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particularly between Punjab province and the rest. It is an
emerging public concern in Sindh
that north of the province is being converted into the second
Taliban hub of Pakistan
through extraordinary support to religious extremists, frequent
settlement of ethnic
Pashtuns and Punjabis and increase in the anti-Hindu activities.
This demographic threat has
also been a major factor in harboring the recent secessionist
wave among ethnic Sindhis,
who, according to Pakistani English and Sindhi dailies of March
24, 2012, took to the streets
of Karachi in hundreds of thousands on March 23 and demanded
separation of Sindh from
Pakistan. A couple of dozens of militancy incidents have been
reported in the province
thereafter.
The law and order situation is worst in northern Sindh since the
uprising against military
rule during 1980s. Sindh was non-tribal before 1990; however,
its northern districts are
now tribal fiefdoms. The widely considered milestone among
Sindhi people for this
retrogression is the establishment of Pakistans largest
cantonment in Pano Aqil, Sukkur of
the northern Sindh during late 1980s. Strangely, most of the
military installations in Sindh
are near Hindu settlements; therefore, one assumes that a
demographic strategic-security
notion of the establishment might have been one factor behind
displacing Hindus from
there. Ironically, Hindus are being considered a demographical
threat by the security
establishment, majority of which considers Hindus and Indians
interchangeable. Evacuee
property law of the country validates this argument when it
categorises the property ofHindus who left Sindh after 1971 as an
enemy property.
Sindhi Hindus are a trade and business backbone of the province.
Their exodus will hence
create a new business space for ethnic Punjabis, Pashtuns and
Urdu-speaking people. On
the other hand, Sindhi feudal lords are gradually losing their
economic, social and political
power base; therefore, weaker among them are allying with
Mullahs for their sustenance.
Majority of feudal lords is traditionally secular, which was
historically witnessed during the
partition of India; when communal violence gripped the
subcontinent, Sindh was peaceful
and harmonious. However, feudal lords today are tilting towards
religious extremism in
northern Sindh.
After recent wave of Sindhi nationalism and freedom movement, a
Hindu exodus is the most
suitable for the establishment to convert ethnic Sindhis into
permanent minority on their
historical land, who may easily be outnumbered in any post
exodus scenario by the
immigrant and settler Punjabis and Pashtuns and the Urdu
speaking Muhajir.
Northern Sindh, once eastern business hub of Subcontinent and
housing a large number of
Hindus, has now become hub of Madrasahs of politically motivated
and radicalbrands of
fundamentalists. Being just a ten hour road journey from both
Kandahar and Delhi, (if
border-entry diversions are not considered),it was a trade hub
with Eurasia, Central Asia
and Afghanistan during early 1990s. Hindus in Sindh and
particularly in its northern parts
are often kidnapped, plundered, murdered and are forcedly
converted to Islam by theseMullahs or their associate
criminals.
At times, one finds ideological conflict as the cause of
violence against the Hindus, while at
others it becomes a pretext. Pakistans civil and military
bureaucracy is largely ethnic
Punjabi, followed by the Pashtuns and Urdu-speaking community.
Majority of the Punjabi
and Urdu-speaking bureaucrats are the first or second generation
of the refugees who
migrated during the partition of India. Therefore, anti-Hindu
mindset based on hatred
caused by the violence of partition is still hounding
Pakistan.
Pakistan, no doubt, desperately needs to carry on anti-Taliban
campaigns at the Afghan
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borders; however it primarily needs to liberalise state ideology
and mindset of bureaucracy;
de-Talibanise Pakistani society; control radical Madrasahs,
secularise academic curriculum
and ensure security and equal rights to Hindus, Christians and
other minority groups. It
also requires urgent federal reforms, assuring demographic and
ethnic sovereignty to the
federating provinces. Separation of religion from the state is a
prerequisite for it. Otherwise,
the legacy of partition will space out too many sub-partitions
in Pakistan.
The author is human rights activist and political analyst. He is
Executive Director at
The Institute for Social Movements, Pakistan
Views expressed are personal
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