Living on the edge, Pakistani Hindus still feel safer in India

Living on the edge, Pakistani Hindus still feel safer in India

New Delhi, India
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Seven years ago, Dharamveer Solanki (pictured below), a Hindu, left his home in Pakistan’s Hyderabad city, never to return. When his train crossed the border into India, Solanki said he felt happier than ever before.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis
Solanki at a Hindu refugee settlement where he lives, near Majnu ka Tilla.

"It felt as though I had been reborn,” he said, sitting inside a bustling refugee colony on the outskirts of New Delhi, where he and hundreds of other Hindus who fled Muslim-majority Pakistan have built a new home.

Asylum-seekers like Solanki are the main beneficiaries of a law that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government introduced late last year, laying out a path to citizenship for people from six religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who arrived in India before 2015.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis
Hindu refugees from Pakistan's Sindh Province stand next to a cutout of Narendra Modi, as they celebrate the Citizenship Amendment Bill being passed in India's Parliament.

The law excluded Muslims from the list, and that determination of rights to citizenship based on religion triggered protests across India that resulted in a fierce police crackdown and deadly violence. Critics say the law discriminates against Muslims and undermines India's secular constitution.

But for the Hindus of Pakistan, Modi's long-held commitment to providing them refuge has drawn more and more across the border even before the new law was enacted.

In the 15 months through March 2019 India's home ministry dealt with 16,121 applications from Pakistani nationals for long-term visas. In preceding years, the number of visas granted rose from hundreds to thousands.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavi
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavi

Left: Phulwanti, 17, a Hindu refugee from Pakistan, video calls some of her relatives in Pakistan as her brother Eashwar, 13, adjusts a sheet that is used to protect their home from rainwater, at a Hindu refugee settlement where they live near Majnu ka Tilla.
Right: Phulwanti, 17, a Hindu refugee from Pakistan, video calls some of her relatives in Pakistan, on the roof of her home at a Hindu refugee settlement where she lives near Majnu ka Tilla in New Delhi, India, June 10, 2020.

The flow of migrants has stopped temporarily as borders have been sealed to control the spread of the coronavirus.

But many remain desperate to cross, Solanki said. They often come on 25-day pilgrimage visas and stay on until they get citizenship.

Solanki is still waiting for India to grant him citizenship, as the process has now been delayed by the coronavirus outbreak in the country. He was unaware that there was a World Refugee Day, but when told by Reuters that it would fall on June 20, he was very clear what he would like to see.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis
Children stand outside their makeshift home near Majnu ka Tilla.

"The citizenship law has been passed. Our people should now get land and benefits as citizens," Solanki told Reuters at his home in the Majnu Ka Tilla neighbourhood on Delhi's northern fringe.

The settlement where he lives is a cluster of cement, brick and wood huts, with no electricity or water supply, off a busy road. Around 600 people live there. Many of the young men work as hawkers or, like Solanki, as labourers.

Several said they lived in better conditions in Pakistan, but they felt safer in India.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis
People sit around a bonfire at a Hindu refugee settlement where refugees from Pakistan have put up makeshift huts using wood collected from surrounding trees, situated amongst a woodland area near Signature Bridge.

A few miles away, across the heavily-polluted Yamuna river, a newer settlement has sprung up in the woods beneath a highway overpass called Signature Bridge.

In July last year, when Reuters began observing this community, there were only a few rickety huts. But now hundreds of people live there.

The huts are built with wood from the surrounding forest. There is no electricity or water supply, and families cook on wood-fired stoves.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis
Nirma Bagri and her daughter Naina, 11, ride a crowded bus as they travel to Naina's school.

“At least here our daughters are safe and we can freely practice our religion ,” said Nirma Bagri, a 35-year-old woman.

