A 15-member Hindu family from Pakistan moved to Delhi camp from Haryana's Hisar
CHANDIGARH: A family of 15 Pakistani Hindus who came to India last year have been sent to a camp near Majnu Ka Tila in Delhi by the state police.
They came from Pakistan to Rajasthan's Jaisalmer and later shifted to Balsamand village in Hisar, Haryana.
This family joined many such families who are already living in this camp near Majnu Ka Tila. There are also families in another camp near Signature Bridge in the national capital. They face an uncertain future.
Sources said that the family of 15 was put in a bus by the Haryana Police and taken to Majnu Ka Tila camp.
It was in July 2024 that the family hailing from Sindh in Pakistan reached India. They entered the country via Rajasthan and spent some time in Delhi. From there, they moved to Balsamand village after they came in contact with a local villager who facilitated their relocation.
Most of the family members have been working as daily-wagers and were getting meager earnings but they hoped never to return to Pakistan where they often faced religious persecution.
One of them said that they never thought that they would end up in such a situation. Being Hindus they were subjected to continuous harassment and faced religious persecution in Pakistan and not to mention the socio-economic hardships.
He added that they also taken land of rent and were growing vegetables, pulses and fruits and trying to settle down as slowly people started trusting them.
But now they are not sure how long they will stay in the camp and what is there fate.
A police official confirmed that the family has been shifted to a camp in the national capital from the village.
Balsamand police chowki in-charge Shesh Karan said the family was handed over to the Delhi authorities.
Another police official said that this family moved to Hisar in August last year from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan with help of one Shamsher Singh of Balsamad village. Sources said that there are many such families which have come to India from the neighboring country and have not got citizenship or as per rough estimates some few hundred such people are living near Majnu Ka Tila and also another few hundred such families are living near Signature Bridge in Delhi but of these some of them have got their citizenship certificates.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
3 hours ago
- Hans India
16 arrested in Assam for illegal cattle slaughter during Eid
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that 16 individuals have been arrested across the state in connection with incidents of alleged illegal cattle slaughter during Eid-ul-Zuha celebrations. CM Sarma stated that cattle remains were recovered from various locations in Assam, with five unauthorised slaughter sites identified in the Barak Valley. These were located in Gumrah, Silchar, and Lakhipur in Cachar district, and Badarpur and Banga in Karimganj district. The arrests include nine people from Cachar and seven from Sribhumi. Additional reports cited the discovery of cattle parts in areas including Cotton University in Kamrup (Metro), Dhubri, Hojai, and Bagargool in Sribhumi. "While our Constitution guarantees the right to religious freedom, it equally upholds the rule of law and public order," CM Sarma wrote on social media platform X. "Disturbing incidents of illegal cattle slaughter and recovery of cattle parts were reported from multiple locations across Assam." CM Sarma emphasised that the state is committed to preserving communal harmony, but warned that violations of the law, regardless of religious background, would invite strict action. Under the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021, cattle slaughter is prohibited in areas where Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs form a majority, and within five kilometres of temples or Vaishnavite monasteries (satras). While beef consumption is not illegal, the Act imposes stringent restrictions on slaughter and sale. Tensions flared in Hojai on Sunday, following claims that meat pieces were found in Hindu residential areas on Saturday night. In response, members of the Hindu community staged a road blockade in the Barpukhuri area. A counter-protest by Muslims occurred in Bhuyanpatty, leading to a confrontation with police. Authorities used mild force to disperse the crowd, a senior police official said. "The situation is now under control, with additional paramilitary forces deployed. We are closely monitoring developments," the official added. Meanwhile, protests continue in Barpukhuri, where efforts are ongoing to negotiate with demonstrators. Residents in Hojai allege that meat was deliberately thrown into their premises, though police have not confirmed these claims. In Guwahati, a piece of meat was reportedly found wrapped in polythene near the Cotton University campus. Police have collected the sample for forensic testing. A similar incident was reported in Nalia, Dhubri district, where suspected meat pieces were discovered near a temple. Authorities said the material was also sent for examination and that the situation in the area remains peaceful.
New Indian Express
4 hours ago
- New Indian Express
16 arrested in Assam for illegal cattle slaughter during Eid; CM Himanta vows 'strict action'
He said in five instances, cattle parts were found from places including near Cotton University in Guwahati, Dhubri, Hojai and Sribhumi districts. 'We are committed to preserving communal harmony, but not at the cost of lawlessness or cruelty. Please be clear that strict action will be taken against all violators — irrespective of faith or background,' he further wrote. Consumption of beef is not illegal in the state, but the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021, bans cattle slaughter and sale of beef in localities where Hindus, Jains and Sikhs are in the majority and in areas within a five-km radius of a temple or satra (Vaishnavite monastery). On Sunday, a huge number of people from the Hindu and Muslim communities came out in Hojai to hold protests separately, and they blocked roads and clashed with the police, the officer said. "While the Hindus blocked roads at Barpukhuri area, where suspected cattle meat pieces were found at three places on Saturday. Following that, Muslims also came out and blocked a road at Bhuyanpatty as a countermeasure," he said. A section of the mob at Bhuyanpatty clashed with the police personnel who resorted to "mild lathi-charge" to disperse the protesters, the officer said. "The situation is now under control, and we have deployed additional forces from central paramilitary agencies. We are closely monitoring the development," he said. The protest in Barpukhuri area is still underway, and the administration is talking to the agitators to clear the blockade.
Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Indian Express
For Bengal BJP, why the Sharmistha Panoli case was a timely one
Sharmistha Panoli walked out of a Kolkata prison last Friday, a day after the Calcutta High Court granted her interim bail in a case of communal posts. With this, the BJP in Bengal, which took up the case to target the Mamata Banerjee government over alleged police high-handedness and Muslim 'appeasement', claimed victory and Leader of Opposition in the state, Suvendu Adhikari, said justice had been served. Adhikari alleged the police never acted against Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, from Mamata Banerjee to Mahua Moitra and Firhad Hakim, who had made 'objectionable remarks' about Hindu deities and festivals, whereas Panoli's comment, which she 'later deleted and apologised for', attracted police action. 'Where is this same zeal when idols of Hindu deities are vandalised in West Bengal? When stone-pelting happens on Ram Navami & Hanuman Jayanti processions…,' he asked. Not just Adhikari, other senior BJP leaders, including Union Minister and state unit president Sukanta Majumdar also came out in Panoli's support, saying, 'The 30% have to be defeated, 30% have to be convinced of the power of traditional Hindus, so let's organise a united voice across your social media, 'I want the liberation of traditional Sharmistha.' #istandwithsharmishtha …' As the top BJP leaders threw their weight behind the 22-year-old, with BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul and state BJP legal cell member Sanjukta Samanta filing police complaints against Wajahat Khan, whose complaint had led to the influencer's arrest. Paul alleged that the police were shielding Khan because of 'Muslim appeasement'. A fringe Hindu outfit calling itself the Shree Ram Swabhiman Parishad wrote a letter to the Jail Superintendent of Alipore Women's Correctional Home, alleging a threat to the 22-year-old's life and demanding better security arrangements for her. The BJP's pushback was in line with its strategy of painting the TMC as anti-Hindu and claiming that its Muslim appeasement politics is marginalising the majority community in the state. This strategy has been apparent in the party's public positioning since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh last year — the party and the larger rightwing ecosystem drew parallels between the situation in the neighbouring country, where Hindus were reported to have come under attack, and the state. Its allegations gained momentum after the communal violence in Murshidabad in April, following protests against the amended Waqf law, in which three people were killed. And as the Trinamool looked to have weathered the storm — the inauguration of a Jagannath temple in the coastal town of Digha in Purba Medinipur district was a signal to the Hindu voters in the state — came the Panoli case. The TMC's dominance in West Bengal has been fuelled by a combination of factors, including the consolidation of minority votes, the votes of women due to its social welfare initiatives, and the success in painting the BJP as a party of outsiders. It has also been helped by the fact that there has not been a counter-consolidation of Hindu votes behind the BJP and this is something that the Opposition party appears to be trying to change ahead of the all-important Assembly elections next year. The TMC has responded to the BJP, alleging that Panoli had knowingly put up the posts for social media clout and to gain rightwing attention. Party spokesperson Riju Datta said the Kolkata Police had done its duty by 'carrying out the court's warrant' and appealed to the youth and their parents not to get 'influenced by the RW cabal run by BJP IT Cell … they will earn their salary hiding behind a cellphone but your children's lives will be spoiled forever'. Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
