JODHPUR // "We would much rather die than go back to Pakistan," said one of the 350 Pakistani Hindu refugees who have fled to Jodhpur in recent weeks.
Officials in the western Indian state of Rajasthan have reported an increase in Hindu refugees who claim they are fleeing persecution in Pakistan.
But Pakistani authorities say the numbers are exaggerated and that those who leave are economic migrants seeking better jobs.
"Our girls are not safe in Pakistan. In the recent past, there have been several cases of teenagers being kidnapped, raped and converted to Islam. There is nobody to help us there," said one of the migrants.
The refugees were initially lodged in a local temple, but as the numbers swelled it was impossible for them to continue to stay and they now live in tents.
"We are happy to be here, but we had been staying in just two rooms at the Dali Bai temple here," said Ramadas, one of the migrants. "We were asked to vacate, and then had just the sky for a roof. Some locals have erected tents for us."
Krishna, a 40-year-old female migrant, explained why Hindus were leaving Pakistan.
"We used to fear moving out of the house and stayed indoors. But even within the house, we were not safe as there were robbers who could just barge in and harass us."
There was no question of complaining to the authorities - that was inviting more trouble, she said.
On September 10, between 170 and 200 people arrived in Jodhpur by train. The influx is not a new phenomenon, according to estimates by Seemant Lok Sangathan (SLS), a group working with refugees in Rajasthan. More than 100,000 Hindu migrants from Pakistan have been living in the state since 1971.
About 13,000 Pakistani Hindus were granted Indian citizenship by 2005-06. Many more have received long-stay visas.
Chetandas, a 45-year-old refugee said there was just no political will in Pakistan to help Hindu minorities. "If Hindu families are provided a visa easily, no one would stay in Pakistan. We were among the lucky few to get a visa. Ever since reports have appeared that many Hindus are leaving Pakistan, authorities are more stringent about giving visas."
Hindu Singh Sodha, social activist and head of SLS, said that the Indian government needs to evaluate how it deals with the refugees.
"We have urged the central government to introduce a proper policy and law for the refugees," he said.
Rajasthan chief minister, Ashok Gehlot, met some of the group and promised to seek assistance from national authorities.
"The chief minister will extend all possible help to Pakistani members who have arrived here and will take the matter up with the government for their rehabilitation," Mr Gehlot's spokesman said.
Om Prakash Lakhawat, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Rajasthan, met the refugees yesterday and said that everything would be done to offer proper accommodation and other facilities to them.
Arjun Ram Meghwal, a BJP MP from Bikaner, who also met the migrants yesterday, said that the process of offering them citizenship would be expedited. The Pakistani Hindus have approached the Indian government asking to be granted official refugee status.
"Hindus are suffering social and religious persecution in Pakistan," Chetan Ram, 39, a leader of the refugees said last week.
"My wife, mother and family are with me and we will not return to Pakistan whatever the living conditions are in India."
In August, about 200 Pakistani Hindus crossed into India after the kidnapping of a Hindu girl in Pakistan's Sindh province.
Forced marriages of their women and security issues have emerged as major concerns for Pakistani Hindus, according to a Pakistani government report formed by the president, Asif Ali Zardari.
The head of the commission, Maula Bux Chandio, said the issue was not as serious as was being portrayed in the media. But he acknowledged that Hindus suffered from a sense of deprivation.
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
The biog
Name: Capt Shadia Khasif
Position: Head of the Criminal Registration Department at Hatta police
Family: Five sons and three daughters
The first female investigator in Hatta.
Role Model: Father
She believes that there is a solution to every problem
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
More on Quran memorisation:
