Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The horrific event occurred as witnesses claimed a Hindu boy, Dinesh, was caught drinking from a water cooler at a nearby mosque. Several members of the Hindu community of Memon Goth were severely beaten and hospitalized.
Sixty men, women and children of the community were forced to leave their homes and possessions by landlords and have taken refuge in a cattle pen.
Despite assurances from local and federal officials for protection, the Hindu community of Memon Goth is fearful of further persecution and violence. According to Abdul Hai, Human Rights Commissioner of Pakistan, members of this community have long been persecuted and are subjected to performing menial labor for the landlords who are driving them out. These acts of harassment continue to form the established pattern of driving minority communities out of Pakistan, as has been noted in HAF's annual Hindu human rights report. The Hindu population in Pakistan, which was between 15 and 24 percent in 1947, at the time of partition of India, has now been reduced to less than two percent.
"Assurances and statements are not enough. We want government officials to take swift action to bring the responsible parties to justice," said Prof. Ramesh Rao, HAF's Human Rights Coordinator. "Only then can the Hindus and other minorities of Pakistan be assured of their and the future generation's safety."
The Hindu American Foundation is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism.
Contact HAF at 301.770.7835 or on the web at www.HAFsite.org
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