Here, in a country they have mostly known through stories passed down by parents or grand-parents who lived in pre-Partition India, or through Bollywood films, the refugees are slowly trying to assimilate.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis
Ishwar Lal, 21, and his wife Aarti Devi, 21, both Hindu refugees from Pakistan, celebrate with their newborn baby daughter Nagrikta and Meera Devi, Nagrikta's grandmother, after India's parliament passed a Citizenship Amendment Bill, near Majnu ka Tilla.

A young couple at the settlement was so elated with the law passed in December that they named their daughter born that month “Nagarikta,” the Hindi word for “citizenship.”

Charitable Hindus often offer donations of food, clothes, solar lamps, and other household items.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis
A Pakistani Hindu refugee collects sticks near Signature Bridge.

During a visit to the settlement in the woods in February, Reuters journalists encountered members of the right-wing Hindu group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), who said they were organising education classes for the children.

The group has ties to Modi’s ruling BJP, have been blamed for violent attacks on minority Muslims, and have a stated aim of turning India into a Hindu supremacist nation.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis
Pakistani Hindu refugees put together a makeshift hut using wood collected from surrounding trees near Signature Bridge.

While confirming they belonged to the VHP, the men declined to give their names. Refugees told Reuters later that the VHP men had told them not to speak to the media.

“We are trying to build a life here,” said Solanki. “These people are just helping us.”

PHOTO EDITING MARIKA KOCHIASHVILI; writing Zeba Siddiqui, Editing Sanjeev Miglani, Simon Cameron-Moore

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Slideshow

Shyani, 30, a Hindu refugee from Pakistan, sits on a bed at a makeshift hut near Signature Bridge. Shyani's husband and the father to her son who came with her, still remains in Pakistan, having not yet been able to make it to India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Shyani, 30, a Hindu refugee from Pakistan, sits on a bed at a makeshift hut near Signature Bridge. Shyani's husband and the father to her son who came with her, still remains in Pakistan, having not yet been able to make it to India.

Mukesh, 13, a Hindu refugee from Pakistan, poses for a photo at a Hindu refugee settlement where he lives near Majnu ka Tilla.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Mukesh, 13, a Hindu refugee from Pakistan, poses for a photo at a Hindu refugee settlement where he lives near Majnu ka Tilla.

A Hindu refugee from Pakistan combs a young girl's hair outside her house at a Hindu refugee settlement near Majnu ka Tilla.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

A Hindu refugee from Pakistan combs a young girl's hair outside her house at a Hindu refugee settlement near Majnu ka Tilla.

Posters of Bollywood actors hang on the wall of a home at a Hindu refugee settlement near Majnu ka Tilla.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Posters of Bollywood actors hang on the wall of a home at a Hindu refugee settlement near Majnu ka Tilla.

Pooja Solanki, 22, a Hindu refugee from Pakistan, dresses her four-month old daughter Kareena, in their home at a Hindu refugee settlement where they live near Majnu ka Tilla.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Pooja Solanki, 22, a Hindu refugee from Pakistan, dresses her four-month old daughter Kareena, in their home at a Hindu refugee settlement where they live near Majnu ka Tilla.

Aarti Devi, 21, applies kohl onto the eyes of her four-month old daughter Nagrikta (who's name means 'Citizenship' in Hindi) at a Hindu refugee settlement where they live near Majnu ka Tilla.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Aarti Devi, 21, applies kohl onto the eyes of her four-month old daughter Nagrikta (who's name means 'Citizenship' in Hindi) at a Hindu refugee settlement where they live near Majnu ka Tilla.

People sit around a bonfire as they sing songs a few days before Shyam and Geeta's wedding.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

People sit around a bonfire as they sing songs a few days before Shyam and Geeta's wedding.

Phulwanti, 17, a Hindu refugee from Pakistan, prepares a meal as her mother Parvati looks on at their home at a Hindu refugee settlement near Majnu ka Tilla.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavi

Phulwanti, 17, a Hindu refugee from Pakistan, prepares a meal as her mother Parvati looks on at their home at a Hindu refugee settlement near Majnu ka Tilla.

