Sir: In Pakistan, we use the word ‘minority’ for our non-Muslim brothers. They are treated like that and are made to feel that they are in a minority but in Sindh, when compared to other provinces, the idea of minorities per se is not so prevalent because the people of Sindh consider the real masters of Sindh to be the Hindus; they do not discriminate in the name of religion. If there is a minority in Sindh, which has been discriminated against, it is the Sikhs. In the month of June (according to Sikhs), their holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, was torn up inside a temple by a local Hindu in Panu Aqil. When they rushed to the police station to lodge an FIR against the culprits, the police refused to lodge the FIR against them because of the influence of Hindus in the area and, after that, they staged demonstrations outside the police station. The police eventually lodged the FIR.
The police were only just investigating the matter when another incident of desecration took place in Shikarpur and then in Dadu. Now, according to the Sikh community, the Hindu panchayat (tribal court) is supporting the culprits. In the province, they have representatives in the Assembly and, therefore, the police are not ready to catch the culprits. Recently, a delegation from the Pakistan Sikh Council went to meet the Chief Minister (CM) to apprise him about the matter but the CM was too busy to accompany them. I think this is a serious matter; when we do not tolerate any wrongdoing against our holy books, we should respect the holy books of others in the same way. The Hindu community should expose the culprits instead of supporting them because Sindh belongs to the Sufis and secular-minded people. No one has the right to play with the sentiments of the people in the name of religion, and so I implore the authorities to probe the matter transparently.
DARYA KHAN CHANDIO
Hyderabad