It goes without saying that Hindu refugees by now have become worst victims of narrow party politics. And what’s more striking is that many of who are opposing the Citizenship Amendment Bill – 2016 at the moment, had strongly demand the same once. Even some of them wanted to open the international borders to let persecuted Bengali Hindu refugees enter India once and for all. Thanks to the weird vote politics of the Indian democracy, they are found to be in the opposite camp these days with no past empathy to the persecuted minority (mainly Hindu) refugees, both from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Where has their sympathy gone now? Well, the answer is best known to them . But at the same time it has got to be approximated as well what had been Indian political spectrum’s pledges in the former decades to the hapless Hindu refugees. Only then, the final picture would get transparent.
To begin with, let’s concentrate on the resolution moved by Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri, in the Lok Sabha on 3 April, 1964. This resolution was unanimously adopted in the Lower House of our Parliament. It does state with both prudence and firmness, ‘This House is of the opinion that in view of the insecurity of the life, property and honour of the minority communities living in the Eastern Wing of Pakistan and general denial of all human rights to them in that part of Pakistan, the Government of India should in addition to relaxing restrictions in migration of people belonging to the minority communities from East Pakistan to Indian Union also ·consider steps for enlisting the ‘World opinion.’
On that day, Rammanohar Lohia said, ‘ Keep a great example in front of the people of both India and Pakistan, how the right to live is the greatest authority in the world. Let Hindustan Muslims live and let Hindus of Pakistan live. I reject this fact that Hindus of Pakistan are citizens of Pakistan, so we should not care for them. The Hindu of Pakistan, whether it is a citizen of anywhere, but protecting it is our duty as much as Hindus or Muslims of India. To argue that who is a citizen of which country , it becomes useless. It makes matters worse. Right to life we have to give security to all of us.’ (translated from Hindi)
The resolution at first moved by RSP leader Tridib Kumar Chaudhuri on 20 th March. 1964 in Lok Sabha, is at below : – “This House is of opinion that in view of the continuing insecurity of the life, property and honour of the minority communities living in the eastern wing of Pakistan and general denial of all democratic rights of the people in t.hat part of Pakistan. the Government of India should in addition to removing all restrictions on the migration of people belonging to the minority communities from East Pakistan to the Indian Union, also take steps to raise the issue of the democratic and human rights of the minorities in the forum of the United Nations under appropriate articles of the U.N. Charter.’
After discussion, Shastri , member of the then ruling party Congress , moved this amendment resolution which I mentioned earlier. Who claim themselves follower of Lohia, they should know the feelings of him. RSP is now ally of CPM led Left Front . Communists should read the resolution of Chaudhuri. (Source – Lok Sabha Debates – April, 3, 1964).
What has been the role of political parties including TMC, BJD, BSP, in particular Congress in this context?
(1) Speech of Trinamool Congress supremo Sm. Mamata Banerjee on 26th November, 2001 in Thirteenth Lok Sabha –
Sir, India and Bangladesh have got friendly cultural and traditional relations. We have been divided after Independence. But earlier, we were united. Recently, after the political battle and since the new Government has come, lakhs of minorities, specially linguistic minorities, are forced to go out of Bangladesh to the border States of India like West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya. They are being ill-treated by our country. Actually, I do not want to show any disrespect to my country because I am proud of my country but the message should go to the State Governments. The matter is relating the Government of India and the Government of Bangladesh. So, my request to this august House, through you, would be that the Government must intervene in this matter.
