Mohammad Jamil
Some liberal intellectuals and analysts in Pakistan have been harping on aman ki asha (hope for peace) launched by Pakistani and Indian media groups, and according to them the avowed objective is to bring peoples of India and Pakistan closer. But India spurned the efforts to bring the people of both countries together. They also claim that India is the largest democracy and a secular state, which stands for freedom of religion; however the facts belie those claims especially since Prime Minister Narendra Modi is at the helm. On 31st October 2017, Ali Raza Mustansar Poonewala and Ali Akber Valika, representatives of Bohra community Karachi, held a meeting with Mr Jitender Pal Singh, Indian Deputy High Commissioner at latter’s office to seek visa facilitation. The Deputy High Commissioner expressed his inability in visa facilitation and advised them to approach Indian political leadership for issuance of Indian visa. Annual congregation of Bohra Community would be held in India in December 2017 in which around three thousand Pakistani members of the Bohra community would participate in the event. The Indian High commission is not issuing visas to members of Bohra community and is directing them to approach Indian political leadership for resolution of visas issue. Last year, at least 300 Sikh pilgrims with Pakistani visas were left stranded at the Attari railway station amid heavy rains, as the special train to be sent by Pakistan was not allowed by the Government of India at the eleventh hour to enable the devotees to visit Pakistan. The pilgrims were to visit Pakistan to observe the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh empire. They had raised slogans against the government condemning it for violating the fundamental rights of the people.
Indian government has also been creating hurdles by denying visas to the sportsmen and other travelers on one pretext or another. In May this year, the Indian High Commission had denied visas to Pakistani wrestlers who were to represent Pakistan in the Asian Wrestling Championship held in India between May 10 and 14, 2017. Similarly, squash players’ request for visas was rejected by Indian authorities. In 2014, Indian government had refused visa to four Pakistani snooker players that were to participate in the Asian under-21 Snooker Championship, which was scheduled to start from April 4, 2014 in Mohali, India. The result can be quite damaging for the players, as their absence from international tournaments can adversely impact their rankings in the international circuit. Last year, India had denied visas for a delegation from the US government agency, which is responsible for monitoring international religious freedom. The delegation from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was scheduled to leave for India from the US for a visit with the support of the US State Department and the US embassy in New Delhi. “We are deeply disappointed by the Indian government’s denial, in effect, of these visas,” USCIRF chairman Robert George said in a statement. The-then US President Barack Obama during his visit to India had had nudged New Delhi to tackle issues that could divide the country and hinder its development. He said: “India will succeed so long as it is not split along the lines of religious faith.”
In March 2016 almost two years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept to power on a promise of rapid economic growth, public debate in India has lately shifted from development to issues over freedom of speech and ever-increasing religious intolerance. Eight U.S. Senators and 26 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had expressed grave concerns about the increasing intolerance and violence experienced by members of religious minority communities. They referred to the threats to Christians in Chhattisgarh and vigilantism over beef that had led to the murder of four Muslims. And they also expressed their concern about the lack of recognition of Sikhism as a distinct religion.
