- News>
- Newspapers
Mr PM, hug them or shrug them : The Pioneer
Tharu Mal left his home in the Kherpur district of Sindh (Pakistan) in 1991 with three sons and two daughters to escape religious persecution. He came to his relatives in the Sanjay Amar Colony of the Bhati Mines area of outer Delhi
Tharu Mal left his home in the Kherpur district of Sindh (Pakistan) in 1991 with three sons and two daughters to escape religious persecution. He came to his relatives in the Sanjay Amar Colony of the Bhati Mines area of outer Delhi
"While leaving Pakistan, I had dreamt that I will live a peaceful life and hoped the Indian Government would take care of me and my family," says the 60-year-old Tharu.
However, after 12 years of migration, his dream and hopes lie shattered. He struggles hard to get two square meals a day and the thatched roof over his head has gaping holes of apathy. Tharu holds a ration card and a voter's identity card though he is not an Indian citizen. "I have run from pillar to post for a citizenship, but no one has heard us," he says, sporting a Pakistani passport. "I contacted everybody in the Government for a citizenship. I even met Home Minister L K Advani, but nothing has happened so far," he says.
Thirty-year-old Chander Pal, too, is from Kherpur. He passed his metric from there but could not find a job due to religious discrimination. He opened a grocery shop for a living. But continued harassment forced him to leave Sindh with his two wives and in-laws. "If we went to a hotel in Sindh and they got to know we were Hindus, we were served tea in an earthen pot," he narrates. Chander does not have a ration card though he claims to have voted during the 1999 General Election and was issued a voter's I-card in December 2000. Khan Chand who migrated from Naushera Feroze district in Sindh, came with his two brothers looking for an Indian citizenship and employment. His brothers have returned to Pakistan after eight months of neither. On May 23, Chand got a letter from Delhi Police. He was asked to pay a penalty of Rs 1450. As per visa rules, any non-citizen has to pay a penalty and a visa extension fee for overstay. "We are labourers and hardly earn Rs 2,000 a month. How can we pay this much money," he asks.
However, after 12 years of migration, his dream and hopes lie shattered. He struggles hard to get two square meals a day and the thatched roof over his head has gaping holes of apathy. Tharu holds a ration card and a voter's identity card though he is not an Indian citizen. "I have run from pillar to post for a citizenship, but no one has heard us," he says, sporting a Pakistani passport. "I contacted everybody in the Government for a citizenship. I even met Home Minister L K Advani, but nothing has happened so far," he says.
Thirty-year-old Chander Pal, too, is from Kherpur. He passed his metric from there but could not find a job due to religious discrimination. He opened a grocery shop for a living. But continued harassment forced him to leave Sindh with his two wives and in-laws. "If we went to a hotel in Sindh and they got to know we were Hindus, we were served tea in an earthen pot," he narrates. Chander does not have a ration card though he claims to have voted during the 1999 General Election and was issued a voter's I-card in December 2000. Khan Chand who migrated from Naushera Feroze district in Sindh, came with his two brothers looking for an Indian citizenship and employment. His brothers have returned to Pakistan after eight months of neither. On May 23, Chand got a letter from Delhi Police. He was asked to pay a penalty of Rs 1450. As per visa rules, any non-citizen has to pay a penalty and a visa extension fee for overstay. "We are labourers and hardly earn Rs 2,000 a month. How can we pay this much money," he asks.