According to a recent study by the HRCP, a number of factors are fuelling the Hindu exodus from Sindh in Pakistan towards India. It should be noted that Sindh is host to the largest number of Hindus in Pakistan.
The HRCP says that the key reasons forcing Sindhi Hindus to migrate from their ancestral land are forced conversion and marriage of girls and young women, kidnapping of Hindu individuals, as well as the generally poor law and order situation in the province.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)’s fact-finding study, 'Exodus: Is the Hindu Community Leaving Sindh'? -- underscores the state’s failure to protect a vulnerable minority, with many Hindu families compelled to migrate not only in connection with faith-based violence, but also economic struggles and climate change.
At a meeting held to share the study’s findings, HRCP chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt, pointed out that violence and discrimination against Hindu communities in Sindh was under-reported. Many such communities felt compelled to migrate overseas, including to India, despite the social cost of doing so.
Rajvir Singh Sodha, special assistant to the Sindh chief minister for human rights, observed that many upper-caste Hindu families were subjected to extortion by criminal gangs amid deteriorating law and order in the province, thereby forcing them to migrate.
"But the state cannot absolve itself of the responsibility to protect Hindu citizens, and assure them of safety. The key factors behind the exodus need to be addressed, while those Pakistani Hindus that have left for India should be given an amnesty, and allowed to return home," says an edit in Pakistan's leading newspaper 'Dawn'.
HRCP Council member Pushpa Kumari highlighted the vulnerability of Hindu women to abduction, forced conversion and underage marriage.
As HRCP head Asad Iqbal Butt observed, there were reports that around 300 people left Kashmore alone for India last year, but the actual number may be higher.
It was also mentioned at the study’s launch that while wealthier Hindus led relatively comfortable lives across the border, poorer members of the community were living in refugee camps.
It is also true that India is encouraging this trend; in 2024 the Citizenship Amendment Act took effect in that country, which allows non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh facing ‘persecution’ in their home countries to seek Indian citizenship. Muslims from these states are pointedly excluded.
Hindus are an essential part of Sindh’s culture, and Pakistan’s religious tapestry. The fact is that there is no state-sponsored anti-Hindu campaign in the country. Rather, extremist elements and criminals are targeting the community, 'Dawn' commented.
Council member and journalist Sohail Sangi called on the Sindh and federal governments to take prompt steps to create a safer, more dignified environment for the Hindu community, including more effective law enforcement, greater Hindu representation in the police, and consistent dialogue between the government and local Hindu communities.
HRCP’s study also recommends collecting credible data on the migration of Hindu individuals and families from Sindh to assess the scale of the problem, deploying specialized law enforcement units in areas with high violence against minorities, and enacting and enforcing legislation against forced conversions and underage marriages.
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