Study Finds Hindus Are The Minority Most Discriminated Against In Pakistan

Hindus in Pakistan constituted approximately 25% of the population back in the day. Not so anymore since Hindus,Buddhists and Sikhs now make up about 2% of the population. That's a huge decline in numbers, and can only be attributed to what some consider the ethnic cleansing of minorities, through persecution, and death.

California Republican Congressman Ed Royce, who has travelled to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan has voiced his concern about what he deems as the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in that region, and whom he believes have suffered the most of any ethnic or religious group.

Speaking at the Capitol Hill reception hosted by the Hindu American Foundation, California Republican Ed Royce said he had nothing but “feelings of humility and empathy for a people who have been subjected to — despite the tolerance of their own religion and despite the way in which Hindus have treated and accepted others — more discrimination than just about any other ethnic group.”

The influential lawmaker, who was presented with HAF’s Friend of the Community Award for his campaign against discrimination and human rights violations of Hindus in Bangladesh, said that “as someone who has been to Bangladesh, Pakistan, to Central Asia, to South Asia and talked with many of the victims,” he deplored the kind of human rights abuse they had undergone in these countries.

“There are two million Hindu Americans here in the United States, and many of them have shared their own stories with their neighbours and us in the United States,” he said, and noted, “So we have some inkling of what they went through.”

Illustrating the amount of ethnic cleansing that has occurred by pointing out the fact that at one time Hindus made up 25% of the population of Pakistan and it has now dwindled to about 2%, Royce went on to say

“To think about the loss of life that has occurred and to think about the ethnic cleansing that still goes on,” he said was a tragedy of enormous proportions, and added, “To think about the use of intimidation against Hindu women used and still used in those societies where there is a small minority yet of Hindus in Pakistan.”

Royce said the same kind of blatant human rights against Hindus were occurring in Bangladesh and Bhutan and spoke of his familiarity “of what the Bangladeshi Hindu population has been through.”

“It cries out for the international community to step in,” he said. “I can share with you that I’ve made many trips to India [ Images ], but I’ve also in these trips gone to Bangladesh and Pakistan and raised these human rights issues with those governments because it is unacceptable — it’s absolutely unacceptable — the inhumane, intolerant way in which Hindus are treated when they are a minority in these countries in South Asia.”

He also praised the HAF for

“...trying to galvanise here in the United States, not only the rights of Hindus here in the United States, but also equally importantly, the safety, the security of Hindus throughout South Asia in the face of the kind of intolerance that we see being advanced through Islamist extremism.”

“And, my fervent hope is that we can learn from the lesson of what has befallen other victims and begin to take the action necessary to cut off the support for the Deobandi schools, for the madrassas, which are turning out the next generation of those who are going to teach hate.”

Royce said it was also imperative that “we’ve all got to pressure the government of Pakistan to put an end to those textbooks which teach the concept that hatred should be visited upon the Hindu minority or spread the message that only one religion should be practiced in that country.”

“And, it’s also my hope going forward that we can further our humanitarian efforts to assist those victims of the type of ethnic cleansing that is going on today,” he said.

Although he is focusing on Hindu persecution and discrimination, we mustn't forget the fact that it's not just Hindus, but Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and minority Muslim groups like the Ahmadis and the Ismailis. Muslims absolutely MUST start being more tolerant of religious minorities in their countries if they expect to be treated fairly in the West, and be prepared to be criticized for not being tolerant. There is no excuse for treating others so disgracefully, simply because they do not believe as you do.