Pakistan's Fast Growing Hindu Population 5th Largest in the World

[Riaz Haq]

Contrary to the sensational media headlines about declining Hindu population in Pakistan, the fact is that Hindu birth rate is significantly higher than the country's national average. Although Hindus make up only 1.9% of Pakistan's population, it is among the worlds fastest growing Hindu communities today, growing faster than the Hindu populations in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

Hindu Population in West Pakistan Source: Census Data `Pakistan Census data. For 1931 and 1941, the figures are for West Pakistan in undivided India. For 1951 and 1961, the figures are for West Pakistan in undivided Pakistan. Data for 1971 could not be accessed.   Hindu population of the areas that now constitute Pakistan was 15% in 1931 India Census. It declined to 14% in 1941 India Census. Then first Pakistan Census in 1951 showed it was 1.3% after the massive cross-border migration of both Hindus and Muslims in 1947. During the partition, 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India from what became Pakistan, while 6.5 million Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan. Since 1951, the Hindu population of what is now Pakistan has grown from 1.3% to 1.9% now.

Top Countries With Hindu Populations Source: Pew Research Center

Fastest Growing Religions By Countries

Sindhi Hindu Woman

Hindu fertility rate (TFR) of 3.2 children per woman in Pakistan is much higher than national fertility rate of 2.86.  With 3.33 million Hindus, Pakistan is currently home to the world's 5th largest Hindu population. By 2050, Pakistan will rank 4th with 5.6 million Hindus, surpassing Indonesia which is currently ranked 4th largest Hindu country, according to Pew Research.

While it is true that some Pakistani Hindus have been targets of religious bigotry and intolerance by some in the majority Muslim community, there are also many many examples of mutual tolerance and respect between Hindus and Muslims in the country.  In the city of Mithi in Sindh's Tharparkar district, for example,  Muslims do not slaughter cows out of respect for their fellow citizens of Hindu faith, and Hindus, out of respect for Muslim rites do not  have marriage celebrations during the month of Muharram. Hassan Raza, a student journalist, quoted a resident of a village near Mithi as saying:

"In our village, Hindus and Muslims have been living together for decades and there has not been a single day, when I have seen a religious conflict. No loud speaker is used for Azaan at the time when Hindus are worshiping in their temple, and no bells are rung when it is time for namaz. Nobody eats in public when it is Ramazan and Holi is played by every member of the village."

Diwali Celebration in Mithi, Pakistan

Another example is Rohiri in Sindh where a visiting Canadian-Indian Hindu diplomat saw a thriving Hindu community. Here's an except of how he describes his visit to Rohiri:

"One of the most interesting elements of the trip was visiting my father’s town, Rohiri, his birthplace. I found there was still a sizeable Hindu community there. That totally took me by surprise. We still think there was a massive religious cleansing in Pakistan and there were no Hindus left. Then I came across this family of shopkeepers who said, “Don’t worry about anything. Stay with us.” They gave me lunch and dinner and put me on the night train to Lahore. Talking to this family in the neighbourhood where my father grew up and was married was fascinating. The question that came to mind was why did my father’s family leave Pakistan and why are these people still here? Official figures suggest 14 million people were displaced after partition and that half a million to a million people were killed. And yet 60 years later these Hindu people in Rohiri are still there. They felt connected to the place where they were born. In the three towns I passed through I kept meeting Hindus — traders, professionals. Their numbers were small, 300 or 400 families in each of these towns. They have their own places of worship. I dared to ask: “Are you happy here?” and they said, “Yes, this is the land where we were born.”"

 

Pakistani Fashion Designer Deepak Perwani in Karachi

A successful Karachi-based Hindu Pakistani fashion designer Deepak Perwani said the following while talking to Indian media in 2012:

"People keep asking me, 'Oh you guys didn't migrate?', 'How are you treated there?' and so on. The questions show a lack of awareness." Perwani is part of Karachi's flourishing Hindu community, which is small but visible and influential even today. One lakh of Karachi's 1.3 crore population is Hindu.