The United States Resolution, 1951 says that if anybody is tortured, if their life and property are not secure and safe and if they are forcefully turned out from that country to the bordering districts of neighbouring countries, then they should be treated as refugees. People who are coming from Bangladesh are not infiltrators but are refugees. So, the Government must insist and give instructions to the State Governments to consider them as refugees and behave properly with them. They should start some refugee camps to give them relief and other materials required. They have property with them and are staying there since Independence. But due to political problem, they are forced to come here. Since Ramzan is going on, we want to convey our regards to the Bangladesh Government and build up good relations with them. So, my second suggestion to the Government would be to pursue the matter. Either the Ministry of External Affairs or the Ministry of Home Affairs or the PMO may persuade the matter with the Bangladesh Government so that it would be sorted out as early as possible. (Source – Debates – Thirteenth Lok Sabha, Session 8)
(2) In Sixteenth Lok sabha TMC MP Saugata Roy on 21 December, 2015
“The condition of Bengali refugees who have come over from East Pakistan/Bangladesh at various times is very bad. The NDA Govt. in 2003 had enacted an amendment of the citizenship act to the effect that those who have come without proper documents like passport are illegal immigrants and are liable to be expelled. These people are suffering from various problems in the matter of getting scheduled caste certificate and also job. In Assam, they have been registered as ‘D’ class voters. The Bengali refugees supported by the All India Matua Mahasangha held a convention in Delhi on the 16th December and demanded that all Bengali Hindu refugees who have came over due to religious persecution should be given citizenship in India, a demand which I support.” (Source – Lok Sabha Debates).
TMC leader Roy also spoke on 15 March 2013 in favor of Hindu refugees in Lok Sabha.
“I support the proposal brought by Arjun Ram Meghwal. I want to congratulate them, not because I support BJP, but because they have persisted in the parliament very calmly. It is a matter of learning how to raise the topic of problem of your area. Before me, honorable members have spoken to the BJP. I do not agree with them because they have raised many device issues. Afzal Guru, what is it related to? They talked about the vote bank again. I think that by doing such things the problem is not solved. I think this problem is a human problem.
Madam, you know that the partition of the country was divided, Bengal was divided and Punjab was divided. There was an exchange of population in Punjab but not in Bengal and many Hindus remained in East Pakistan. Still there are about 9 million Hindus in Bengali country. There were some parts that went all over Pakistan. One such part is Sindh where Advaniji comes from, from Karachi and there is an area Bahawalpur area. Sindh was not partitioned, so entire Sindh went away and people of Delhi, Most of the Sindhis came to Mumbai and now do clothes business. The question which Meghwal ji attracted everyone’s attention is very poor people. Bhil and Meghwal are SC people. These people had come to India with a legitimate visa. These were Pakistan citizens, but they did not want to come back here. It is true that there are a lot of Fundamentalist people in Pakistan. The Hindus left in Pakistan were very oppressed. In “India Today”, a huge article about “Hindus in Pakistan” came out, how tortured. These people do not want to go back, their numbers are not much. About 17,000 people live in transit camps, especially in Jodhpur.
According to the original question of Meghwal’s proposal, he wants to normalize it. We had millions of people in the problem in our province and we had cut-off date 1971. Until the birth of Bangladesh, we say that 1971 is a cut off date, but it is difficult to stop people’s passage, our porous is a barrier, so we can not stop people from coming. But we can still take concrete steps through legislation in Bengal or Assam. But in the remaining 17 thousand people, I have heard that some people from Bhil and Meghwal live in Jammu and Kashmir. These are all Hindus, are Scheduled Castes and pray for civil rights. I think that when Mr. Mullapalli Ramachandran Ji will answer, he is a man with a human vision and he will try to solve the problems of these people by thinking about it.
I was told about the United Nations Convention, etc. I do not want to say anything about it because the problem of refugees is a big problem. Rohingya people have come away from Bangladesh, they are Muslims, those who live in Myanmar, the same people come. It is an old tradition to go from one country to another for Religious Persecution and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees publishes a report every year to see how many such refuges have come for Religious Persecution. I do not want to go into his details. Shri Arjunram Meghwal is a MP from Bikaner and these people are living in Jodhpur, because Jodhpur is a big city. You go to Jaisalmer, that too is the border, There also need to go from Jodhpur. Even if you go to Bikaner, you have to go from Jodhpur. These people are settled around Jodhpur. I think this problem should be diagnosed with the Humanitarian view and the people of the hand should be given civil rights in India.
