I don’t know what is my bigger crime. That I am born in Bangladesh. Or I happen to be Hindu.
Since beginning of civilization, my ancestors had been nurturing this Banga-bhoomi with their blood and sweat. When British overpowered us, my ancestors sacrificed their lives with slogan of Jai Hind to realize our dream of independence. They set examples of patriotism for rest of India. But then suddenly things changed.
Some intellectuals held round table conferences in posh locations of Delhi and decided that from 14 August, 1947 onwards, I would not be considered an Indian anymore. They concluded that existing map of India does not look artistic. So they tore apart the timeless legacy of India and carved a green line of partition to create East Pakistan.
Now history, geography, traditions, sacrifices, patriotism – nothing mattered anymore. As a Hindu Kafir, I turned overnight into “worst of creatures” in my own motherland.
I was given the option to immediately move out of my ancestral land and become a refugee in streets of an unknown city in India.
It is not easy to leave everything – emotions with land of forefathers, livelihood, future of children and women – and jump into an uncertain destiny of miseries. Yet, many of my friends in West Pakistan chose this as a safer option. They dared to catch the train to India where being a Hindu or a Muslim did not matter.
They were butchered in the route. Women – from elderly grandmothers to newborn babies – were raped with slogan of Allah-o-Akbar. Many decided to kill their own mothers, sisters, wives and daughters just to safeguard them from sexual perverts. The number of women thus raped, killed, kidnapped or mutilated ran not in hundreds and thousands but several lakhs.
I decided to stay back and trust Jinnah – the founder of Pakistan – who also guaranteed that we would not be subject to religious discrimination. Mahatma Gandhi also trusted him.
Now when I look back, I am not sure which would have been a wiser decision for me.
To stay back and continue to serve my land as my ancestors did since time immemorial. Or accept the cruel reality that tea-parties of few elite politicians can change destiny of oldest civilization of world in entirety, and hence move away from my home.
In both cases, my fate would have been still the same – rape, abduction, slaughter, hatred – all in name of Allah – the Merciful.
Those who decided to move to India created two harrowing world records:
– They faced the greatest massacre in the history of mankind, running into several lakhs.
– They faced the greatest number of rapes, abductions and mutilation of women, also running into several lakhs.
Those of us who decided to stay back to avoid this barbarism and serve the land of their ancestors also created two equally horrifying world records
– We faced the greatest ethnic cleansing ever in history of humanity. From more than 31% of East Pakistan population in 1951, we are now reduced to 8% in Bangladesh today as per fudged census.
– We are facing the greatest state-encouraged crime against women. Rape and abduction is as common as traffic violations.
Yes, I am ashamed to admit, but it is a painful truth that vast number of Hindu families are forced to make prostitutes out of their women. The goons of majority religion can abduct our women anytime. And when they find someone else or are bored, they would throw them back in streets. There is nothing that government or police would do.
Either we convert to Islam, or die or our women get in flesh trade.
Our temples are desecrated and broken any time. We have hardly any temples left today except a few heritage sites. We hear that destruction of Babri structure became such a big global news. In Bangladesh, hundreds of temples were destroyed immediately after the incident. And thousands have been destroyed since 1947.
In 1971, war for Bangladesh independence happened. But nothing changed for us. In fact both sides had one common punching bag – Hindus. A large number of us had to flee to India. Those who could not still miss their daughters and saw their families being shot down in front of their own eyes before they got raped.
We have no voice, no choice.
I ask my fellow Indian brothers and sisters. What should we do? Where should we go? We did not demand for partition of our mother. We were the ones who fought the most for independence. Then why were we left to be butchered and defiled by savages?
We love India. We have lived and died for India since humanity evolved. We demand your love, care and protection. Please save us from animals.
We are being killed and raped. We are on verge of extinction. Please help us.
We humbly appeal to our Indian brothers and sisters to:
– Provide us Indian citizenship
– Provide us asylum
Please pave path for all Hindus, Sikhs, Christians in Pakistan and Bangladesh to come and settle in India. We are your own family. We will not import terror. Instead we will work hard and contribute to the nation. We are used to extreme hard work for generations. We will repay your love, care and affection with our labor and loyalty.
Yours is the land of religious equality. Both Muslims and Hindus hug each other and say “Jai Hind”. We would also like to shout this slogan with you.
You follow Krishna who saved Draupadi on one call of hers. Your sisters in Pakistan and Bangladesh also call upon you.
We have nowhere to go. Please help us. Please save us.
– Sanjeev Agniveer
Note:
1. “Hindu” in context of this autobiographical essay refers to all minorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh – Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists.
2. This autobiographical appeal applies equally to Pakistan and Bangladesh
Disclaimer: By Quran and Hadiths, we do not refer to their original meanings. We refer to interpretations made by fanatics and terrorists to justify their kill and rape. We respect the original Quran, Hadiths and their creators. Our fight is against those who misinterpret them. For example, Mughals, ISIS, Al Qaeda, and every other person who justifies sex-slavery, rape of daughter-in-law and other heinous acts. For full disclaimer, visit site.