As Perwani puts it, a lot of what people say about Pakistani Hindus shows "a lack of awareness".

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Pakistani Textbooks Acknowledge Minorities' Contributions

Rising Tide of Intolerance Threatens Pakistan

Akhand Bharat Part of Indian Textbooks

Hindutva Distortions in Indian Textbooks

Fighting Agents of Intolerance in Pakistan

Muslim Scholars Must Fight Hate in Pakistan

South Asian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Fear

Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah's Vision

Pakistan Must Defeat Agents of Intolerance 

Celebrating Quaid-e-Azam M.A. Jinnah's Birthday

[Riaz Haq]

A Pakistani Hindu Said He Didn’t Want to Live in India. Here’s Why
Akhil Bakshi met a Hindu Pakistani on a flight. This is what he learnt, much to his surprise.

AKHIL BAKSHI

https://www.thequint.com/voices/blogs/citizenship-amendment-act-nrc...

Not a ‘Genuine’ Representative of Pakistani Hindus?
Despite my interventions to ‘poison’ his mind, he stood firm. I was disappointed. He was not saying the words I wanted to hear. I concluded that he was not a ‘genuine’ representative of Pakistani Hindus, and that his business interests did not allow him to bow too much against his government.

It did not cross my mind that he could have been sincerely faithful to his country.
As I write, I am reminded of my visit to Pakistan in 1997. Fifty years after Partition, I had taken my mother to Dalwal, her parental village in District Jhelum. (Call of Dalwal, a YouTube video, has had over 61,000 hits with hundreds of Pakistanis posting sentimental comments).

From there we went to Karyala, the village of her paternal grandparents. In torch light we saw their expansive house, now a ruin and located close to the samadhi of Baba Praga, a notable figure of my paternal Chibber clan, a disciple of Guru Nanak, a mentor to the next five Gurus, and was killed in 1638 fighting against the forces of Paindah Khan, the governor of Lahore. Three old Muslim villagers who were guiding us insisted that we visit the house of the sarpanch, the village headman. “He is a Hindu,” they said, “and not a leaf moves in this village without his permission.”

BJP Govt Should Help Pakistan Evolve Rather Than Making India ‘Medieval’
Regardless of my positive experience or what Ravi Kumar said, it is true that religious minorities are persecuted in Pakistan, just as minorities are persecuted in many other parts of the world.

The BJP-led government of India, instead of influencing Pakistan to evolve into a more liberal society, is bent on making India as ‘medieval’ as its neighbour.
Under the guise of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the government’s intent seems to be to ‘spite’ Muslims, to take away their citizenship and rights, including voting rights. Traditionally, Muslims have voted en masse and en bloc for the party best placed to defeat the BJP. With the voting rights of millions of Muslims taken away, it will be ‘ADVANTAGE BJP’ all the way to the state assemblies and the parliament.


A Pakistani Hindu Said He Didn’t Want to Live in India. Here’s Why
Akhil Bakshi met a Hindu Pakistani on a flight. This is what he learnt, much to his surprise.

Image of Pakistan flag and a Hindu man used for representational purposes.Image of Pakistan flag and a Hindu man used for representational purposes.

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In August 2018, on my way back to India from Madagascar, I was off-loaded in Nairobi by Kenya Airways on two consecutive nights. On the second night, at the facilitation counter, I bumped into Ravi Kumar, a pleasant-looking and smartly attired man in his late twenties. After an hour of arguing with grim-faced, insensitive airline staff, I looked forward to engaging him in a refreshing conversation as we waited for the transport to drive us to our hotel.

As soon as we had exchanged pleasantries in Hindustani, he said, smiling wryly: “Let me clarify that I am not an Indian. I am a Pakistani.”

“A Hindu, no doubt,” exclaimed I.

“That's right,” he said, boldly.

