Betrayed by India: No Country for Pakistani Hindu Refugees

India Today covered the story which is filled with heart-rending testimonies of refugees who have lost their wives, daughters and sisters to armed gangs and mercenaries. But these tales are a part of a bleak reality not just for Hindus, but also Christians and minority Muslims such as Hazara and Ahmadi communities. Last September, 26 members of the Hazara community were forced to get off from a bus by gunmen and shot dead.

The question here is what role will Indians play in this unfolding tragedy? The country is perpetually messed up by the dynamics of its internal immigration politics. As the BJP has emerged as a champion of Pakistani Hindu refugees, it opposes, for example, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s position that all Bangladeshi migrants “who were compelled to leave their country because of some valid reasons, ‘deserve’ humanitarian consideration, irrespective of their religion.” According to the BJP, Muslim migrants are not welcome in Assam, because they do not face religious discrimination.

But can that kind of double-standard be extended to include visas and in the decision to grant citizenship? With the fleeing members of minority Muslim sects whose situation is no less awful, is it right to be advocates for just Hindus? The solution is to offer a safe haven for all those fleeing in desperation.