New Delhi: ‘We are Pakistani Hindus, of course people think we do not exist in Pakistan’, says Deepna Rajput in one of her reels that has gone viral. And that’s how the Pakistani Hindu influencer is breaking stereotypes against her country — one reel at a time.
Deepna, a Karachi resident, hopped onto the viral Instagram trend to make a point: Pakistani Hindus are happy, contrary to popular opinion prevalent in the subcontinent.
In the reel, she and a few other women counter various stereotypes surrounding Pakistani Hindus:
“We are Pakistani Hindus, of course people think we are not happy here.”
“We are Pakistani Hindus, of course people think we support India in cricket matches.”
Deepna’s reel is a hit, with around 3.5 lakh likes and 12,000 comments. While most appreciated the reel, others were skeptical and questioned the content. One user even suggested sending the reel to India’s Union Home Minister Amit Shah since he has “taken CAA seriously”.
But the reel is mostly drawing praise. “This reel is hitting hard on narrow minded, and brainwashed puppets. Thank you for making it,” another user commented.
Singer Udit Utpal also commented: “Proud Pakistani Hindu”.
The viral reel also brought Pakistani Christians onboard. One user joined the trend: “We’re Pakistani Christians, of course people don’t know we exist.”
Speaking to ThePrint from Karachi, Deepan, born in Mirpurkhas city in Sindh Province, said she is overwhelmed by the public response. “We just used the trending reel format and added our personal views to it. Whatever we spoke was based on our own experiences and we as individuals stand by that,” Deepna said.
She wants to make it clear, though, that neither she nor her friends in the reel are claiming to represent the whole of the Pakistani Hindu community.
“This was the perception of three Pakistani Hindu girls who are privileged enough to receive education and are from financially independent backgrounds with plenty of resources by the grace of god. Perceptions, stories, opinions of Hindus in Pakistan differ from person to person based on their gender, region, caste, city, and age bracket.”
Deepna is aware of the politics in India, and realises where her reel could be placed in it. “This reel is not intended for any ‘propaganda’ against Indians or their politics; we will just refer to the situation as ‘right content, wrong timing’,” she said.
What is the trend all about?
The “of course” trend is straightforward: participants complete the phrase “I’m a ____, of course I _____.”
It started with TikTok, where users playfully mock stereotypes linked to their occupation or personal identity, or to humorously challenge common misconceptions about themselves.
Like many others, Deepna used the trend to counter misconceptions about Pakistani Hindus.
After Islam, Hinduism is the second most populous religion in Pakistan. Hindus comprise 2.14 per cent of Pakistan’s population, or approximately 4.4 million individuals, as of the 2017 Pakistani census.
According to a 2018 Minority Watch report, harassment by religious extremists is a source of concern for minority Hindus in Pakistan, who also lament the lack of official protection accorded to them. Hindus, like Christians, routinely face the problem of forced religious conversion. Concerns have been raised by minority groups regarding the persecution and threats to their places of worship as well.
Amid the brickbats and the outpouring of love, Deepna clarified her stand—she was just highlighting a positive thing and wasn’t doing this “under gunpoint”, in what was her response countering a previous comment.
“If people still doubt that this reel is a part of some pressurized system or I don’t fight for minority rights and discrimination, they need to check my ‘Festival’ highlight where it reflects how wonderfully we celebrate each of our festival and other reels where I took part in a lot of campaigns,” she said in a comment on her own Instagram post. “About the oppression and forceful conversations, we know that’s a real thing that happens not only in Pak but with a lot of countries and is a completely separate issue which we stand by, however our right to celebrate happiness does not depend on that,” she added.
As a bonus, an unfazed Deepna announced that a Part 2 of the reel is on its way.
(Edited by Prashant)