07-04-2006, 04:36 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->http://tinyurl.com/ghh7g
The Pioneer / Front Page / July 4, 2006
<b>Hindus persecuted in India's neighbourhood</b>
Kanchan Gupta / New Delhi
September 14, 2005. Four Muslim men force their way into a Hindu house
in Sindh, grab the young daughter of the family, carry her away,
forcibly convert her to Islam and is made to marry one of them. Two of
the kidnappers are arrested, the case comes up in a local Pakistani
court but the judge dismisses the charges of kidnapping and forcible
conversion after the terrorised girl is forced to give a statement
that she "wilfully married and converted".
Another young Hindu woman, Sapna Giyanchand, is forcibly taken to a
shrine in Shikarpur district of Sindh by Shamsuddin Dasti, a Muslim
married man and father. The custodian of the shrine, Maulvi Abdul
Aziz, converts Sapna to Islam, changes her name to Mehek, and marries
her to Dasti. When Sapna's case is presented in court, Muslim
extremists mob her and chant slogans. A terrified Sapna is unable to
speak to her parents, who are also present in court. Maulvi Aziz,
responding to the demand that Sapna be returned to her parents, scoffs
at the suggestion: "How can a Muslim girl live and maintain contact
with kafirs?"
These and many other such instances of how Hindus who constitute a
minuscule minority community in Pakistan are harassed, humiliated and
denied basic human rights have been meticulously detailed in 'Hindus
in South Asia and the Diaspora â A Survey of Human Rights 2005',
released last week in Washington, DC and The Hague by Hindu American
Foundation, a non-profit, non-discriminatory, and non-partisan
organisation. The report is entirely based on public documents and
information culled from local media news stories. The contents have
been verified for authenticity.
The HAF has as its members distinguished professionals and young
achievers. It is fast acquiring an influential voice on Capitol Hill:
Senior members of the House and Senate â both Republicans and
Democrats â were present at the launch of this year's report; many of
them have endorsed its contents. Commending the HAF for "continuing to
highlight the treatment of Hindu minorities worldwide," Democrat Gary
Ackerman said, "Clearly, this report emphasises the ongoing struggle
for religious freedom."
Commenting on the plight of Hindus in Pakistan, the report describes
"how young girls, as young as 12 or 13, have been kidnapped in Sindh,
converted to Islam, and forcibly married to Muslim men." It quotes
Laljee Menghwar, a member of Karachi's Hindu Panchayat, saying,
"Kidnapping Hindu girls like this has become a normal practice. The
girls are then forced to sign stamp papers stating that they've become
Muslims". At least "19 similar abduction cases have taken place in
Karachi alone, and six in the Jacobabad and Larkana districts."
Pointing out the decline of Pakistan's Hindu population â from 25 per
cent in 1947 to 1.6 per cent in 1998, and less than one per cent in
2006 â the report says that though "Pakistan's Constitution provides
for freedom of religion, in practice, however, the Government imposes
limits on this freedom⦠(which is) subject to law, public order, and
moralityâ¦In addition, the Constitution requires that laws be
consistent with Islam and imposes some elements of Quranic law on both
Muslims and religious minorities".
According to the HAF's findings, "Hindus continue to be the target of
kidnappings, rape, and intimidation in Pakistan. There are reports of
desecration and destruction of Hindu temples and lands, theft and
looting of Hindu property, discrimination and abuse."
As in Pakistan, in Bangladesh, too, persecution of Hindus by Islamic
fanatics continues unabated. The Hindu population in Bangladesh has
declined from 31 per cent in 1947 to 13.2 per cent in 2001. The
attacks on Hindus and their temples has assumed alarming proportion as
the minority community's strength continues to dwindle with each
passing year.
"Data indicate that the number of incidents of human rights abuse
against Hindus during
2005 continued at about the same rate as in 2004, and more seriously,
the political situation in Bangladesh worsened with Islamic
fundamentalist and extremist forces becoming more bold and entrenched
in society. Observers fear that Bangladesh may be headed the Taliban
way as in Afghanistan," says the report.
"Bangladesh continues to use discriminatory laws against its minority
populations, especially the Hindus. No attempt was made last year to
revamp the Vested Property Return Bill (VPRB/2001), which was a
subterfuge that promised to jettison the Vested Property Act
(VPA/1972) and Enemy Property Act (EPA/1965) that officially
designated
Hindus as 'enemies' and was used to confiscate land and property
belonging to Hindus," the report points out.
Providing graphic details of how Hindu homesteads are attacked,
property looted, women raped and temples desecrated, the report lists
480 instances of Hindu rights being violated by Islamic
fundamentalists in Bangladesh with the BNP-Jamat-e-Islami Government
of Begum Khaleda Zia refusing to offer either comfort or protection to
that country's beleaguered minority community. The report contains
details of 39 incidents of rape of Hindu women, 52 of targeted
killings, 78 of attacks on temples, 120 of land confiscation and
forcible eviction, 161 of assault, theft, looting and intimidation, 29
of kidnappings and one of a journalist being threatened.
