman and actress who is aunt of Jiah Khan;</span><br/><br/><br/><span><a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-meet-sangeeta-pakistan-s-richest-hindu-woman-and-actress-who-is-aunt-of-jiah-khan-het-net-worth-is-3046007" target="_blank">https://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-meet-sangeeta-pakistan-s-richest-hindu-woman-and-actress-who-is-aunt-of-jiah-khan-het-net-worth-is-3046007</a></span><br/><br/><span>One of the wealthiest women in Pakistan is a Hindu actress named Sangeeta, who is also a relative of late Indian actress Jiah Khan.</span><br/><br/><br/><span>While Pakistan has a dominantly Muslim population, there are several Hindus residing in the country ever since the Partition in 1947. While the country is going through a crippling financial crisis, it is interesting to know that some of the richest people in Pakistan are Hindus.</span><br/><br/><span>While the richest Hindu in the entire country is a fashion designer and actor named Deepak Perwani, the richest Hindu woman in Pakistan also belongs to the entertainment industry. Sangeeta, a famed actress, is the richest Hindu woman in Pakistan, as per ABP News.</span><br/><br/><span>Sangeeta is also commonly known as Parveen Rizvi and was born in British India before the partition. Despite living in Pakistan all her life as a Hindu woman, Sangeeta has touched many heights and is now considered to be the richest Hindu woman in the country.</span><br/><br/><span>Sangeeta aka Parveen Rizvi is a Pakistani actress and film director who has been active in the Pakistani film industry since she turned 21. She made her debut on the big screen with a movie called Koh-e-Noor around 45 years ago.</span><br/><br/><span>Sangeeta has been working in the Pakistani film industry under the name Parveen Rizvi because of her religion. Despite all odds, she is one of the most successful actresses in the country and has appeared in top films such as Nikah, Mutthi Bhar Chawal, Yeh Aman, and Naam Mera Badnaam.</span><br/><br/><br/><span>What is interesting is that apart from being a Hindu woman in Pakistan, Sangeeta also has a strong connection to India. The Pakistani actress is the aunt of the late Indian actress Jiah Khan, who passed away in 2013 after taking her own life.</span><br/><br/><span>While her exact net worth is not known, it is estimated that Sangeeta earns over Rs 39 crore per year, making her the richest Hindu woman and one of the richest people in Pakistan overall.</span></p> ‘Forced conversions’ of Hindu…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2023-04-03:1119293:Comment:4225502023-04-03T00:16:53.692ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p>‘Forced conversions’ of Hindu women to Islam in Pakistan: another perspective<br></br><br></br><a href="https://theconversation.com/forced-conversions-of-hindu-women-to-islam-in-pakistan-another-perspective-102726" target="_blank">https://theconversation.com/forced-conversions-of-hindu-women-to-islam-in-pakistan-another-perspective-102726</a><br></br><br></br>Let’s look at the public discourse around forced marriage (Urd. jabri shadi) or forced conversion (Urd. jabran mazhab tabdili) in Pakistan (but also…</p>
<p>‘Forced conversions’ of Hindu women to Islam in Pakistan: another perspective<br/><br/><a href="https://theconversation.com/forced-conversions-of-hindu-women-to-islam-in-pakistan-another-perspective-102726" target="_blank">https://theconversation.com/forced-conversions-of-hindu-women-to-islam-in-pakistan-another-perspective-102726</a><br/><br/>Let’s look at the public discourse around forced marriage (Urd. jabri shadi) or forced conversion (Urd. jabran mazhab tabdili) in Pakistan (but also internationally). Here we frequently find one out of two possible explanations: first that Hindu women wish to embrace Islam due to its inherent attraction (put forward by the Muslim religious right).<br/><br/><br/>The second one emphasised by liberal Pakistani media and Hindu nationalists is that that Muslim predators aim to spread Islam through the forced conversion and marriage of minority women.<br/><br/>But nuanced explanations taking into account Hindu women’s agencies are difficult to find.<br/><br/>The case of Rinkle Kumari, a Hindu girl from Ghotki in northern Sindh, who vanished from her home in 2012 serves as an apt example. Even though her case gained significant public attention, it is still not completely clear why and how Rinkle disappeared. Rinkle gave a few public statements, these, however, were alternately interpreted as coerced by her kidnappers or pressurised by her family. Even though Rinkle talked publicly, her words had no impact on the male-dominated public discussion.<br/><br/>Engaging with Hindu patriarchal structures<br/>Finally, if we wish to fully understand why these girls disappear, I believe it is crucial to engage with the Hindu community’s patriarchal structures. I believe that behind some cases of forced conversion we actually find a family’s attempt to avoid social stigma.<br/><br/>Rural parts of Sindh (but also other parts in Pakistan) are highly patriarchal and daughters who decide to marry a man of their own choice are frequently a reason for shame.<br/><br/>By labelling an eloped daughter as the victim of a crime, Hindu families avoid ridicule and embarrassment. I base this assumption on my lengthy collaboration with Hindu rights groups in Sindh as well as the study of affidavits taken from Sindhi newspapers (called Qassamu Namo in Sindhi).</p>