‘It Must be Difficult for Your Family to Live in Pakistan?’
I looked him up and down, searching for scars on his face, grime in his hair, sadness in his eyes that revealed the fret in his heart. My mind was instantly filled with sorrow for my ‘long-suffering’ fellow Hindu who, surely, must be leading an ‘undignified’, ‘baleful’ existence in Pakistan. Weren't Hindus in Pakistan ‘thrown to the wolves’ by state tyranny? I wanted Ravi Kumar to share his agonies, and that of other helpless victims, with me.

[Riaz Haq]

A Pakistani Hindu Said He Didn’t Want to Live in India. Here’s Why
Akhil Bakshi met a Hindu Pakistani on a flight. This is what he learnt, much to his surprise.

AKHIL BAKSHI

https://www.thequint.com/voices/blogs/citizenship-amendment-act-nrc...

I looked him up and down, searching for scars on his face, grime in his hair, sadness in his eyes that revealed the fret in his heart. My mind was instantly filled with sorrow for my ‘long-suffering’ fellow Hindu who, surely, must be leading an ‘undignified’, ‘baleful’ existence in Pakistan. Weren't Hindus in Pakistan ‘thrown to the wolves’ by state tyranny? I wanted Ravi Kumar to share his agonies, and that of other helpless victims, with me.

“It must be difficult for your family to live in Pakistan?” I asked a leading question.

“On the contrary, we are extremely happy there,” he retorted, astonishing me.

“Are you not discriminated against?”

“Not at all! We feel like equal citizens. My family lives in Karachi and nobody has ever bothered us. We are a successful business family trading in rice.”
“But isn't the Hindu community in Pakistan generally impoverished?”

“Not in Karachi. We are probably the most prosperous community. The entire rice trade — milling, retail and wholesale — is controlled by Hindus. They all live in great comfort. I have relocated to Benin — from where I supply rice to West Africa.”

‘I’m a Pakistani at Heart. India is the Last Place I Want to Migrate to’
“Haven't you ever thought about relocating to India? Do you not want to free yourself of a dismal, perilous existence in Pakistan and migrate to India to seek succour of freedom and a liberal democracy?” I asked.

He looked at me with a hard stare but replied politely: “You are trying to put words into my mouth. Firstly, our life in Pakistan is not miserable. We are very much a part of the mainstream. I am a Pakistani at heart. Secondly, India is the last place I would like to migrate to. I have been to Bombay thrice — to source rice for West Africa — as Pakistan did not have enough surplus for export. All three times it has been a dreadful experience. Right from the time you land, you are questioned and hounded as if you are a terrorist. I had to report to the police station every day. And all that the authorities did was to pick my pockets. I spent most of my time waiting at police stations than at business meetings. I don't like the undignified way I am treated in India. Now I am on my way to source rice from Thailand — over-flying India.”

‘Pakistani Hindus Didn’t Find Kinship or Compassion in India’
“However, many Pakistani Hindus do want to migrate to India — to enjoy some measure of freedom that is proffered in my country,” I interjected.

“Perhaps. But those who went to India did not find any trace of kinship or compassion. The government provided no assistance to resettle. The lower caste Hindus were not allowed to pray in the temples. They can’t drink from the same well as the upper castes. Before you call Pakistan intolerant and petty, you should think about the bigotry in your own country.”

“I am told all Hindu temples have been vandalised...”

“A few were, some years ago, as a reaction to the demolition of some big mosque in India.”

“Babri Masjid.”

“Maybe. I don’t follow Indian news.”


Not a ‘Genuine’ Representative of Pakistani Hindus?
Despite my interventions to ‘poison’ his mind, he stood firm. I was disappointed. He was not saying the words I wanted to hear. I concluded that he was not a ‘genuine’ representative of Pakistani Hindus, and that his business interests did not allow him to bow too much against his government.

