Pakistani Dalits protest genocide of Dalits, Muslims in India

KARACHI, May 19: The Dalit and Scheduled Castes communities of Pakistan demonstrated outside Karachi Press Club against aggressive Indian attitude and continuous genocide of Muslims and Dalits in India.

Hundreds of youths from Scheduled Castes communities protested and unfurled banners and placards against the genocide of Muslims and Dalits in India.

The demonstration was led by a 3-member steering committee of Scheduled Castes Federation of Pakistan (SCFP) including Surendar Valasai, Eng. Gianchand and Bherulal Balani, both ex-MPAs in Sindh from Scheduled Castes.

A press release distributed at the demonstration said: "Dalits or Scheduled Castes communities of Pakistan are the successors of those Dalits of united India who chose to follow a liberal Muslim Quaid-e-Azam instead of a secular Hindu costumed in Brahmin wardrobe physically and spiritually 55 years back. Dalits form 70 per cent of population counted as Hindus in Pakistan.

During the period, which India calls independence, 3 million Dalit women have been raped and one million Dalits have massacred. This is 25 times more than number of Indian soldiers killed during the wars it fought after independence. (The Pioneer, 30 Jan. 2000 ) Even today " More than 60 per cent of Dalits are landless. Over 40 million of them are bonded labourers. Dalits are the worst victims of labour coercion." (The Daily Star, Sun. May 30, 1999)

Though heavily underestimated, "The 1991 Government Survey of India states that on an average day, two Dalits are killed, three Dalit women are raped, two Dalits' houses are burned and fifty Dalits are assaulted by people of a higher caste."

The genocide and massacres of Muslims in Held Kashmir and latest bouts of gruesome genocide of Muslims in Gujarat proves that Quaid-e-Azam's two-nation theory at the time of partition was the best available remedy for a peaceful South Asia, free of communal hatred.

The Scheduled Castes Federation of Pakistan (SCFP) feels the monster of BJP is dragging entire South Asia to a nuclear war thus putting at risk the lives of more one-fifth human population of the world. Instead of coming to a dialogue table, the BJP monster and its killer squads like VHP, Bajrang Dal, and Shev Sena has turned blood thirsty. However, we warn the Indian government to stop injecting conspiracies into the Pakistan-India relationships and come to the dialogue table to sort out the issue of Kashmir to finish the partition agenda once for all and divert the sources to human development.

SCFP is concerned about the lives of million of Dalits and Muslims and other minorities and calls upon the world community, especially the United Nations, to influence to stop forthwith the genocide of Dalits and Muslims in India and constitute an international commission to investigate into the horrible Human Rights violations against Dalits and Muslims in India.

SCFP is proud of the decision of the Dalits who followed Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah 55 years ago as their current generations are more safer than of those who went with India.

SCFP makes it clear to India that the people of Pakistan, irrespective of any caste, creed, religion, and ethnicity are united to defend their motherland if India commits any adventure."

They demanded immediate halt to the Genocide of Muslims and Dalits in India at the hands of goons of RSS, VHP, Bajarag Dal and Shev Sena and ban on these fundamentalist organisations.

They stressed for resumption of talks between Pakistan and India on the core dispute of Kashmir and other issues between two neighbouring countries.