<p class="comment-timestamp"></p> Fishel BenKhald@Jew_Pakistani…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2023-03-31:1119293:Comment:4223382023-03-31T14:55:00.975ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p>Fishel BenKhald<br></br>@Jew_Pakistani<br></br>Congratulation to Me as a Pakistani<br></br><br></br>I exported first batch of Pakistan ���� food products to Israel ���� market<br></br><br></br>Dates, Dry fruit, Spice single container. My video<br></br><br></br><a href="https://twitter.com/Jew_Pakistani/status/1640703870325211136?s=20" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/Jew_Pakistani/status/1640703870325211136?s=20</a><br></br><br></br>-----------<br></br><br></br>Rare Trade Occurs Between Pakistan, Israel…<br></br><br></br></p>
<p>Fishel BenKhald<br/>@Jew_Pakistani<br/>Congratulation to Me as a Pakistani<br/><br/>I exported first batch of Pakistan ���� food products to Israel ���� market<br/><br/>Dates, Dry fruit, Spice single container. My video<br/><br/><a href="https://twitter.com/Jew_Pakistani/status/1640703870325211136?s=20" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/Jew_Pakistani/status/1640703870325211136?s=20</a><br/><br/>-----------<br/><br/>Rare Trade Occurs Between Pakistan, Israel<br/><br/><a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/rare-trade-occurs-between-pakistan-israel-/7029355.html" target="_blank">https://www.voanews.com/a/rare-trade-occurs-between-pakistan-israel-/7029355.html</a><br/><br/><br/>ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN —<br/>An association of American Jews on Thursday hailed what it said was the first shipment from Pakistan of food products offloaded in Israel.<br/><br/>The transaction this week involved Pakistani-Jewish businessman Fishel BenKhald and three Israeli businesspeople, the American Jewish Congress said in a statement from its New York headquarters.<br/><br/>BenKhald lives in Karachi, the largest city in the Muslim-majority nation, where he runs a Jewish kosher certification business for food manufacturers exporting products to destinations worldwide. He disclosed the rare bilateral trade via Twitter on Tuesday.<br/><br/>The businessman posted a video clip of his items, including dates, dry fruit and spices, on display in a Jerusalem market. The clip has since garnered more than 640,000 views.<br/><br/>"I was not expecting it to be taken that big of a deal," BenKhald said in written comments to VOA, adding that this was not the first export of Pakistani products to Israel.<br/><br/>"The Israeli government and buyers have no problem accepting the direct shipment from Pakistan,” he said, adding that Israel does not have a problem sending payments to Pakistani banks.<br/><br/>BenKhald's initiative was mainly praised by his Pakistani Twitter followers, including journalists, politicians and businesspeople, some of whom asked for his advice on how to sell their products to Israel. He attempted to reply to every message.<br/><br/>"Congrats brother, you are doing excellent service that diplomats and politicians couldn't do," wrote Syed Wiqas Shah, a prime-time television news show host.<br/><br/>"Time for both the countries to initiate dialogue and for this citizens-to-citizens contact could play a vital role in bringing both the countries close to each other," wrote Zameer Ahmed Malik.<br/><br/>Pakistani officials did not immediately comment on the rare trade.<br/><br/>Islamabad does not have diplomatic ties with Israel and refuses to recognize it as a sovereign state until the state of Palestine is established — a long-running policy of many Muslim-majority countries.<br/><br/>But the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain forged relations with Israel in 2020 under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords. Sudan and Morocco followed suit.<br/><br/>"Trade exhibits hosted by the UAE helped Pakistani and Israeli businessmen conclude a deal that enabled this week's Pakistani shipment to Israel," the American Jewish Congress noted. "We welcome this small step that can have wider implications for Israeli and Pakistani economies and for the region at large."<br/><br/>Pakistan is an acknowledged nuclear power and Israel is widely understood to have nuclear weapons. The two countries have held secret meetings on security-related issues since their foreign ministers met publicly in 2005. Pakistani Islamic groups and right-wing parties vehemently oppose forging bilateral ties with Israel over the Palestinian issue.<br/><br/>Pakistani citizens are barred from visiting Israel because the country's passport clearly says it is valid for all countries of the world except Israel.<br/><br/>BenKhald was among a group of Pakistanis who undertook a rare trip to Israel last year and visited the Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem known as the Western Wall. The 15-member group of primarily Pakistani Americans, who traveled on their U.S. passports, was organized by an American Muslim women's activist group in collaboration with an Israeli organization promoting ties with Muslim countries.<br/><br/></p>
