New Delhi: In Majnu Ka Tilla, where cramped lanes wind tightly between homes and the air resonates with the sounds of children playing, a palpable sense of relief hangs in the air. A stay order from the Delhi High Court Wednesday, halting the demolition of a Pakistani Hindu refugee camp in the area, has ignited a wave of hope in the community — further cemented by the latest notification regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
The HC has set 19 March as the date for the next hearing.
The camp is home to approximately 800 people from 150 families, predominantly from Pakistan’s Sindh region, seeking refuge and a new life in India, advocate R.K. Bali, who represented the petitioners in the case, told ThePrint,
A writ petition, a copy of which is with ThePrint, was filed by one Ravi Ranjan Singh along with advocate Bali on behalf of the Pakistani Hindu community residing in the area.
The petition requested the court to direct the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) not to disturb or demolish the Pakistani Hindu Refugee Camp at Majnu Ka Tilla until an alternative piece of land is allotted for it, especially in view of the notification of the CAA that protects persecuted non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Moreover, the petition claimed that the families have been living in the area for a long time with children studying in nearby government schools. With the exam season ongoing, it would be “unfair” to drive them out of their homes at such a time.
“These people are not citizens yet, so we cannot file a petition in their names,” advocate Bali told ThePrint. “Ravi Ranjan Singh volunteered to help.”
Around 150 families have been living in this settlement for almost 12 years, and it was only on 5 March that the DDA asked them to vacate the premises and ordered a demolition. On 6 March, a petition was filed against this notice.
The petition drew a parallel between the refugee camp and areas such as Akshardham and the Commonwealth Games Village, all standing on the Yamuna River bed. It pointed out that Akshardham and CWG village are provided with embankments for safety and asked the court to direct the DDA to also build embankments around the Pakistani Hindu refugee camp area.
The petition prayed for a full-proof solution and not a “knee-jerk” reaction.
Meanwhile, the Delhi HC has directed authorities not to take any coercive action in relation to the proposed demolition of the Pakistani Hindu Refugee Camp in the area.
ThePrint reached Bijay Shanker Patel, the public relations officer at DDA, but he said he doesn’t want to comment as the matter is sub judice.
‘We are Sanatanis…accept us’
Standing amid bare brick houses guarded with iron gates and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) flag fluttering on the roofs, Dharamveer Solanki, a resident of the camp, told ThePrint, “We are Sanatanis. We appeal to the people of India to accept us as their own.”
Sitting cross-legged in the courtyard, a dozen men and women were listening intently to Ayush Jaggi — a member of Dharam Chakra Sankriya, a self-funded organisation registered last year to “help people”, and confidant of petitioner Ravi Ranjan Singh — as he coaches residents on engaging with the media.
Jaggi told ThePrint that he along with Singh were helping the Pakistani Hindu refugees pro bono because they are followers of the same faith. “They are all sanatani, and so I consider them family,” Jaggi added.
The families came to India as and when they received their visas, but all of them came before 2014, claimed Kishanmal, a Pakistani Hindu refugee residing in Majnu Ka Tilla. “Back in Pakistan, we were not allowed to even cremate the dead in peace,” he said.
In 2013, the Hudson Institute released a paper claiming that minorities in Pakistan are being persecuted, and religious freedoms curtailed. The paper came in around the same time, Majnu Ka Tilla saw Pakistani refugee families settling here.
“(19)47 ka bikhra hoon, 47 meri umar hai,” Kishanmal said, which loosely translates to “I am 47 years old, but I am lost since 1947”.
He said that he comes from a family of farmers in Sindh, Pakistan, and it was due to the lack of information and connection to the land that the families did not move to the Indian side during the partition in 1947.
The refugees here came to India to safeguard themselves, their children and their religion. “We were scared in Pakistan, fearful that our kids might be abducted or worse killed. Our temples were being destroyed, farmlands taken away, and we were often at the receiving end of abuse,” Solanki told ThePrint.
Unhappy with Kejriwal, have hopes from CAA
Although Solanki said that they feel much safer living on the government land, at least not having to fear for their lives, he still is disappointed with the Delhi government.
“We have been living here for 10-12 years, and not once has the Delhi government come to our rescue or provided us with basic facilities like water and electricity,” he said. “And now, the Kejriwal government is against giving us citizenship, saying that we will take away their jobs.”
The Delhi CM has questioned the new rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act, calling it a policy of “making illegal immigrants legal” and expressed concerns over women’s safety and the narrow job opportunities in the country. His remarks were not received well in this refugee camp.
Throughout the settlement area, BJP flags flutter in the breeze. When questioned about their presence, residents said that they’ve faced accusations of working for the BJP, so now they’re simply declaring their political leanings openly. They also expressed gratitude that their concerns had reached Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, resulting in the implementation of CAA.
“We are grateful to the government who decided to give us citizenship and grateful to the court for hearing our story,” said Solanki.
However, some in the settlement are wary of celebrating too early.
“What good will citizenship do, if we don’t have a place to live in?” 18-year-old Jamna, Kishanmal’s daughter, said to ThePrint.
“The day I have both citizenship and land papers in my hands, that’s when I’ll be truly happy,” asserted Solanki’s niece, Ganga Solanki.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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