Daily Times

Hindus in Pakistan are believed to be 1.6 percent of the total population, mostly concentrated in the Sindh province. At the time of the partition, massive exodus of Hindus from Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province was recorded, but the Hindus in Sindh opted to continue living in Pakistan. Because of their vulnerability as a minority in the province, their exodus chain could not be broken. In one estimate, every month 10 Hindu families move to India or elsewhere.

A grave issue during the last many decades was the awful treatment to Hindu women in Pakistan. After independence, Hindus have remained the most vulnerable community as their marriages have never been recognised and registered by local governments, the reason being that in the constitution of Pakistan there was no such provision to give Hindus a ‘right’ to register their marriages. Although blaming authorities is the easiest thing to do, but it is a fact that Hindu leaders did not ever campaign to get a proper marriage law passed from the legislative assemblies of the country. After independence from the British Raj, some voices started to emanate from the concerned community for tabling a Hindu marriage bill.

It was in 2014 that an organised effort was made by two parliamentarians when a bill was presented in the National Assembly by the minority members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Human Rights approved the bill, and the National Assembly was to approve the bill provided all provinces passed the Hindu Marriage Bill in their respective assemblies. The chairman of the standing committee sent several reminders to provincial assemblies for the said resolution because after the 18th amendment, provincial assemblies are responsible for any legislation regarding minorities living in their respective provinces.

In 2014, the Supreme Court of Pakistan asserted for a national legislation about Hindu marriage, but after 2010, it was mandatory to get the law passed by provincial assemblies. If that does not happen, the National Assembly can still pass the bill but it would be implemented only within the constitutional territories of the federal government. The chairman of the standing committee said: “It was unbecoming of us Muslims in general and the political leaders in particular. We were required to facilitate the legislation, not obstruct it. If we 99 percent of the population are afraid of one percent, we need to look deep inside what we claim to be and what we are.”

According to the Hindu parliamentarian, Dr Ramesh Lal of the PML-N, it took 10 months to get the bill through the standing committee because of severe opposition and queries from some of the committee members. Shagufta Jumani of the PPP, and Ali Muhammad Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, had certain reservations about the minimum age of a Hindu girl for marriage. The question of the future status of a married Hindu girl if she embraces Islam created heat in the debate. At one point, to avoid further delay in the process, the chair of the committee had to stop the debate. Maulana Akhtar Shirani, Chairman, Council of Islamic Ideology, was also consulted who stated his concern over the proposed age limit of 18 years for marriage of a Hindu girl. Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, one of the members of the standing committee explained that every year he arranges collective marriages of Hindu girls, but never allows anyone under the age of 18 to be married.

The National Assembly of Pakistan is one step away to finally approve the Hindu Marriage Act. The law will protect the rights of Hindu women and families. The Hindu Marriage bill is summarised in the following points:

1) The minimum age limit for a Hindu girl would be 18 years

2) Marriages will be registered by local government offices and marriage certificates will be issued

3) Married Hindu girls will be entitled to their inheritance rights

4) After one year, individual may end her matrimonial life and will have the right to divorce.

5) If individuals are interested to re-marry, they can do after the period of six months of their divorce

6) Women may challenge their marriages in the court if they are deprived of their matrimonial rituals and rights

7) In the presence of first wife, second marriage will not be allowed

8) Violation of the Hindu Marriage Act will result in prosecution

The long-awaited Hindu Marriage act would help the community in several ways; Hindus would be able to claim the ownership of the country being part of the national data as family units. Forced conversions to Islam would be discouraged. Hindu women would get their constitutional family rights. Hindu men would not be able to exploit womenfolk as it was being done in the absence of the marriage act where women were unable to prove their marital status. It was almost impossible for Hindu women to claim pensions and other benefits after the demise of their husbands and family members.

It was appalling that the four-million population of the country was being deprived of their social and family rights. It is quite heartening that the PMN-L has acknowledged the serious issue the Hindu community was facing for the last many decades. Minorities in Pakistan are always supportive of the moderate political parties, and the PPP could have taken this step when the party came to power in 1988. However, it is still praiseworthy that the Sindh Assembly has passed the Hindu Marriage Act 2016, which would strengthen PPP’s stature among minorities. After the Punjab government passes the same resolution and bill in the provincial assembly, the National Assembly would be ready to pass the much-needed Hindu Marriage Act.

There are certain other issues that need to be addressed, like the discriminatory laws massively used against minorities. The frequent use of the blasphemy law is a big question mark on the treatment of minorities in Pakistan. The Hindu Marriage Bill would serve as a positive step in the process of fair treatment of minorities in Pakistan.

The writer can be reached at Kaleem.dean@mail.com