Tragic Tales : Forced Conversion of Hindu Sindhis in Sindh, Pakistan

"Soon, a frisson of excitement sweeps through the throng, as a police van drives through the gate. Inside it is Mariam. She’s 13 years old—and married! Mariam was Mashu, and Hindu, till the night of December 22, 2005. I pick my way through the jostling crowd. Mariam is in a red burqa, her gold nose ring sparkles. She tells me, "I’m happy. I don’t want to return to my parents or brother." What’s the fuss about, I wonder.

It’s quite another story under the pipal tree of the court compound. Huddled under it are the villagers of Jhaluree, 20 km from Mirpur Khas. Among them is Mashu’s father, Malo Sanafravo. He says that at 11 pm, December 22, four armed men barged into their room. One of them was Malo’s neighbour, Akbar. They picked up Mashu, bundled her into the waiting car. "She was taken to Pir Ayub Jan Sarhandi’s village in Somarho tehsil." There Mashu became Mariam and was married to Akbar.

Not true, insists husband Akbar. "Mariam has been always in my heart," he gushes, saying, at 11 pm, December 22, it was she who had come over to his house. But it’s true that the Pir converted her and married them—it was his idea that they issue statements in the court. "Mariam was sent to Darul Aman in Hyderabad, in judicial custody," Akbar declares.A 13-year-old choosing to convert and marry? A 13-year-old testifying in the court, without her family by her side? Suspicious, I walk over to the SHO, caught in the middle of a heated exchange between two groups. Someone suggests he should allow the girl to meet her relatives. Before the conversion yes, not now. She has now become Muslim, says the SHO. He argues, "There’s a huge crowd here. If Mariam breaks down after seeing her father, there will be a communal riot here in the compound."

A little later, there are celebrations as the word spreads: the court has allowed the couple to live together. Standing next to me is Kanjee Rano Bheel. He works for an NGO in the education sector; volunteers for the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) as well. "In just two hours Mashu was converted and married," Kanjee says incredulously. Disappointment and helpless rage fleet across his face. "In Darul Aman the girls are kept away from parents and pressured into issuing statements favourable to the abductors. They tame stubborn girls through death threats. "

- Extract from Article " Sindh's Stolen Brides" by Marianna Babbar in Outlook Magazine (2006)

Unfortunately, Mashu is not alone and the situation isn’t any different in 2019. Infact, if anything, it  has only deteriorated with the passage of time. State of Human Rights Report (2018) published by Pakistan Human Rights Commission mentions that around 1000 cases of forceful conversion and forced marriages of Hindu and Christian girls were estimated in Sindh alone, where 95% of Hindus in Pakistan stay. That is roughly 3 conversions a day. The cities where such cases occur frequently included Umerkot, Tharpakar, Mirpurkhas, Badin, Karachi, Tando Allahyar, Kashmore and Ghotki.

Almost all cases of forced conversion involve a similar plot – a young Hindu girl is forcefully abducted and taken to local cleric where conversion happens and marriage with the abductor is solemnized. In most cases, the abductor is at-least a decade or so older ( in many cases, even couple of decades!) who either lives in the same locality or has heard about the girl. The local courts usually act as a rubber stamp and in almost all cases decide in the favor of abductor. There are usually 4-5 members from the girls side whereas there are hundreds of (if not thousands) of members from other side to ensure certainty of outcome at the local court. The young girl usually gives in to the pressure and testifies in front of the magistrate about being in love with the abductor and her consent becomes the ground to hold the “Nikaah” (Marriage) valid. There is little/no opportunity for cross questioning. However, this is not the end as most such marriages last only for a few months. The broader community cuts all social ties with the girl given the conversion who within a few months is either thrown out by the husband or has been “passed on” to someone else. Anecdotal evidence does suggest that religious extremism has been on a rise in Pakistan and such cases which were occasional and unheard of earlier, have now become widespread and routine.Sources however do also indicate that whilst original muslim inhabitants of sindh are sympathetic towards minorities, their docile nature being similar to that of Hindu Sindhis, it is essentially Non-Sindhi muslims and their skewed interpretation of Islam which creates rift and incites others on this path. 

As I write this article, there is widespread anger in the Hindu Sindhi community in India regarding the mysterious death of Nimirta Mirchandani , a final year BDS student in Larkana, Sindh. Local Pakistani newspaper Dawn states (September 23^rd, 2019), “The Larkana police, meanwhile, remained in a fix. Neither the [bereaved] family is coming forward to lodge an FIR of the incident nor are the police ready to register a suicide case” said the source. Nimirta’s family members have spoken to the Larkana DIG Irfan Ali Baloch and SSP Masood Bungash. One source said that the family had at least shown their trust in the DIG but even then they were not ready to lodge an FIR. The fact that a family is reluctant to file an FIR to probe/investigate sudden and mysterious death of their 20 something daughter highlights the level of insecurity, fear and threat that an ordinary Hindu family faces in Pakistan.

It troubles me deeply that the situation prevailing today is similar to the one that my grandfather and others faced in 1947 - same level of distrust, communal disharmony and angst against one another ; all to prove that “My religion is better than your religion”. I wonder if we as communities will ever be able to move on from 1947. If anything, Hindu Sindhis on the other side probably have more allegiance and love for Pakistan than anyone else – simply because they chose to remain there when everything else suggested that they move to this side. Most consider Sindh as their karma and matribhoomi. I recently saw an interview of Sai Sadhram Sahib of Sant Satram Dham at Deherki Sahib (Pakistan) and was amazed at how his face was all lit up when the interviewer asked him about Sindh. It’s a pity that the docile community like ours has to face such hostile aggression. To give us a perspective of the hostility, the below is a comment that I came across on facebook which is one of the thousands of such similar comments of varying intensities that one gets to read whenever there is a discussion on Pakistani Hindus:-

“bro ye Pakistan men rehny waly hindu sab raw k agents hen.ye harami sohar K bachay khatay Pakistan ka hen or Gatay India ka hen.” (Brother , the Hindus staying in Pakistan are agents of R&AW (Indian Intelligence Agency). These sons of pigs earn their livelihood in Pakistan but owe allegiance to India.) 

Sometimes I really wonder if this is the Sindh that I read about in literature. In my various readings about Sindh, it has generally been mentioned as a land of sufis and saints which has always rejected the rigid approach to religion and believed in an inclusive, tolerant and peaceful co-existence. Amar Sindhu, a Sindhi language poet who teaches Philosophy at Sindh University, Jamshoro writes in a coloumn about G M Syed as follows:- 

“The clergy, authoritarianism and orthodox Islamic teachings never found adherence in Sindh and the mullah has remained a figure of condemnation in Sindhi folk culture and in the poetry of Sufi poets: 

"The Mullah committed suicide when he recognised the truth about Allah The Mullah's mother is deeply anxious, feeling that she is filled with poison." (Shah Latif)"   
                                                                                              
(Source: Dawn Newspaper, July, 2013) 

In hindsight, it seems Syed sahab was right when he claimed that it was ideologically impossible for Sufi Sindh and Islamic Pakistan to co-exist.

I end with this song Sindhjee Niyaanee ( Oh, Hindu Daughters of Sindh) by Smt. Koshi Lalvani which highlights the plight of young Hindu Sindhi girls in Pakistan. I had tears in my eyes watching this as not sure what have we as a community have done to deserve this. I hope good sense prevails and Pakistan immediately brings an end to this appalling treatment being melted out to our fellow brothers and sisters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3M3-BfqRzk

Jai Jhulelal!