Groceries & tents were distributed to Pakistani Hindu refugee providing food and accommodation relief. These Hindus have been staying at Jodh-pur, Rajasthan area since seven months after fleeing Pakistan in late 2013, after witnessing grave human rights violation ( speech, religion, work etc.) in Islamic Republic of Pakistan. They understand Hindu and speak in Sin-dhi. Each family has its own obligation to cook food and manage their day to day requirements like collecting woods for cooking and work for food ( though they can’t work legally because Government of India hasn’t issued BPL cards (which allows to purchase ration grocery) at economic rate and temporary work permit ( which would have helped these Hindu brothers and sisters to work and earn with dignity). The local administration though has provided a shelter to these Pakistani Hindus at a owned by Rajasthan Gov-ernment which relieved them from hassles of moving from one place to an-other. It would have helped them immensely if Rajasthan Govt issues them temporary BPL cards to purchase grocery at discounted rate.

VHPA Donated Grocery to Pak Refugees – Donation Picture

On asking Chetan Ram, the leader of Pakistani Hindu group (Jattha) whether they are receiving help from any other organizations, he says “ Sir, though some individuals and groups donate biscuits, milk and other items, the mag-nitude of ration supplies which VHPA has been donating on a quarterly basis is long lasting ” and offered his deep thanks to organizations like VHPA and VHP India who are trying their best to provide comfort and relief to these Hindu families in distress. VHP Delhi has already adopted Delhi based Pakistani refugees. A You tube link of testimonials are attached below. In December, 2012 VHPA with the help of local VHP Chapter of Jodhpur donated grocery and supplies which got covered in domestic and international media, impact of which motivated and brought more prominent Hindus to help them, for example a prominent Jodhpur based advocate, Mr. Om Prakash Boob had one on one meeting with these Hindu refugees and provided information on Indian labor and wage and contacts for networking with local contractors and work agents who assured pic and drop facility for construction industry sites which is booming in this Marvar (local name of this land), he also assured of any legal help. Mr. Bhawarlal Chowdary, VHP Jodhpur chief contacted multi-ple village heads (Sarpanch in Hindi) (VHP India has presence (units) in more than 88, 000 villages) to help accommodate these Hindu refugees in 3-4 villages, after which village heads agreed to accommodate 10 families.

Since work is available in city and also this Hindu group would like to stay united (close family ties and relation), they would prefer to stay at Jodhpur. Current immediate requirements is shelter in terms of tents for individual families (as inside the big hall the temperature exceed 109 degree Fahrenheit during summer and young couples – family privacy is absent, and one may not know they move to open area in future—a tent is best home for them). Two other Hindu organizations donated a total of nine tents ( used Indian military tents which cost $37 each) providing comfort to nine families. Twenty five more tents are required. There is an open area behind the big hall where tents are being constructed. ETV Rajasthan covered and broadcasted the donation effort during their evening telecast.

Swami Vivekananda ji said “By serving human beings we are serving the highest expression of God on this earth “ Contact Rahul Chandra—VHPA chandraarahuul( at )gmail.com or call 001—(713) 429 4037 for more information on how to donate aid in terms of grocery, tents, medical check ups etc. FYI.. Approx. cost ~ $200 or INR 10000 to support food for 204 people for 30 days and $40 for providing a tent (with accessories and fixings) which will shelter one family.

New Tents vs Old Huts at Pakistan Refugee camp

Pakistani hindu refugee in India

Due to the tragic state of Hindus living in Muslim majority Pakistan, there are more and more hindus trying to seek refuge in neighboring India. However, due to many political influences the Indian administration has not fully given these hindus refugee status. Over the years there have been thousands of cases around the kidnappings, rape, forceful conversion to Islam and murder of the religious hindu minority living in Pakistan, with little to no internal media attention. These circumstances make it even more difficult to create awareness of the millions of hindus affected.

The Hindu American Foundation has written various reports highlighting the atrocities and human rights violations of non-muslim minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Christians) in Pakistan. Recently many human rights reports by NGOs and Governments around the world have also began to vocalize these atrocities on non-muslims. With mounting discrimination and violence in Pakistan, large numbers of Hindus, such as Ram, have migrated to India in recent years.  It is estimated that 1,000 Pakistani Hindus arrive annually in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan.

Although the issue of Hindu refugees in India is beginning to get some local media attention, it doesn’t seem likely that the current India Congress Government will do much to protect them. The majority of Pakistan’s remaining Hindu population reside in Sindh, with smaller concentrations in the provinces of Balochistan, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkwa. Many Sindhi advocacy groups, such as World Sindhi Congress (WSC) and the Sindhi American Political Action Committee (SAPAC) have been active in raising awareness about the plight of Hindus in Sindh.

Here are just a few atrocities and events that have taken place on Hindu and Sikh religious minorities in Pakistan:

At least 25 Hindu Girls Abducted Every Month in the Islamic State of Pakistan
Pakistani Hindu Refugees Feel Fear 24 hours a Day
Four Hindu Doctors Gunned Down in Pakistan
Human Rights Report Released Amidst Worsening Plight of Minorities In Pakistan
HAF Letter to Pakistan Embassy Asks for Restoration of Demolished Temple
Hindus Continue to be Mistreated, Kidnapped and Killed in Pakistan
US Documentary Tour Launched to Promote Pakistani Hindu Refugees
Persecution of Hindu, Christian & Other Minority Women in Pakistan Highlighted at Capitol Hill
Conversion of Hindu Boy to Islam Was Broadcast Live on Pakistani Media (Video)
Hindu’s in Sindh, Pakistan Continue to Face Extreme Discrimination
Hindu Girl Held in Madrassa and Forced to Convert to Islam
Hindus in Pakistan – A People Without a Voice
Cleansing Hindus from Pakistan ‘The land of the ‘Pure’
Hindu Child Kidnapped by Extremists in Sindh Pakistan
Kidnapped Sikhs Forced to Cut their Hair and Embrace Islam
A New Wave of Pakistani Hindus and Sikhs Fleeing to India
Islamic Extremists Abducts and Beheads Two Sikhs in Pakistan and Throw Heads in Gurdwara
Hindu Man Kidnapped in Pakistan: Request for Ransom of 10 Million Rs

You can watch this short 5 minute video to get a glimpse and summary of the Pakistani Hindu Refugee story in India:

Pakistani Hindu Refugees

“There is fear 24 hours a day…Hindus see themselves as helpless,” recounted Chetan Ram, while describing life in Pakistan to the Hindu American Foundation’s Director & Senior Human Rights Fellow, Samir Kalra, Esq., at the Chopasni refugee camp in Jodhpur, India. Ram was part of a contingent of 204 Hindu refugees that fled Pakistan’s southern Sindh province in September 2012, initially seeking shelter in a nearby temple before relocating to this makeshift tent settlement in the city’s Shivanagar district.  With mounting discrimination and violence in Pakistan, large numbers of Hindus, such as Ram, have migrated to India in recent years. Kalra was joined by a Hindu American Foundation (HAF) team comprised of four physicians who were hosted by Hindu Singh Sodha, Chairman of Seemanth Lok Sangathan (SLS), a community-based organization assisting Pakistani Hindu refugees.

“Having already endured religious persecution and tremendous suffering in Pakistan, it’s heartbreaking to see these refugees living in such cramped and squalid conditions,” said Kalra, who visited the Chopasni camp last month on a human rights fact-finding mission.  ”Under international law, they should be accorded formal refugee status and provided with basic accommodations and necessities.” Although Pakistani Hindus meet the criteria for refugee status under international law due to their well-founded fear of persecution and Pakistan’s failure to protect them, they have not been officially recognized as refugees by either the Indian government or the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, added Kalra.

Over three days, the team of HAF doctors, including Arvind Chandrakantan from Long Island, NY, Aseem Shukla from Philadelphia and Umesh Gidwani from New York City, with the assistance of SLS volunteers and locally based Pakistani Hindu physicians, provided primary medical care and triaging for more than 400 refugees.

“From the abundant colds and coughs due to living in open tents in the cold Jodhpur winter, to psychosomatic conditions, blindness and oral tumors, we were simply overwhelmed by the medical needs of these migrants,” said Dr. Chandrakantan during the medical camps.  ”After visiting the Bhutanese Hindu refugee camp last year in Nepal and the Jodhpur camps this year, we at HAF remain committed to our twin goals of providing direct medical care while shining a light on these forgotten, but ongoing, human rights tragedies.”

In addition to visiting the Chopasni camp, the HAF team also toured the Kali Beri and Banar Road settlements, both of which housed refugees living in India for a number of years.  At the Banar Road camp, for instance, there were 330 Hindu refugees who left Pakistan’s Punjab province in the early 1990s.  Originally settling in Haryana, they moved to Jodhpur last December in the hopes of obtaining Indian citizenship from the Rajasthan state government.

Similarly, the Kali Beri settlement contained 100 – 115 Pakistani Hindu families (each with an average of seven to eight members), who arrived in India several years ago. At each of the camps, the Foundation’s team documented the living conditions, conducted interviews and medical assessments, and provided basic health care to the refugees. The Foundation has enumerated its findings in a report which it expects to release shortly, along with an appeal for additional medical personnel and assistance from the Hindu American community.

Pakistani Hindu refugees living on the street in Delhi

(CHAKRA) “We won’t go back. Even if you shoot us we won’t go back,” cried out an elderly Pakistani Hindu woman living in the Dera Dhuni Baba refugee camp in the Indian capital of New Delhi. Her tragic story, along with those of 150 other Hindus from Pakistan’s Sindh province, was recently captured by Indian filmmaker, Rahul Riji Nair, in his new critically acclaimed documentary, The Human Boundaries.

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) announced plans today for an exclusive nationwide film tour with Nair, whose film was inspired by Hindu spiritual leader and Art of Living Founder, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The documentary is scheduled to be showcased at several community events throughout the U.S. from July 12 – August 5, 2012, and will include stops in New York City, Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Detroit, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Nair’s film will also be screened on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., in collaboration with the Office of Congressman Robert Dold (R-IL). A working film tour schedule can be seen here.

“I want to thank the Hindu American Foundation for inviting me to the United States to discuss The Human Boundaries with audiences across the country,” said Nair. “The purpose of this film is to portray the traumatic daily events plaguing a population caught in a geo-political conundrum that is discriminated against purely on religious grounds. They are left virtually without a state that is capable of protecting their basic human liberties. It is my sincere hope that the American public will better understand their suffering after seeing the documentary.”

Systematic violence, rampant discrimination, and widespread restrictions on religious freedom have led thousands of Pakistani Hindus to seek refuge in India in recent years. The Indian government, however, has failed to recognize the majority of them as refugees or grant them asylum. Last month, HAF urged the Indian government to provide formal legal status to Pakistani Hindu refugees, who remain at risk of being deported. The Foundation also wrote directly to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees on World Refugee Day to address the plight of these Pakistani Hindus.

Throughout the film, several of the refugees detailed the routine persecution and discrimination they faced in Pakistan, and made emotional appeals to stay in India. HAF also documents the atrocities against Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan in its annual human rights report.

You can view the Human Boundaries documentary trailer here: