“Some political parties are trying to earn brownie point by spreading false narrative on Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens” said BJP National Vice President Vinay Sahasrabuddhe on December 24, 2019 at an event organised by ‘Civil Society Organisation of India’ on #CAA4Humanity at Constitution Club of India.

Dr. Saharasbuddhe was the main speaker, while MP Shri Shankar Lalwani from Indore, who has been working for the Pakistani refugees for a very long time, was also there as the guest of honour. But the real celebrities of the programme were the religiously-persecuted migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan for whom the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is a big relief from a life of ‘stateless refugees’ and years of pain.

Dr. Saharasbuddhe said CAA is a law for granting citizenship. We are not taking anything from anyone and it has nothing to do with Indian Muslims. In Bharat, we say development should reach the person standing last in the line, now we are doing this and I don’t know why the opposition is against it. He also mentioned Abul Barakat, a Professor in Dhaka University, who wrote a book ‘Deprivation of Hindu Minority in Bangladesh: Living with

Vested Property’ in which it is written how they grab the properties of Hindu minority.

Shri Shankar Lalwani, who is also a Sindhi, started with his uncle who came to India at the time of Partition but forgot the Murty of his ‘kuldevi’, the family Godess and went back to Pakistan to bring it back but never came. He also quoted Pakistani politician Miyan Mithoo, who said, “Main Hinduo ko Muslim banata tha banata hoon aur banata rahunga”. At last, Lalwani ji said in Sindhi, “Don’t worry! You will get citizenship. It is Modi Government”.

Gordhan Das Meghwal, who is a refugee from Pakistan, now living in Barmer (Rajasthan) narrated his tragic tale of discrimination on caste basis. He said that they are Meghwals, their children had to face discrimination in school, they were considered ‘haram’ if they drank water from earthen pots; they were not allowed to travel in bus. He said that once one of his friends helped a Muslim woman and Islamic radicals thought the Hindu guy had molested the woman and they cut his neck. Another Pakistani Sikh, Dr. Bayant Singh, said that when Virat kohli hit century against Pakistan, the Islamic radicals took away the daughters of Kohli caste living there.

Shri Pyara Singh, who is an Afghan Sikh, came to India in 1992 after the entry of Taliban in Afghanistan. He said they all were living happily in Afghanistan we also gave ‘jizya’. But as the Taliban grew, their life started becoming a hell. Gurudwaras and temples were vandalised. Sardar Pyara Singh cried and said he came to India with his family just for the sake of our religion and said their children are born here they have Indian blood in their nerves they are not the ‘stone pelters’ like people they have seen during violence they are the true patriots of the soil. He even requested the Government of India and Opposition parties to help them and give them Indian status.

“How can one also allow perpetrators of atrocities on minorities in Pakistan? Victims of atrocities need ‘positive discrimination’ and Modi Government has done the same’ says Jai Ahuja whose family migrated from Pakistan to save life. He also added Hindus have no relation with Pakistan as they are considered ‘kafirs’. We want to save our daughters and don’t want a 9-year-old girl to marry a 40-year-old man. I don’t know why the opposition parties have empathy with Jihadis and their cruel mindset.

 

An infant, who was named ‘Nagrikta’ after CAB, also came with her mother, Aarti and grandfather Dayal Dass. Dayal Dass said they came to India just for their children. “We see God in Narendra Modi and forget all the atrocities and problems after seeing him,” he said. He also mentioned we are victims of religious persecution in Pakistan not stone pelters, living as a refugee in Delhi and begs protestors to not oppose CAA that finally gives people like him an identity, dignity & citizenship after years of struggle in India. “Sadly, even literate protestors are indifferent to their agony” he said. A Pakistani refugee Ram told me what kind of trouble he had to face, how the Pakistan government was obstructing from granting him a visa to India, changing his name so that his application was rejected. He told how Hindu women were taken away by Muslims and they used to play with their dignity. He also told that whenever there was any action on Shri Ram Janmabhoomi or Jammu & Kashmir, their temples were broken in Pakistan they were not allowed to follow their worship system. Two little girls told me that she wants to be like Mr. Narendra Modi and wants to serve the country and grow up and want to become a doctor.

There may be some voices who are trying to use the enabling move by the NDA Government to divide the society on Hindu-Muslim line but this programme by the civil society organisation gave an opportunity to feel the sufferings and pain of the persecuted refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.  ­