With these things, I support Meghwal’s proposal not by the political viewpoint or the vote bank but by the Humanitarian viewpoint.”
(3) Ex West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Sri Adhir Chowdhary on 30-01-2004 in Thirteenth Lok Sabha:
Sir, the proposed legislative document, the Foreigners (Amendment) Bill, 2003 seems to add a new arsenal to the existing Foreigners Act, 1946. Ostensibly, it looks that in view of the present alarming situation of illegal immigrants in India, the Government is proposing such kind of a legislative document. However, I think, still this legislative document is replete with piecemeal measures. The Government should come forward with a holistic approach on how to sort out this long-standing problem. For example, Bangladesh is our immediate neighbour and our entire border with it is porous. The present regime of Bangladesh is very much hostile to the minority community of Bangladesh, that is, Hindu people in Bangladesh. In a deliberate manner, the present regime of Bangladesh is perpetrating heinous atrocities against the minority community in Bangladesh to scare them away from their land of origin.
Now, out of desperation, those poor people, those wretched persons, those victims are coming into India to save their lives. Now, what kind of a measure should be taken against them, whether they should be treated as foreigners or they should be treated as Indian nationals, especially in view of their present state or plight.
Secondly, as the water flows from high altitude to lower regions, the poor people, finding no other alternative, are compelled to come to the neighbouring country for earning their livelihood. Similarly, the America is suffering from historic population.
I would request the Government to come forward with a legislative document in respect of those people, especially the Hindu people of Bangladesh those are being scared away and are coming into India, whether they will be treated as infiltrators or illegal immigrants, or they will be treated in a humanitarian manner.
(4) BJD leader Sri Bhartruhari Mahtab on 14 December, 2012 in Fifteenth Lok Sabha:
Sir, I stand here to participate in the discussion on the Motion that has been moved by my friend Shri Arjun Meghwal. I would first refer to a news item which was published very recently relating to 300 Pak- Hindus who sought Rajasthan Government’s help to get Indian citizenship. And there are a whole lot of issues that is mentioned here. The basic question that is put forth is that their cases are with the Union Home Ministry in order to get them Indian citizenship. Here I am reminded of another news item and I quote:
“Hindus are a weak segment in Pakistan. Hence they become an easy target for religious bigots.”
It was said by Shri Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, the Patron-in-Chief and founder of Karachi based Pakistan Hindu Council, a registered society of Hindus of Pakistan:
“Mostly young Hindu woman are abducted and converted. We have petitioned in the Supreme Court of Pakistan against forced conversion.”
Another right-minded person Mr. Iqbal Hyder, a former federal Minister for Law and Justice, Information, Human Rights and Parliamentary Affairs echoes his views. Mr. Hyder currently practices law and is a prominent human rights activist based in Karachi. Pointing out that social and economic security was at its worst in Pakistan, Mr. Hyder has said:
“Whoever gets a chance to flee irrespective of religion and destination is leaving. The minorities have been suffering more. A few years ago, the Christians were persecuted. I have dealt with their cases. The Sikhs were attacked 3 – 4 years back. Now, it is mainly the Hindus. In 2012 alone, more than 45 cases have been reported so far. ”
This is the version what I gathered from Pakistan.
Now, I come to the Motion which Shri Meghwal has moved. He mentioned that there are three basic issues that are entwined in this Resolution.
The first is, persons migrated from Pakistan to India; second is, settled in various parts of the country; and third, I would divide it into two parts (a) and (b), that is, to take immediate steps to grant them citizenship and (b) is to formulate a time bound action plan to extend them facilities as are available to other citizens of the country. My only amendment to this provision is this. Instead of insisting on citizenship, my request to Shri Meghwal, the Mover of this Resolution, is to make it for resident of this country. When I conclude this discussion, I would come to that aspect as to why I would insist on resident of this country and not citizen of this country. If they get citizenship, that is well and good. But, if they are to get other facilities that are being provided to many, then, resident-ship is necessary.
Incidents of persecution and intimidation of the minority communities are not only against Hindus but the Christians and the Sikhs also, are being reported time and again from Pakistan. It is the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan to discharge its constitutional obligations towards its citizens including those from the minority communities. Pakistani nationals belonging to minority communities including Hindus have come to India on valid visas and have not gone back to Pakistan on the grounds of religious persecution in Pakistan. That is a matter of concern for us and also a matter of concern for the Government of Pakistan.
Yes, it is the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan to discharge its constitutional obligations towards its citizens including those from the minority communities. The Simla Agreement of 1972, which is being repeatedly mentioned between India and Pakistan, specially provides for non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. But I would very humbly mention here one thing. When this clause was being included, we had Kashmir in view; Jammu and Kashmir was in view. We had never thought that we would be facing this type of a challenge of migration from Pakistan, especially the minorities from Pakistan. India perhaps never contemplated that the minority Hindus would be driven out of Pakistan. Now the Simla Agreement of 1972 will be repeatedly told to us saying that you do not interfere. Pakistan continues to interfere in our internal affairs and yet we are always citing the Simla Agreement of 1972.
The human rights are being trampled upon there. India cannot be a silent spectator. The Hindus who are migrated to India bring harrowing tales of harassment, violence and death at the hands of Islamists. Forced conversion, abduction and forced marriages of young girls by Islamist group in Pakistan is still going on. The Pakistan Government feels embarrassed when minority Hindus come out of Pakistan and express themselves in public. The trials and tribulations of Pakistani Hindus came to 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 – Rinki, Asha and Lata – who also faced the same fate. Sunil, I would say, “converted” to Islam on TV during Ramadhan.
I am drawing the attention of this House and the Government about the plight of 2000 Sindhi families from Pakistan who are running from pillar to post for the last several decades to get long term visa to stay in India. These families are settled in different parts of the country. Nearly hundred families are settled in Chhattisgarh. Their long term visa applications have been kept pending for want of several documents which these families from Pakistan do not hold. During partition, the countries had signed an agreement and I would refer to that because that precedes 1972. During partition both India and Pakistan had signed an agreement, according to which, people who could cross the border should be entitled to the nationality of that country.
Why are we only turning to Simla Agreement? What does our Constitution say? India’s policy on granting asylum is based on two fundamental rights in the Constitution provided by article 21 and article 14. I need not read out what these articles say. These articles give any resident in India the right to life, equality and justice. Do we have an asylum policy? That is being always asked. I would say the Constitution provides that authority that any resident enjoys the rights provided by article 21 and article 14.
India does not generally turn away asylum seekers. By and large India does not send back people fleeing persecution. Many many years ago, I would say more than 1500 years ago, people who were persecuted because of their religious beliefs were embraced in our country. People who were persecuted because of their religious beliefs 2100 years ago in Middle East were also embraced, and Kerala coast had embraced them with open arms.
Very recently, say 60 years back, when religious persecution was being conducted in and around the subcontinent, India embraced those people. Even today, Rohingyas from Myanmar is an issue for us. Sri Lankan Tamils is an issue for us. Bangladeshi tribals, especially the Buddhists, are being persecuted and it is an issue for us. Whoever is being persecuted because of their faith and because of their religion, India has accepted them with open arms.
My earnest appeal to the Government is that we should not play with these words of asylum seekers and refugees. We should accept them and treat them as human beings. This needs to be tackled by both External Affairs Ministry and the Home Ministry through respective State Governments.
During the Partition of 1947-48, a large number of people had migrated to our country. They were settled in different parts of our country. Dandakaranya Project, I think the Home Minister is aware of how Dandakaranya Project came up. Even today large number of people get elected from there to the State Assembly, if not to the Parliament, because that is a reserved Constituency.
