Pakistani Hindus Of Majnu Ka Tila Wait For ‘Promises’ To Be Fulfilled

Shivani Das is busy as customers stop at her small grocery shop to buy snacks or cigarettes. Most of her day goes doing this, while the other half goes into tending her home, which is located in Delhi’s Majnu Ka Tila. The area is considered to be a safe haven for refugees, especially from Tibet, and Pakistan.

Majnu Ka Tila is home to thousands of Pakistani Hindus who left the neighbouring country to have a better life in India due to the communal issues there.

It was in the hope that India would give them all the possibilities because they were Hindus is why these families left Pakistan, their birthplace. However, now their future seems full of despair, as they do not even know whether their homes will stay intact or not.

They are living in unhygienic conditions, in semi-permanent thatch-roofed houses. The approach is via mud roads, next to open drains. There is no piped water or proper toilets, and the community is left wondering what the future holds for them.

Speaking to The Citizen Shivani, who belongs to the Sindh Province in Pakistan said that she left the country in 2011. “I came here with a hope of a better future like safe living, and good jobs, but we are struggling with both now,” she said.

According to a public notice released by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), on July 13 and 14, a demolition drive against encroachment in the Yamuna flood plain, south of the Majnu Ka Tila gurudwara, will be carried out.

Shivani claimed that when she came to India in 2011, the government at the time had asked them to set up homes anywhere they wanted in this particular area. “We were not given land as such but were told by the government to set up homes here and so we did. Since then, we have been living here,” Shivani said.

The area was muddy due to the recent rain, with people struggling to cross the paths. The public toilet was in a dangerously unhygienic condition. On asking a resident whether the people use it, she said that many do not have toilets in their homes and do use it occasionally.

Shivani, who has five children, said that her family has no jobs, and depend on running the small grocery shop to fend for themselves. “We came here for a better future, but we only see nothingness. While we are happy staying here, we still want a better life. We left that country to get a better life here and not be treated like this” she said.

There are around 200 houses inhabited by the community. Recently, some refugee families living in the area were granted citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, some refugees living in Majnu Ka Tila were granted citizenship.

The DDA had in a notice asked the residents to vacate their homes by Friday (July 19). It added that the affected families can put up at shelter homes run by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board for now.

“They tell us the land belongs to some authority or the other, but we don’t understand. If they are removing us, at least get us better staying conditions,” Shivani added.

Most of the people in the community work as daily wage workers.

Soon after reports of demolition spread, the DDA postponed its demolition drive. ‘The Hindu’ reported that the authority did not give the reason for deferring the drive undertaken to comply with the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and Delhi High Court.

The first migrants came to India from Sindh in Pakistan, Pakistan, nearly 13 years ago and have established five camps across Delhi, including locations in Rohini, Adarsh Nagar, Shahbad Dairy, and two in Majnu Ka Tila.

Approximately 700 people from 170 families reside in cramped huts at Majnu Ka Tila’s Yamuna Belt, with most sustaining themselves by operating small cigarette shops in front of their houses. Despite their efforts to get a semblance of stability, many residents live in cramped conditions with inadequate sanitation facilities.

However, this is not the first time that the DDA has threatened to demolish the houses. In March, this year demolition notices were sent to the people. The decision was however stayed by the High Court.

The High Court’s decision to stay the demolition came in response to a plea filed by Ravi Ranjan Singh, one of the refugees, seeking protection for the camp until an alternative piece of land is allocated to them. The plea, citing the Citizenship Amendment Act, emphasised the government’s commitment to shelter persecuted non-Muslim minorities from neighbouring countries.

“Since the past year, we have been receiving these eviction notices on a regular basis,” Kaushalya, a resident, told The Citizen.

A mother of three, Kaushalya came in 2012 and is staying in Majnu Ka Tila. “Why evict us? We are not doing anything. We also voted for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) because they assured us citizenship,” she said.

Shivani meanwhile said that the fear of demolition and eviction has forced many families to leave and go back to Pakistan. “There was a family who had just come last year, but since we started getting notices, they left,” she added.

There was anger amongst some people who said they only want peace.

Speaking on behalf of the community, Sukhnand, the ‘Pradhan’ or the head of the refugee camp told The Citizen that their case is pending in court and the hearing for the matter will take place within two months.

Expressing his gratitude for the refuge provided by the Indian government Sukhnand. “We have built our houses after a lot of hard work. When I had come back in 2013, the government had asked us to settle anywhere and that they would then resettle us. Hence, we initially stayed in makeshift tents but then started building homes here,” he said.

Sukhnand said that they are very happy living here as the condition back in Pakistan is not good for them. “We cannot thank the Indian government enough for granting us citizenship and letting us live here but we would request them to not demolish our homes. It took us time to settle here,” he added.

Sukhnand said that it is after the hearing that they would be told what to do. “If they ask us to leave, we will leave. But I hope they don’t force us to become homeless,” he added.

While the DDA has deferred the demolition, fear and anxiety lingers upon the families saying they have nowhere to go. “Even though we are happy here, we have no family. We are at the end refugees and if we are evicted, we will have nowhere to go. I do not want to go back to Pakistan. I can practice my religion freely here,” she added.