Author: Mariana Baabar
Publication: Outlook
Date: February 7, 2011
URL: http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?270204
Insecurity envelops Balochi Hindus after a
series of abductions. Many are emigrating.
In the inhospitable terrain of Balochistan,
perennially outside Islamabad's shrinking circle of control, marauding gangs
have made it a habit of targeting people even on days of celebration. It was
so with Maharaj Lakhmi Chand Garji, the 82-year-old head priest of the ancient
Kali Mata Mandir in the town of Kalat. On December 17 last year, he and four
of his companions were driving down the RCD (Regional Cooperation for Development)
highway, on their way to attend a wedding in Khuzdar. A vehicle began tailing
them. Finally, 100 km away from Surab, it shot past them on the deserted stretch
of the highway, only to menacingly manoeuvre so as to bring Garji's vehicle
to a screeching halt.
Armed men poured out of the vehicle to accost
the group of Hindus. Blindfolded, their hands tied, they were driven into
wilderness. Three of them-Sajan Das, Ram Chand and Babu Lal-were subsequently
set free; Garji and Vinod Kumar, a prosperous trader's son, were whisked away.
Babu Lal later told the media, "Because we were blindfolded, it is impossible
for us to know where we were taken." Nor does the provincial government
have any clue about Garji and Vinod's whereabouts, more than a month after
the abduction. It's said the kidnappers have demanded a ransom of Rs 3 crore
to free Garji, whom the Hindus of Balochistan revere as their spiritual leader.
His exalted status is precisely why his kidnapping
has continued to hog headlines, stoked the simmering anger among the Hindus,
and prompted some to file applications in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad
seeking asylum. The federal minister for human rights Saeed Ahmad Khan confirmed,
"As many as 27 Hindu families from Balochistan have applied for asylum
to India." This symbolises the minority community's lack of faith in
the Pakistan nation-state and is testimony to its faltering ideals. Hence
the media's dogged focus on the plight of Balochistan's Hindus.
It's also true that the Hindus, despite their
minuscule numbers, haven't allowed the kidnapping of Garji to sputter into
oblivion. As news of his abduction broke out, the community organised protests
in the towns of Kalat, Khuzdar, Naushki and also blocked the national and
RCD highways. Outside the Khuzdar Press Club, leaders of the community blamed
the government for its inability to protect the life and property of the people,
particularly those of minority groups. In Balochistan's capital, Quetta, the
Hindu Panchayat organised a spectacular march that wended its way through
the streets of the city, a form of protest minorities rarely resort to. Santosh
Kumar Bugti, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League (N), told Outlook, "We
are very scared and desperate and need protection. We will do anything to
release our Maharaj."
What, though, has embarrassed the government
and aroused sympathy is the repeated assertion of Hindu leaders that migration
to India is a definite option for them. Simultaneously, they have also harped
upon the exemplary Baloch tradition of religious tolerance, a subtle reminder
about Balochistan's alienation from its own moorings. For instance, earlier
this month, Radhay Shyam openly justified the migration option, "The
kidnapping of Hindus has increased. The kidnappers didn't even spare our 82-year-old
spiritual leader. This has deeply shaken our community. For centuries, we
have been living with Baloch nawabs and sardars; assaulting the weaker Hindu
community is against Baloch tribal traditions."
This combination of threats and placatory
appeals has mounted moral pressure on the government and opposition, prompting
them into issuing statements in support of the Hindus of Balochistan. Chief
minister Mohammad Aslam Raisani said, "The Hindus are an integral part
of Balochistan and the government will provide them with complete protection."
This week saw Pakistan Muslim League (Q) leader and National Assembly member
Marvi Memon visit the Arya Samaj Mandir in Quetta, a commendable step in the
prevailing atmosphere of religious intolerance. Memon told a gathering of
Hindus, "We have condemned the kidnapping on the floor of the National
Assembly. The government should ensure the security of all citizens, including
minorities. It's also the responsibility of tribal chiefs and sardars to ensure
the security of the Hindu community."
Perhaps never before has a minority group
as small as the Hindus of Balochistan so effectively reminded the nation about
its ideals, its hallowed traditions. Look at their population-the 1998 census
reported a little over 30,000 Hindus; the locals, though, say their number
is as high as 1,50,000. Unlike their religious brethren in Sindh, the Hindus
of Balochistan are prosperous, an important factor underlying their visible
campaign against the abduction of Garji. As Prof Mansoor Akbar Kundi of Quetta
University wrote in Balochistan: A Socio-cultural and Political Analysis,
"They belong to the business class.... Some of them are wealthy merchants
owning jewellery and general stores, but the majority are of middle and lower
middle class businessmen with their shops/stores in the bazaars of various
towns." But the Hindus here are not a monolith community. A 2003 report
of the Minority Rights Commission, prepared by Akram Mirani, notes that Baloch
and Brahui tribes in some areas hire lower-caste Hindus to perform tasks that
Muslims consider below their dignity.
It's the Hindu businessmen who are often the
target of kidnappers. Their wealth, not religion, is the reason why they are
targeted, many told Outlook. Before Pakistan was sucked into the vortex of
violence, the Hindus were a distinctive strand in the social tapestry of the
province-they were treated as members of the tribe holding sway over the area
where they lived. Balochistan's minister for minority affairs and human rights,
Engineer Basant Lal Gulshan, told Outlook, "Baloch Hindus have lived
here before the Muslims came and have always been protected by tribal leaders.
Why, Nawab Akbar Bugti (killed during the Musharraf era) would say that Hindus
are like the hair on your chest and very dear. Of course, the new generation
of tribals are different."
Perhaps circumstances have transformed the
younger generation. The social fabric of the province was torn asunder as
the secessionist movement gathered momentum and the state adopted repressive
measures to crush the rebels; the rise of Islamists and the growing culture
of violence undermined the moral authority of traditional leaders. Islamabad's
neglect of the province has led to the breakdown of the law and order machinery,
enabling criminal gangs to operate with impunity. Says Kamaluddin Ahmad, a
businessman who has shifted from Quetta to Karachi, "These kidnappings
are not religiously motivated, the Hindus have been caught in the crossfire.
They are easy prey as they readily pay ransom after being kidnapped."
Gulshan concurs on this: "Balochistan
is reeling under the terror that has gripped the entire country. Hindus are
easy targets as they readily pay the ransom. The community has lived in peace,
you will never find a Hindu traitor. It's only when life becomes difficult
that they migrate to other parts of Pakistan or abroad." Gulshan cites
the example of Gardari Lal Bhatia, a politician-businessman whose family had
to mortgage their property to pay the ransom to kidnappers. Financially ruined,
Bhatia migrated to India.
Causes for kidnapping apart, there's no denying
that the Hindus in Balochistan have a perilous existence. The Balochistan
Home Department says 291 people were abducted for tribal or political rivalries;
another eight were kidnapped for ransom-most of them Hindus. In the provincial
assembly debate on January 25, though, former minister Jay Prakash quoted
a higher figure of 20 Hindus who were abducted last year. Eight or 20, both
figures seem an insignificant number for a strife-torn province but is large
enough to undermine the confidence of a community as small as the Hindus.
A Hindu businessman told Outlook, "I have no choice but to leave the
country. I'm in touch with relatives abroad, some in India, to help my family.
It's not easy to migrate either but it's better than the fear that we live
with every day."
There's no official statistics available,
but locals confirm that Hindus are gradually trickling out of Balochistan-to
destinations as far as Canada but mostly to India next door. Some claim that
at least 400-500 families have moved out over the last decade. This is indeed
alarming for the small community. For Pakistan, it's a gauge to measure the
depths to which it has fallen.