It did not cross my mind that he could have been sincerely faithful to his country.
As I write, I am reminded of my visit to Pakistan in 1997. Fifty years after Partition, I had taken my mother to Dalwal, her parental village in District Jhelum. (Call of Dalwal, a YouTube video, has had over 61,000 hits with hundreds of Pakistanis posting sentimental comments).

[Riaz Haq]

Partab Shivani
@PartabShiwani
First ever pilot from Tharparkar n second from Hindu community will fly today to his hometown. Mr. Mahipal (who hails from Chhahro Tharparkar) is very excited to fly over the land wherefrom he dreamt to become pilot. Best wishes.

https://twitter.com/PartabShiwani/status/1579308980278800385?s=20&a...

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Mahipal Ladher, a pilot working at Pakistan International Airlines, has been flying people stranded due to the lockdown, desperate to head home. Mahipal is the first pilot from Tharparkar, a poverty stricken district of Sindh province with a population of 1.6 millon people. The Tharparkar desert lies along the Pakistan-India border.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/this-pakistani-pilot-urge...

When Mahipal was a little boy, his town didn’t have a single paved road connecting it to any other town. It would take almost 12 hours to reach the nearest town, barely 70 km away. While growing up, Mahipal grazed cattle and at times, walked for a few kilometers to fetch water for his home, like other children of his town. But every time little Mahipal saw an aircraft show up in the sky, his heart would skip a beat. The boy would run after the plane, chasing the contrails, dreaming he would be flying one such aircraft someday.

Tharparkar has always been an example of Hindu-Muslims unity where the two communities draw strength from a shared heritage and history, and perhaps that’s the reason why Mahipal holds the values of co-existence so dear to his heart.

Studying initially in a government school and later an army-run school, Mahipal came to Karachi for higher education and training. “I have been living in Karachi for the past 17 years and thanks to its diversified culture, the two things I have learned here are invigoration and charity. People here just don’t stop living and giving!,” he says.

With COVID19 pandemic being so dangerously contagious, his country is also locked down like other parts of the world. “Like many others, I played my role by raising money for the needy from home. I also had to do my duty. There were people who were stranded and needed to reach home, specifically in the Northern areas of Pakistan where one relies upon the air mode of transport as the roads are covered with snow most of the time. PIA never stopped flying to such areas. I take pride to be a part of the crew that takes such people home and brings a smile on the faces of their loved ones,” he says.

Talking of family, he says the COVID-19 pandemic has made us realise that the whole world is connected, like a family. “Sadly, the only time we start acting like one is when we face such a crisis. Having said that, it is still a positive sign that we are all in this together. We have become the best version of ourselves, trying to help each other in every way possible. All I truly want and hope is that this sense of belonging stays even when this pandemic is over,” he says.

[Riaz Haq]

Meet Sangeeta, Pakistan's richest Hindu woman and actress who is aunt of Jiah Khan;


https://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-meet-sangeeta-pakistan-s-r...

One of the wealthiest women in Pakistan is a Hindu actress named Sangeeta, who is also a relative of late Indian actress Jiah Khan.


While Pakistan has a dominantly Muslim population, there are several Hindus residing in the country ever since the Partition in 1947. While the country is going through a crippling financial crisis, it is interesting to know that some of the richest people in Pakistan are Hindus.

While the richest Hindu in the entire country is a fashion designer and actor named Deepak Perwani, the richest Hindu woman in Pakistan also belongs to the entertainment industry. Sangeeta, a famed actress, is the richest Hindu woman in Pakistan, as per ABP News.

Sangeeta is also commonly known as Parveen Rizvi and was born in British India before the partition. Despite living in Pakistan all her life as a Hindu woman, Sangeeta has touched many heights and is now considered to be the richest Hindu woman in the country.

Sangeeta aka Parveen Rizvi is a Pakistani actress and film director who has been active in the Pakistani film industry since she turned 21. She made her debut on the big screen with a movie called Koh-e-Noor around 45 years ago.