Shashi, 20, Shyam's sister, sews a dress for Geeta, her sister-in-law, in a makeshift hut.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Shashi, 20, Shyam's sister, sews a dress for Geeta, her sister-in-law, in a makeshift hut.

Shashi gets ready for Sajan and Asha's wedding.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Shashi gets ready for Sajan and Asha's wedding.

Shyam is sheltered with blankets during a 'haldi' ceremony, a premarital ritual in which a paste made out of turmeric is applied onto the body of the bride and groom, before getting married.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Shyam is sheltered with blankets during a 'haldi' ceremony, a premarital ritual in which a paste made out of turmeric is applied onto the body of the bride and groom, before getting married.

Geeta reacts during a 'haldi' ceremony before getting married.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Geeta reacts during a 'haldi' ceremony before getting married.

Shyam and Geeta's family and friends gather around them during their wedding.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Shyam and Geeta's family and friends gather around them during their wedding.

Shyam, 18, who feeds cake to his grandmother, and Geeta, 17, his fiancé, are surrounded by their families and friends the day before their wedding, at a makeshift hut, at a Hindu refugee settlement near Signature Bridge.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Shyam, 18, who feeds cake to his grandmother, and Geeta, 17, his fiancé, are surrounded by their families and friends the day before their wedding, at a makeshift hut, at a Hindu refugee settlement near Signature Bridge.

Geeta is consoled by her family and friends after she reacts remembering her family back in Pakistan, at gathering held the day before her wedding at a Hindu refugee settlement near Signature Bridge.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Geeta is consoled by her family and friends after she reacts remembering her family back in Pakistan, at gathering held the day before her wedding at a Hindu refugee settlement near Signature Bridge.

People sit around a bonfire as they sing songs at Shyam and Geeta's wedding.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

People sit around a bonfire as they sing songs at Shyam and Geeta's wedding.

Geeta and her husband Shyam rest outside a makeshift hut.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Geeta and her husband Shyam rest outside a makeshift hut.

Hindu refugees from Pakistan pose for a photograph as they sit outside their makeshift hut where they live, at a Hindu refugee settlement situated amongst a woodland area near Signature Bridge.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Hindu refugees from Pakistan pose for a photograph as they sit outside their makeshift hut where they live, at a Hindu refugee settlement situated amongst a woodland area near Signature Bridge.

A family, who are Hindu refugees from Pakistan, spend time together in their home at a Hindu refugee settlement where they live near Majnu ka Tilla.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

A family, who are Hindu refugees from Pakistan, spend time together in their home at a Hindu refugee settlement where they live near Majnu ka Tilla.

Hindu refugees from Pakistan, Mushandi Lal, 34, and his wife Naseeban, 28, sit with their children who watch a video on a mobile phone in their home at a Hindu refugee settlement where they live near Majnu ka Tilla. Sundri, 5, (second left), who is unable to walk or speak, was left disabled after an accident in which she fell when she was a baby, caused a brain injury.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Hindu refugees from Pakistan, Mushandi Lal, 34, and his wife Naseeban, 28, sit with their children who watch a video on a mobile phone in their home at a Hindu refugee settlement where they live near Majnu ka Tilla. Sundri, 5, (second left), who is unable to walk or speak, was left disabled after an accident in which she fell when she was a baby, caused a brain injury.

Phoolwanti, 15, stands by a white board in a makeshift classroom with other children at at a Hindu refugee settlement near Majnu ka Tilla.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Phoolwanti, 15, stands by a white board in a makeshift classroom with other children at at a Hindu refugee settlement near Majnu ka Tilla.

Parti, 20, a Hindu Refugee from Pakistan, plays on a swing with her two-year-old son Rajesh.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

Parti, 20, a Hindu Refugee from Pakistan, plays on a swing with her two-year-old son Rajesh.

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