In Afghanistan, Hindus and Sikhs continue to be persecuted as a
community. Before the jihad of 1980s, Hindus and Sikhs comprised 1 per
cent of the population, or 15,000 to 20,000 families. At present there
are 1,200 families, of whom 350 are in Kabul. The report points out
that " due to fear of persecution or ridicule, Hindus do not send
their children to public schools. They receive neither Government nor
international assistance for their schools."
The plight of Hindu and Sikh children in Afghanistan is underscored by
the fact that "currently, only one Sikh school in Karte Parwan is
functioning. There are no professional teachers, and those that do
teach receive only 1,000 Afghanis (approximately $20) a month, paid by
the Hindu and Sikh community. In Kandahar there is no school at all,
only classes in the temple. Muslims have occupied two of the Hindu
schools."
According to the HAF's findings, "Currently only three Hindu and three
Sikh temples are open in Kabul. These temples face discrimination from
local warlords and governors. They are, for example, charged for
electricity while mosques in the same localities are not."
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republican), senior ranking member
of the House International Relations Committee, who co-hosted the
Press conference held in Rayburn House Building to release the report,
expressed serious concern over the facts presented in the document,
describing it as a crucial resource. "As an ardent human rights
advocate in the United States Congress, I will continue to work with
my colleagues to ensure that all are afforded the protection they
deserve," she said in her remarks, adding, "Especially, Hindus who are
persecuted by extremist groups."
A House resolution calling attention to human rights violations
against Hindus prompted by, among other things, the HAF report is
being prepared and the Congresswoman is expected to deliver a separate
floor statement highlighting human rights violations that are
particularly severe in Bangladesh.
"By documenting human rights violations against Hindus in Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Fiji and the Indian State of Jammu & Kashmir,
the Hindu American Foundation continues to raise global awareness of
these abuses," said Congressman Joseph Crowley (Democrat, New York),
as he joined Senator Orrin Hatch (Republican), Joe Wilson
(Republican), Jim Ramstad (Republican) and many other members of the
US Congress in endorsing the contents of the report.
Several academics on campuses around the US also reviewed this year's
report. "This report by the Hindu American Foundation⦠is a real
eye-opener," observed Professor Nathan Katz, Professor of Religious
Studies at Florida International University, adding, "As a minority in
Islamic societies that consider them to be 'idolators,' Hindus in
Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan face unimaginable persecution
routinely."
The report "Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human
Rights 2005" can be downloaded, viewed or purchased online at
http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/r...tm#hhr2005
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Pioneer / Front Page / July 4, 2006
<b>Hindus persecuted in India's neighbourhood</b>
Kanchan Gupta / New Delhi
September 14, 2005. Four Muslim men force their way into a Hindu house
in Sindh, grab the young daughter of the family, carry her away,
forcibly convert her to Islam and is made to marry one of them. Two of
the kidnappers are arrested, the case comes up in a local Pakistani
court but the judge dismisses the charges of kidnapping and forcible
conversion after the terrorised girl is forced to give a statement
that she "wilfully married and converted".
Another young Hindu woman, Sapna Giyanchand, is forcibly taken to a
shrine in Shikarpur district of Sindh by Shamsuddin Dasti, a Muslim
married man and father. The custodian of the shrine, Maulvi Abdul
Aziz, converts Sapna to Islam, changes her name to Mehek, and marries
her to Dasti. When Sapna's case is presented in court, Muslim
extremists mob her and chant slogans. A terrified Sapna is unable to
speak to her parents, who are also present in court. Maulvi Aziz,
responding to the demand that Sapna be returned to her parents, scoffs
at the suggestion: "How can a Muslim girl live and maintain contact
with kafirs?"
These and many other such instances of how Hindus who constitute a
minuscule minority community in Pakistan are harassed, humiliated and
denied basic human rights have been meticulously detailed in 'Hindus
in South Asia and the Diaspora â A Survey of Human Rights 2005',
released last week in Washington, DC and The Hague by Hindu American
Foundation, a non-profit, non-discriminatory, and non-partisan
organisation. The report is entirely based on public documents and
information culled from local media news stories. The contents have
been verified for authenticity.
The HAF has as its members distinguished professionals and young
achievers. It is fast acquiring an influential voice on Capitol Hill:
Senior members of the House and Senate â both Republicans and
Democrats â were present at the launch of this year's report; many of
them have endorsed its contents. Commending the HAF for "continuing to
highlight the treatment of Hindu minorities worldwide," Democrat Gary
Ackerman said, "Clearly, this report emphasises the ongoing struggle
for religious freedom."
Commenting on the plight of Hindus in Pakistan, the report describes
"how young girls, as young as 12 or 13, have been kidnapped in Sindh,
converted to Islam, and forcibly married to Muslim men." It quotes
Laljee Menghwar, a member of Karachi's Hindu Panchayat, saying,
"Kidnapping Hindu girls like this has become a normal practice. The
girls are then forced to sign stamp papers stating that they've become
Muslims". At least "19 similar abduction cases have taken place in
Karachi alone, and six in the Jacobabad and Larkana districts."