Applications of displaced Hindus from Pakistan were processed to grant them citizenship. This was done last in 2004 when NDA Government was in power. Thousands of such migrant Hindus were able to get Indian citizenship in one stroke. But still, lakhs of Hindus are yet to get citizenship. Why are they being asked to pay between Rs.3,000 to Rs.20,000 as fee? I think that needs to be corrected. I think the Government can do that. This should be reviewed.
Citizenship has certain conditionalities. A person has to be born here and he has to ask for citizenship to get citizenship. However, a ‘resident’ as is being defined by the Aadhaar Card or the Unique Identity Card system I think would be more appropriate here. I think we should not fiddle with these two words – asylum seekers and refugees.
He also said on 2nd March 2015 in Lok sabha
This country gives protection to whatever religion is being practiced. If they come to us for help, for succor, they are provided shelter. Can we not give them the citizenship? We have diluted the citizenship charter, the citizenship law, to a great extent, by doing this. But those people, because of their religion, are being persecuted in other countries, either in Bangladesh or in Pakistan. Can we not give them citizenship? It is high time this had been deliberated and deleted from the Constitution.
He made a speech in the Lok Sabha on 15 March 2013: –
Sir, I rise to raise a very important issue. Though I had tried to raise it for the last four days in this House during the ‘Zero Hour’ as a matter of urgent public importance, but to my misfortune, none of the time it fructified in the lottery.
Islamic activists have attacked dozens of Hindu temples in Bangladesh and hundreds of homes across Bangladesh have been torched and some have been put to death. This has been reported by AFP, a foreign news agency that Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad, a group which looks after Hindu temples, has said, 47 temples and 700 Hindu houses were torched and vandalized.
Amnesty International has made an urgent appeal to the Bangladesh Government to provide its minority better protection. Abbas Faiz of Amnesty International has stated: “The Hindu community in Bangladesh is at extreme risk. They are being targeted simply for their religion. The attackers are from Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir.”
The latest attack has occurred at Daudkandi at Comilla where a Hindu temple was vandalised and burnt down. A minority village of Rajganj Bazar in Noakhali was set on fire by Jamaat supporters.
According to Amnesty International, Bangladesh’s Hindu minority constitutes only 8 per cent of the population and historically has been at risk of violence. They have suffered heavily in 1971 both during the liberation war and again after the 2001 Parliamentary elections when BNP and Jamaat coalition came to power.I would urge all political Parties to condemn such violence against the Hindu community in Bangladesh.
Residents of Jamia Nagar of Delhi have expressed strongly against this violence. They have come out on the streets with placards. One girl, the student of Jamia Millia Islamia, Nuzrat, along with others have held demonstration and have said that Muslims in India are quite concerned about what is happening in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
I urge upon the Government to impress upon Bangladesh Government to control violence and also create world opinion in favour of the minorities of Bangladesh.
http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Debates/Result15.aspx?dbsl=9474)
He also said in the Lok Sabha on 13-08-2012: –
Sir, Ifrah Siddiqui at a Youth Talent Festival, 2012, delivered an impassioned speech on the subject of ‘Rights of Minorities’. I quote:
“The fact is that there are no minority rights in Pakistan from Shantinagar to Gojra. The history of this land is full of the murders of the minorities. In a country where sectarian terrorism consumed thousands of lives and minorities have been forced to live in fear, Article 20 of the Constitution is nothing but hollow words.”
Ifrah Siddiqui is a student of St. Anthony’s High School of Lahore. Article 20, she referred to is in the Constitution of Pakistan. She was expressing the plight of the minorities of Pakistan. Kidnappings, forcible conversions and marriages of minor girls, ransacking of residences, robbing of commercial establishment and religious persecution continues unabated in Pakistan. The State apparatus is either non-existent or a mute spectator. This opinion is voiced by an overwhelming majority of Hindu pilgrims who entered India last Saturday which is day before. Slightly well of members are migrating to Karachi or to Islamabad or even to Dubai with no let up in crimes against Hindus in Sindh, Baluchistan and other disturbed areas. They are living in constant fear.