<p class="comment-timestamp"></p> India is a top source and des…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2023-01-19:1119293:Comment:4188452023-01-19T00:58:23.409ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p>India is a top source and destination for world’s migrants<br></br><br></br>India’s religious minorities have been more likely to migrate internationally. Religious minorities make up a larger share of India’s international migrant population than they do among the nation’s domestic population, according to 2010 Pew Research Center estimates. For example, about 19% of the Indian international migrant population was Christian, compared with only 3% of the population in India. Similarly, an estimated…</p>
<p>India is a top source and destination for world’s migrants<br/><br/>India’s religious minorities have been more likely to migrate internationally. Religious minorities make up a larger share of India’s international migrant population than they do among the nation’s domestic population, according to 2010 Pew Research Center estimates. For example, about 19% of the Indian international migrant population was Christian, compared with only 3% of the population in India. Similarly, an estimated 27% of the Indian international migrant population was Muslim, compared with 14% of the population in India. The reverse is true for Hindus: Only 45% of India’s international migrant population was Hindu, compared with 80% of the population in India.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>India is also one of the world’s top destinations for international migrants. As of 2015, about 5.2 million immigrants live in India, making it the 12th-largest immigrant population in the world. The overwhelming majority of India’s immigrants are from neighboring countries such as Bangladesh (3.2 million), Pakistan (1.1 million), Nepal (540,000) and Sri Lanka (160,000).<br/><br/><br/><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/03/03/india-is-a-top-source-and-destination-for-worlds-migrants/" target="_blank">https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/03/03/india-is-a-top-source-and-destination-for-worlds-migrants/</a></p>
<p class="comment-timestamp"></p> There are more Indian migrant…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2023-01-18:1119293:Comment:4189012023-01-18T21:30:36.051ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<h1><font size="4">There are more Indian migrants living in Pakistan than the United States</font></h1>
<div><font size="4"> …</font></div>
<h1><font size="4">There are more Indian migrants living in Pakistan than the United States</font></h1>
<div><font size="4"> </font></div>
<div><a href="https://qz.com/india/926009/there-are-more-indian-migrants-living-in-pakistan-than-the-united-states#:~:text=By%20far%20the%20largest%20numbers,now%20live%20in%20the%20US" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://qz.com/india/926009/there-are-more-indian-migrants-living-in-pakistan-than-the-united-states#:~:text=By%20far%20the%20largest%20numbers,now%20live%20in%20the%20US</a>.</div>
<p>While many Indian migrants move to far-flung, wealthy countries like the US, Canada, and the UK, a large number of them ends up right next door in Pakistan. According to <span><a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/03/03/india-is-a-top-source-and-destination-for-worlds-migrants/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a new study by Pew Research</a></span>, in 2015, Pakistan was home to the second-largest number of Indian migrants after the United Arab Emirates.</p>
<p>In the past 25 years, the number of international Indian migrants has more than doubled, growing nearly twice as fast as the world’s total migrant population. In 2015, 15.6 million people born in India were living in another country; that means one in every 20 migrants globally was born in India.</p>
<div><div><p>In <span><a href="http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a 2010 study</a></span>, Pew Research found that India’s religious minorities were migrating at a much higher rate than Hindus, who made up 80% of the country’s population. About 19% of the migrants from India are Christian, though they form only 3% of the country’s population. Also, Muslims made up 27% of the Indian migrant population living abroad, compared with roughly 14% of the population in India.</p>
<p>By far the largest numbers of Indian migrants—about 3.5 million— live in the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan is the second-most common destination with two million, while 1.97 million Indian migrants now live in the US.</p>
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</div> Pakistan Ranks 4th Highest So…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2023-01-18:1119293:Comment:4187462023-01-18T21:30:13.660ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p>Pakistan Ranks 4th Highest Source of Foreign Remittances to India</p>
<p><a href="https://www.southasiainvestor.com/2016/02/pakistan-ranks-4th-highest-source-of.html" target="_blank">https://www.southasiainvestor.com/2016/02/pakistan-ranks-4th-highest-source-of.html</a></p>
<p><br></br>February 27, 2016Pakistanis sent nearly $5 billion to help their relatives in India in 2015, according to data released by the World Bank. This makes Pakistan the 4th largest source of foreign remittances to…</p>
<p>Pakistan Ranks 4th Highest Source of Foreign Remittances to India</p>
<p><a href="https://www.southasiainvestor.com/2016/02/pakistan-ranks-4th-highest-source-of.html" target="_blank">https://www.southasiainvestor.com/2016/02/pakistan-ranks-4th-highest-source-of.html</a></p>
<p><br/>February 27, 2016Pakistanis sent nearly $5 billion to help their relatives in India in 2015, according to data released by the World Bank. This makes Pakistan the 4th largest source of foreign remittances to India, putting Pakistan ahead of Kuwait and the United Kingdom. Only United Arab Emirates, United States and Saudi Arabia sent more money to India.</p>
<p>Source: Wall Street Journal <br/>With over 1.4 million Pakistanis born in India, there are literally millions of family connections between the two countries and millions of reasons a person in Pakistan might find a way to get money to relatives in India. The money could be sent for a brother in need, a cousin’s wedding, an uncle’s funeral or even to help educate a niece, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.</p>
<p><br/> Source: Hindustan Times<br/>I personally know people in my own circle of friends and family in Pakistan who regularly send money to relatives in India to help them out in times of need. Such remittances are used to build homes, educate children, pay for health care or girls' weddings.</p>
<p>While Muslims in Pakistan have prospered, the Indian Muslims have become the new untouchables in their land of birth. They suffer widespread discrimination in education, employment, housing and criminal justice. Muslims make up 13% of India's population but 28% of Indian prisoners. Similarly, Christians make up 2.8% of India's population but 6% of India's prison population. Meanwhile, the newly elected parliament has just 4% Muslim representation. Housing discrimination in India is so bad that an Indian MP Shashi Tharoor recently tweeted: "Try renting an apartment using a #Muslim name (In #India )".</p>
<p>The latest World Bank remittance offers yet another confirmation that the South Asian Muslims who migrated from what is now India to Pakistan have fared relatively better in terms of economic and other opportunities. Pakistani Muslims have the means to help their relatives in India. It reinforces my own anecdotal observation during my visits to both countries. I see that my own relatives in Pakistan are much better off than those in India. My Pakistani relatives enjoy better opportunities for education and jobs giving them higher standards of living than those in India.</p>
<p>In fact, Pakistan has continued to offer much greater upward economic and social mobility to its citizens than neighboring India over the last two decades. Since 1990, Pakistan's middle class had expanded by 36.5% and India's by only 12.8%, according to an ADB report titled "Asia's Emerging Middle Class: Past, Present And Future.</p> Partab Shivani@PartabShiwaniF…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2022-10-10:1119293:Comment:4112052022-10-10T15:04:18.843ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p><span>Partab Shivani</span><br></br><span>@PartabShiwani</span><br></br><span>First ever pilot from Tharparkar n second from Hindu community will fly today to his hometown. Mr. Mahipal (who hails from Chhahro Tharparkar) is very excited to fly over the land wherefrom he dreamt to become pilot. Best wishes.…</span><br></br><br></br></p>
<p><span>Partab Shivani</span><br/><span>@PartabShiwani</span><br/><span>First ever pilot from Tharparkar n second from Hindu community will fly today to his hometown. Mr. Mahipal (who hails from Chhahro Tharparkar) is very excited to fly over the land wherefrom he dreamt to become pilot. Best wishes.</span><br/><br/><span><a href="https://twitter.com/PartabShiwani/status/1579308980278800385?s=20&t=k8Z3Wqdi1I-gkUSJCi-iZA" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/PartabShiwani/status/1579308980278800385?s=20&t=k8Z3Wqdi1I-gkUSJCi-iZA</a></span><br/><br/><span>---------</span><br/><br/><span>Mahipal Ladher, a pilot working at Pakistan International Airlines, has been flying people stranded due to the lockdown, desperate to head home. Mahipal is the first pilot from Tharparkar, a poverty stricken district of Sindh province with a population of 1.6 millon people. The Tharparkar desert lies along the Pakistan-India border.</span><br/><br/><span><a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/this-pakistani-pilot-urges-the-world-to-always-stay-united/story-accog6PDTcmnATjMM0TNgL.html" target="_blank">https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/this-pakistani-pilot-urges-the-world-to-always-stay-united/story-accog6PDTcmnATjMM0TNgL.html</a></span><br/><br/><span>When Mahipal was a little boy, his town didn’t have a single paved road connecting it to any other town. It would take almost 12 hours to reach the nearest town, barely 70 km away. While growing up, Mahipal grazed cattle and at times, walked for a few kilometers to fetch water for his home, like other children of his town. But every time little Mahipal saw an aircraft show up in the sky, his heart would skip a beat. The boy would run after the plane, chasing the contrails, dreaming he would be flying one such aircraft someday.</span><br/><br/><span>Tharparkar has always been an example of Hindu-Muslims unity where the two communities draw strength from a shared heritage and history, and perhaps that’s the reason why Mahipal holds the values of co-existence so dear to his heart.</span><br/><br/><span>Studying initially in a government school and later an army-run school, Mahipal came to Karachi for higher education and training. “I have been living in Karachi for the past 17 years and thanks to its diversified culture, the two things I have learned here are invigoration and charity. People here just don’t stop living and giving!,” he says.</span><br/><br/><span>With COVID19 pandemic being so dangerously contagious, his country is also locked down like other parts of the world. “Like many others, I played my role by raising money for the needy from home. I also had to do my duty. There were people who were stranded and needed to reach home, specifically in the Northern areas of Pakistan where one relies upon the air mode of transport as the roads are covered with snow most of the time. PIA never stopped flying to such areas. I take pride to be a part of the crew that takes such people home and brings a smile on the faces of their loved ones,” he says.</span><br/><br/><span>Talking of family, he says the COVID-19 pandemic has made us realise that the whole world is connected, like a family. “Sadly, the only time we start acting like one is when we face such a crisis. Having said that, it is still a positive sign that we are all in this together. We have become the best version of ourselves, trying to help each other in every way possible. All I truly want and hope is that this sense of belonging stays even when this pandemic is over,” he says.</span></p> 800 Pakistani Hindus return f…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2022-05-15:1119293:Comment:4079502022-05-15T15:12:26.883ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p>800 Pakistani Hindus return from India<br></br><br></br><a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1688719" target="_blank">https://www.dawn.com/news/1688719</a><br></br><br></br>NEW DELHI: Around 800 Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, who came to India seeking citizenship on the basis of alleged religious persecution, returned to the country in 2021, according to Seemant Lok Sangathan (SLS), a group that advocates for the rights of Pakistani minority migrants in India, The Hindu said on Sunday.<br></br><br></br>It quoted SLS…</p>
<p>800 Pakistani Hindus return from India<br/><br/><a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1688719" target="_blank">https://www.dawn.com/news/1688719</a><br/><br/>NEW DELHI: Around 800 Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, who came to India seeking citizenship on the basis of alleged religious persecution, returned to the country in 2021, according to Seemant Lok Sangathan (SLS), a group that advocates for the rights of Pakistani minority migrants in India, The Hindu said on Sunday.<br/><br/>It quoted SLS as saying that many of the returnees went home after finding no progress in their citizenship application.<br/><br/>Their return is said to be embarrassing for India where the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) initiated an online citizenship application process in 2018. It also made 16 Collectors in seven States to accept online applications to grant citizenship to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jain and Buddhists from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.<br/><br/>The religiously-based citizenship law has been challenged by India’s opposition groups. A bureaucratic red-tape is a hindrance. Though the entire process is online, The Hindusaid, the portal does not accept Pakistani passports that have expired, forcing people seeking refuge to rush to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi to get their passports renewed for a hefty sum.<br/><br/><br/>“If it is a family of ten, then they end up spending more than Rs1 lakh at the Pakistan High Commission to get the passports renewed. These people come to India amid great financial hardships and to cough up such a high amount of money is not feasible,” an SLS official was quoted as saying.<br/><br/>The MHA informed the Rajya Sabha on December 22, 2021, that according to the online module, as many as 10,635 applications for citizenship were pending with the Ministry as on December 14, of which 7,306 applicants were from Pakistan.<br/><br/>According to Mr Singh, there are 25,000 Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan alone who have been awaiting citizenship, some for more than two decades. Many of them have applied in the offline mode.<br/><br/>In 2015, the MHA amended the Citizenship Rules and legalised the stay of foreign migrants belonging to six communities, who had entered India on or before December 2014 due to persecution on grounds of religion, by exempting them from the provisions of the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act as their passports had expired.</p>
