Movement for Rights of the Religious Minorities (Hindus) in Pakistan Missing ???

By Gopinath Kumar (PHP editor from USA)
Thursday,May 27,2010

(Pakistani Hindus celebrate Holi in Karachi City,Sindh)

Pakistan : The tectonic events of the past few years - including September the ‘11’ and the war against terrorism in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond - have dramatically affected the Muslims and their attitudes toward the non-Muslims in general. However, some of the dynamics that are influencing the socio-cultural environment in Muslim countries and especially in Pakistan are also the product of trends that have been at work for many decades.
.
Falsely presumed religious mission and self-proclaimed righteousness has provided a vehicle through which different governments/leaders have sought legitimacy to discriminate against the non-Muslims. Some of the political parties even contest elections around an agenda of Islamizing the state and reforming the society around religious lines. Based on the ideology of two nation theory, the notion that a separate country "only" for the Muslims where they can live according to their own religious values has indeed proved lethal for the possibility of co-existence with other faiths for all times to come. It is predominantly a Muslim country but we need to be mindful of the existence of Christians, Bahais, Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Parsis and Sikhs who identify themselves as non-Muslim but true Pakistanis.
.
In the past two decade or so, religion has become increasingly intertwined in the political turmoil that envelops Pakistan. The Hindu and Sikh community in Pakistan are very much under represented and is inherently sub divided into various castes. AA while siding with the poorest of the poor will work with the scheduled class hindus all across Pakistan. Their representative groups will be formed at the provincial level and strengthened to amplify their political voice and bring their grievances to the public fore will help us to promote diversity and ensure their rights. Capacity building of these groups will be done especially to empower them to participate in the upcoming census in 2010.
.
This campaign will contribute in increasing their participation in the national process as it provide the base of fiscal settings, services and programs provided to remote communities.