The Hindu community are also approaching Indian Mission for help. Unlike some Islamic countries where religious minorities do not enjoy legal protection against discrimination, Pakistan does have equality law for people of different faiths. In practice, however, Hindus and Christians have many grounds for complaint.
At the time of partition, the Hindus comprised 26 per cent of population including today’s Bangladesh that was East Pakistan. Now they are barely two per cent. Pakistan must protect the minority-Hindus. That is what we always ask for.
I urge upon the Government to impress upon Islamabad to provide adequate protection. There are news reports which demonstrate that there is a disconnect between the Home Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs. Even after the intervention of the Pakistan Supreme Court, their Government is unable to act. The verdict of the fundamentalists is being adhered to. It is high time that our Government should allow the migrant Hindus to come and settle in India. Recently, I read in a newspaper that they have been told that the moment their visa term ends, they should go back to Pakistan. That is not the way India should respond to this issue. Our frontiers should be opened to all Hindus who want to come and settle here. This is the only place which can give them support, succour and security. That should be the approach of our Government.
(http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Debates/Result15.aspx?dbsl=7752)
DMK leader TKS Elangovan said in the Lok Sabha on 15 March 2013:-
The question is whether all Hindus can migrate to India Maybe, there are no rules on getting migrants from different countries, but those people who have been living here for the past 30 years, 40 years, or even 50 years in some places, can be given citizenship. ( http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Debates/Result15.aspx?dbsl=8777&fbclid=IwAR1ilM4r1h1GsQOYq7bJIhUnK7JFAl5Zq2Q_FKnQXxxjHVSbROOwZ9PDc7U)
BSP (led by Sm. Mayawati) leader Sri Baliram said in the Lok Sabha on 15 March 2013: –
Today, in a city like Delhi, you see, whether there is a model town or Azad pur or Connaught place, there are all the refuges which the government has done to settle. India is so sensitive to the country that whenever people felt suffering in this way, whether it was a case of Bangladesh, Tibet or Tamlenians, India has fought and fought for its freedom by standing up and doing justice to them. The news came a few days ago that the Buddhist statue was damaged there. In this way religious feelings are being hurled. That is why we want to tell the Indian Government through you that such Indians who want to stay here should not be given citizenship only but they should be settled completely. To live their lives, they should provide facilities such as employment or agriculture business .(http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Debates/Result15.aspx?dbsl=8777&fbclid=IwAR1ilM4r1h1GsQOYq7bJIhUnK7JFAl5Zq2Q_FKnQXxxjHVSbROOwZ9PDc7U)
On the same day in the Lok sabha Congress MP Ashok Tanwar said, . I associate myself with the bill of our partner, Arjun Ram Meghwal, and at the same time not only discussing more than that, I want to say only one thing. My Constituency, which is the Sirsa parliamentary area, when Pakistan was divided into Hindustan and almost 30 to 35 percent of the population migrated from there, they have a lot of burning issues, I think that their discussion has many honorable members Has done Along with this, some of our partners are such that in Sirsa district, there is an Alnabad Tehsil where about 66 families came in 1992. Even today, his citizenship is a big issue. First, they will have a valid visa, then there will be a case in the center after that, I want to urge you through the House … ( interruption)) That’s why Arjuna ji, I have associated myself with you, so that the action should be taken at the earliest so that we can give them rights and in future we can provide more facilities through the citizenship of Hindustan.
Now the question arises – why are some political parties in the Indian democratic arena opposing this Citizenship Bill? Why have they changed their standpoints regarding problems faced by the Hindu refugees? Who can give the answers ?