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I’m A Pakistani Hindu And This Is What I Think About My Country
Nothing in the world is black or white, and much of reality is about knowing what shade of grey you are dealing with (of the 50 or 255, depending on whether you’re a cougar or a geek). So here’s to seeing both sides of the coin:
There are around 2 million Hindus living in Pakistan. Most of us (over 90%) live in Sindh and are, by extension, Sindhis. There are Hindu temples all over the country with at-least 2 in every major city. In my hometown alone, Sukkur, I know a minimum of 6. We are not isolated and spread out, and are, in fact, organized. There is a panchaet in every major city in Sindh that deals with festivals, maintenance of temples and other community issues and even dharamshalas.
First the good:
I am a Hindu with many Muslim Friends
On a trip to the mountains of Sibi, Balochistan with few of my friends. That’s me with the T-shirt. I was the only Hindu on the trip and I realized it only now.
Source: Author
I have a friend named Yasin. Well, he’s a Pathan from Balochistan who speaks Sindhi (natively) and lives in the Punjab: essentially all of Pakistan combined into one guy. Whenever we’re out for dinner on a local dhaba, he never orders any form of meat even for himself because I am a vegetarian. Even if I insist that he eat his favorite karahi.
A Hindu friend’s mom, on the other hand, used to keep separate utensils for the kaam wali bai because of her being from a neech caste (typical).
I have plenty of Muslim friends and all of them are like him. Not once in their company have I felt I’m any different, it’s only when someone mentions something about Hindus or India that I go “Oh yeah, I’m one of those too!” And I’m not alone, many of my Hindu friends have it the same way more or less. Whether that’s because we travel in well-educated circles is up to a debate but the point I’m trying to make is (a) saying Pakistan is a terrorist country is stereotyping at a gargantuan magnitude, and (b) many of the educated masses in Pakistan are quite hospitable, open-minded and have an amazing sense of humor.
I believe Hindus have cultural freedom in Pakistan
While this might sound a little odd and unbelievable, but I’m of the opinion that the Hindus in Pakistan are culturally free, as long as they keep it to themselves. We can wear whatever we want, celebrate our festivals in any way we can and pray however we like. That is to say you won’t hear some mullah issuing fatwas to Hindu women who don’t start wearing burqas, or the locals complaining of noise from the fireworks on Deewali or the government issuing a ban on idol worship altogether.
Not everyone is out there to get you and frankly most of them have plenty of their own problems to be troubled with. They leave us to ourselves as long as it doesn’t benefit them in some way, whether it’s something material or their egos. Not to mention if the people in question belong to the above “good, educated” category, they actually show curiosity and join you in your celebrations.
There are thousands of people looking to bring Pakistanis of all religion together
The problem with Pakistani media? Letting the world know of all the tragedies is crucial but it’s equally important to spread the positive side of things. I mean who cares if some random guys don’t eat chicken karahii because of a vegetarian friend, when you have sensational stories that sell? But I digress.
There are many communities, NGOs and even private citizens dedicated to intra-cultural promotion and awareness in the country. They gather Hindus, Christians, Muslims and everyone in between out for visits to religious places around the country. They engage everyone in cross-cultural dialogue. They take everyone out to celebrate Shivratri together. They provide support to underrepresented people in any way they can. I had the privilege to accompany one of them (Faces Pakistan) on a couple of visits myself and I was astounded with the work they were doing.
But there’s also the bad:
People ALWAYS question my loyalties toward India just because I’m a Hindu
Pakistan’s a country where the majority has to prove they are peaceful and the minorities have to prove they are patriotic. You can only go so long before you’re bombarded with questions like “Aap India se aaye ho?” and the classic: “Who do you support in an India vs Pakistan match?” (Seriously?). The problem is, many people here think Hindus living here moved from India. This doesn’t imply any hostility, mind you, simply a lack of awareness. This lack of awareness is a lot more common outside Sindh.
Hercharn Singh, the first Sikh Officer to be commissioned in the Pakistan Army.
But it does give you the air that you are alien, when in fact it we’re the local Hindus that stayed back during partition. Sometimes, when someone asks me “Are you from India?” I feel like firing back “Are you?” Instead I just roll my eyes.
We aren’t given the same opportunities to serve our country as our Muslim fellow Pakistanis
You remember the joke which goes like “larka hua to engineer, larki hui to doctor“? Well, that’s the reality here. A doctor, an engineer or business, that’s the extent of our dreams. I am ashamed of the fact that there are a lot of Muslim actors and cricketers in India (and pretty good ones at that too) but a dearth of Hindu ones in Pakistan. So, good luck if you want to be one of those… or become a policeman… or serve in the army… or work in the intelligence agency… or… God this might take all day.