<p class="comment-timestamp"></p> In #Pakistan, #Muslim men mar…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2021-07-22:1119293:Comment:4014992021-07-22T03:56:13.309ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p>In #Pakistan, #Muslim men marrying #Hindu girls are often accused of kidnapping, forced conversion/marriage. Now in #Kashmir, a #Sikh woman says she married for love but her parents call It coercion. #BJP #Hindutva want to totally outlaw all such marriages <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/world/india-interfaith-marriage.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/world/india-interfaith-marriage.html</a><br></br><br></br>SRINAGAR, Kashmir — Manmeet Kour Bali had to defend her…</p>
<p>In #Pakistan, #Muslim men marrying #Hindu girls are often accused of kidnapping, forced conversion/marriage. Now in #Kashmir, a #Sikh woman says she married for love but her parents call It coercion. #BJP #Hindutva want to totally outlaw all such marriages <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/world/india-interfaith-marriage.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/world/india-interfaith-marriage.html</a><br/><br/>SRINAGAR, Kashmir — Manmeet Kour Bali had to defend her marriage in court.<br/><br/>A Sikh by birth, Ms. Bali converted to Islam to marry a Muslim man. Her parents objected to a marriage outside their community and filed a police complaint against her new husband.<br/><br/>In court last month, she testified that she had married for love, not because she was coerced, according to a copy of her statement reviewed by The New York Times. Days later, she ended up in India’s capital of New Delhi, married to a Sikh man.<br/><br/>Religious diversity has defined India for centuries, recognized and protected in the country’s Constitution. But interfaith unions remain rare, taboo and increasingly illegal.<br/><br/>A spate of new laws across India, in states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., are seeking to banish such unions altogether.<br/><br/>While the rules apply broadly, right-wing supporters in the party portray such laws as necessary to curb “love jihad,” the idea that Muslim men marry women of other faiths to spread Islam. Critics contend that such laws fan anti-Muslim sentiment under a government promoting a Hindu nationalist agenda.<br/><br/>Last year, lawmakers in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh passed legislation that makes religious conversion by marriage an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison. So far, 162 people there have been arrested under the new law, although few have been convicted.<br/><br/>“The government is taking a decision that we will take tough measures to curb love jihad,” Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu monk and the top elected official of Uttar Pradesh, said shortly before that state’s Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance was passed.<br/><br/>Four other states ruled by the B.J.P. have either passed or introduced similar legislation.<br/><br/>In Kashmir, where Ms. Bali and Mr. Bhat lived, members of the Sikh community have disputed the legitimacy of the marriage, calling it “love jihad.” They are pushing for similar anti-conversion rules.<br/><br/>While proponents of such laws say they are meant to protect vulnerable women from predatory men, experts say they strip women of their agency.<br/><br/>“It is a fundamental right that women can marry by their own choice,” said Renu Mishra, a lawyer and women’s rights activist in Lucknow, the Uttar Pradesh state capital.<br/><br/>“Generally the government and the police officials have the same mind-set of patriarchy,” she added. “Actually, they are not implementing the law, they are only implementing their mind-set.”<br/><br/>Across the country, vigilante groups have created a vast network of local informers, who tip off the police to planned interfaith marriages.<br/><br/>One of the largest is Bajrang Dal, or the Brigade of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god. The group has filed dozens of police complaints against Muslim suitors or grooms, according to Rakesh Verma, a member in Lucknow.<br/><br/>“The root cause of this disease is the same everywhere,” Mr. Verma said. “They want to lure Hindu women and then change their religion.”</p>
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