Pointing out the decline of Pakistan's Hindu population â from 25 per
cent in 1947 to 1.6 per cent in 1998, and less than one per cent in
2006 â the report says that though "Pakistan's Constitution provides
for freedom of religion, in practice, however, the Government imposes
limits on this freedom⦠(which is) subject to law, public order, and
moralityâ¦In addition, the Constitution requires that laws be
consistent with Islam and imposes some elements of Quranic law on both
Muslims and religious minorities".
According to the HAF's findings, "Hindus continue to be the target of
kidnappings, rape, and intimidation in Pakistan. There are reports of
desecration and destruction of Hindu temples and lands, theft and
looting of Hindu property, discrimination and abuse."
As in Pakistan, in Bangladesh, too, persecution of Hindus by Islamic
fanatics continues unabated. The Hindu population in Bangladesh has
declined from 31 per cent in 1947 to 13.2 per cent in 2001. The
attacks on Hindus and their temples has assumed alarming proportion as
the minority community's strength continues to dwindle with each
passing year.
"Data indicate that the number of incidents of human rights abuse
against Hindus during
2005 continued at about the same rate as in 2004, and more seriously,
the political situation in Bangladesh worsened with Islamic
fundamentalist and extremist forces becoming more bold and entrenched
in society. Observers fear that Bangladesh may be headed the Taliban
way as in Afghanistan," says the report.
"Bangladesh continues to use discriminatory laws against its minority
populations, especially the Hindus. No attempt was made last year to
revamp the Vested Property Return Bill (VPRB/2001), which was a
subterfuge that promised to jettison the Vested Property Act
(VPA/1972) and Enemy Property Act (EPA/1965) that officially
designated
Hindus as 'enemies' and was used to confiscate land and property
belonging to Hindus," the report points out.
Providing graphic details of how Hindu homesteads are attacked,
property looted, women raped and temples desecrated, the report lists
480 instances of Hindu rights being violated by Islamic
fundamentalists in Bangladesh with the BNP-Jamat-e-Islami Government
of Begum Khaleda Zia refusing to offer either comfort or protection to
that country's beleaguered minority community. The report contains
details of 39 incidents of rape of Hindu women, 52 of targeted
killings, 78 of attacks on temples, 120 of land confiscation and
forcible eviction, 161 of assault, theft, looting and intimidation, 29
of kidnappings and one of a journalist being threatened.
In Afghanistan, Hindus and Sikhs continue to be persecuted as a
community. Before the jihad of 1980s, Hindus and Sikhs comprised 1 per
cent of the population, or 15,000 to 20,000 families. At present there
are 1,200 families, of whom 350 are in Kabul. The report points out
that " due to fear of persecution or ridicule, Hindus do not send
their children to public schools. They receive neither Government nor
international assistance for their schools."
The plight of Hindu and Sikh children in Afghanistan is underscored by
the fact that "currently, only one Sikh school in Karte Parwan is
functioning. There are no professional teachers, and those that do
teach receive only 1,000 Afghanis (approximately $20) a month, paid by
the Hindu and Sikh community. In Kandahar there is no school at all,
only classes in the temple. Muslims have occupied two of the Hindu
schools."
According to the HAF's findings, "Currently only three Hindu and three
Sikh temples are open in Kabul. These temples face discrimination from
local warlords and governors. They are, for example, charged for
electricity while mosques in the same localities are not."
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republican), senior ranking member
of the House International Relations Committee, who co-hosted the
Press conference held in Rayburn House Building to release the report,
expressed serious concern over the facts presented in the document,
describing it as a crucial resource. "As an ardent human rights
advocate in the United States Congress, I will continue to work with
my colleagues to ensure that all are afforded the protection they
deserve," she said in her remarks, adding, "Especially, Hindus who are
persecuted by extremist groups."
A House resolution calling attention to human rights violations
against Hindus prompted by, among other things, the HAF report is
being prepared and the Congresswoman is expected to deliver a separate
floor statement highlighting human rights violations that are
particularly severe in Bangladesh.
"By documenting human rights violations against Hindus in Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Fiji and the Indian State of Jammu & Kashmir,
the Hindu American Foundation continues to raise global awareness of
these abuses," said Congressman Joseph Crowley (Democrat, New York),
as he joined Senator Orrin Hatch (Republican), Joe Wilson
(Republican), Jim Ramstad (Republican) and many other members of the
US Congress in endorsing the contents of the report.
Several academics on campuses around the US also reviewed this year's
report. "This report by the Hindu American Foundation⦠is a real
eye-opener," observed Professor Nathan Katz, Professor of Religious
Studies at Florida International University, adding, "As a minority in
Islamic societies that consider them to be 'idolators,' Hindus in
Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan face unimaginable persecution
routinely."
The report "Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human
Rights 2005" can be downloaded, viewed or purchased online at
http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/r...tm#hhr2005
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