Nothing in the world is black or white, and much of reality is about knowing what shade of grey you are dealing with (of the 50 or 255, depending on whether you’re a cougar or a geek). So here’s to seeing both sides of the coin:
There are around 2 million Hindus living in Pakistan. Most of us (over 90%) live in Sindh and are, by extension, Sindhis. There are Hindu temples all over the country with at-least 2 in every major city. In my hometown alone, Sukkur, I know a minimum of 6. We are not isolated and spread out, and are, in fact, organized. There is a panchaet in every major city in Sindh that deals with festivals, maintenance of temples and other community issues and even dharamshalas.
First the good:
I am a Hindu with many Muslim Friends
On a trip to the mountains of Sibi, Balochistan with few of my friends. That’s me with the T-shirt. I was the only Hindu on the trip and I realized it only now.
Source: Author
I have a friend named Yasin. Well, he’s a Pathan from Balochistan who speaks Sindhi (natively) and lives in the Punjab: essentially all of Pakistan combined into one guy. Whenever we’re out for dinner on a local dhaba, he never orders any form of meat even for himself because I am a vegetarian. Even if I insist that he eat his favorite karahi.
A Hindu friend’s mom, on the other hand, used to keep separate utensils for the kaam wali bai because of her being from a neech caste (typical).
I have plenty of Muslim friends and all of them are like him. Not once in their company have I felt I’m any different, it’s only when someone mentions something about Hindus or India that I go “Oh yeah, I’m one of those too!” And I’m not alone, many of my Hindu friends have it the same way more or less. Whether that’s because we travel in well-educated circles is up to a debate but the point I’m trying to make is (a) saying Pakistan is a terrorist country is stereotyping at a gargantuan magnitude, and (b) many of the educated masses in Pakistan are quite hospitable, open-minded and have an amazing sense of humor.
I believe Hindus have cultural freedom in Pakistan
While this might sound a little odd and unbelievable, but I’m of the opinion that the Hindus in Pakistan are culturally free, as long as they keep it to themselves. We can wear whatever we want, celebrate our festivals in any way we can and pray however we like. That is to say you won’t hear some mullah issuing fatwas to Hindu women who don’t start wearing burqas, or the locals complaining of noise from the fireworks on Deewali or the government issuing a ban on idol worship altogether.
Not everyone is out there to get you and frankly most of them have plenty of their own problems to be troubled with. They leave us to ourselves as long as it doesn’t benefit them in some way, whether it’s something material or their egos. Not to mention if the people in question belong to the above “good, educated” category, they actually show curiosity and join you in your celebrations.
There are thousands of people looking to bring Pakistanis of all religion together
The problem with Pakistani media? Letting the world know of all the tragedies is crucial but it’s equally important to spread the positive side of things. I mean who cares if some random guys don’t eat chicken karahii because of a vegetarian friend, when you have sensational stories that sell? But I digress.
There are many communities, NGOs and even private citizens dedicated to intra-cultural promotion and awareness in the country. They gather Hindus, Christians, Muslims and everyone in between out for visits to religious places around the country. They engage everyone in cross-cultural dialogue. They take everyone out to celebrate Shivratri together. They provide support to underrepresented people in any way they can. I had the privilege to accompany one of them (Faces Pakistan) on a couple of visits myself and I was astounded with the work they were doing.
But there’s also the bad:
People ALWAYS question my loyalties toward India just because I’m a Hindu
Pakistan’s a country where the majority has to prove they are peaceful and the minorities have to prove they are patriotic. You can only go so long before you’re bombarded with questions like “Aap India se aaye ho?” and the classic: “Who do you support in an India vs Pakistan match?” (Seriously?). The problem is, many people here think Hindus living here moved from India. This doesn’t imply any hostility, mind you, simply a lack of awareness. This lack of awareness is a lot more common outside Sindh.
Hercharn Singh, the first Sikh Officer to be commissioned in the Pakistan Army.
But it does give you the air that you are alien, when in fact it we’re the local Hindus that stayed back during partition. Sometimes, when someone asks me “Are you from India?” I feel like firing back “Are you?” Instead I just roll my eyes.
We aren’t given the same opportunities to serve our country as our Muslim fellow Pakistanis
You remember the joke which goes like “larka hua to engineer, larki hui to doctor“? Well, that’s the reality here. A doctor, an engineer or business, that’s the extent of our dreams. I am ashamed of the fact that there are a lot of Muslim actors and cricketers in India (and pretty good ones at that too) but a dearth of Hindu ones in Pakistan. So, good luck if you want to be one of those… or become a policeman… or serve in the army… or work in the intelligence agency… or… God this might take all day.