Sangeeta has been working in the Pakistani film industry under the name Parveen Rizvi because of her religion. Despite all odds, she is one of the most successful actresses in the country and has appeared in top films such as Nikah, Mutthi Bhar Chawal, Yeh Aman, and Naam Mera Badnaam.


What is interesting is that apart from being a Hindu woman in Pakistan, Sangeeta also has a strong connection to India. The Pakistani actress is the aunt of the late Indian actress Jiah Khan, who passed away in 2013 after taking her own life.

While her exact net worth is not known, it is estimated that Sangeeta earns over Rs 39 crore per year, making her the richest Hindu woman and one of the richest people in Pakistan overall.

[Riaz Haq]

In Pakistan’s Karachi, South Indian immigrants keep the taste of Tamil food alive over decades

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2342506/lifestyle

The southern Pakistani province of Sindh is home to a small community of Tamils, a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group, who migrated from southern India in the 1930s. There are around 5,000 Tamils currently living in Pakistan, who include Muslims, Hindus and Christians, according to the Swamis, according to the community members. Some of these families have been settled in the Pakistani culinary and commercial hub of Karachi since the pre-partition British Colonial era.

The small community speaks Tamil, which is the official language of India’s Tamil Nadu state, while some of its prominent dishes include dosa (a thin pancake made from a fermented batter of ground black lentils and rice), idli (savoury rice cake usually served in breakfast), upma (a thick savory porridge made from dry-roasted semolina) and vada (savoury fried snacks made with ground chickpeas and lentils).

“Over the years, the food [we make in Pakistan] has gone through a transition. It is inspired from the Pakistani cuisine. Some of the masalas (spices) have come in from here,” Swami, a 41-year-old Tamil Hindu who works as a manager at a software house in Karachi, told Arab News.

“[Similarly,] Tamils in Sri Lanka, their food is also inspired by some of the Sri Lankan cuisines.”

Tamil cuisine, according to the Swami family, originated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu that has a rich history.

“We make vada during weddings at the Haldi ceremony,” said Swami’s sister, Sunita Swami, as she mixed the batter before frying it. “It takes place in the morning in our culture. So, we make daal chawal and this (vada). They are deep-fried.”

The savoury fried snack is made with split chickpeas and split lentils, which are ground after being left to soak in water overnight.

Swami’s grandparents moved to Karachi, now a bustling megapolis of more than 15 million, when the South Asian port city had been booming under the British Raj, while their fourth generation is currently residing in Pakistan, according to Swami’s another sister, Renuk Swami, who said it was the food and the language that connected Tamils all over the world, irrespective of the religion they practiced.

“Kolachi (former name of the port city) was a booming industry [back then]. So, he (grandfather) came for better prospects sometime in the late 1930s,” Renuka said. “In Sindh, particularly in Karachi, there would be around 300 households. They are spread across various localities in Karachi. In a land where Tamil [language] is alien, it kinds of connected people.”

Swami’s mother, Annadanam Swami, shared they make dosa on special occasions as it requires a lot of efforts.

They first grind rice and black lentils before combining the two and adding tarka (heated oil or ghee in which spices and onions are well-stirred and browned), according to Annadanam. It is then fried with minimal oil in a non-stick pan.

“People in India mostly make it daily. It is available everywhere now, but it originated in Tamil Nadu. Previously, only Tamils used to make it,” Annadanam said. “The filling is a chutney. It’s up to the people to have it with potato filling [too]. A Tamil will have it with chutney only. Now there are a lot of variations and fillings.”

Many people believe dosa is the only Tamil food, but reality is that rice dominate the Tamil cuisine, according to Swami.

“It [Tamil food] was here [in Pakistan] since the 1940s, but it came to prominence in the early or late 90s with dosa. Most people know dosa,” he said.

“As my father was also telling that they never used to eat roti in the beginning. Everything was rice. Tamil Nadu is a rice-eating nation. Roti came later. If you are not eating rice, you are not a Tamil. We grew up hearing that.”