The two Hindu girls Reena (15) and Raveena (13) from Pakistan were kidnapped on Holi and converted to Islam. They were forced to marry a Muslim, who was much older to these two girls, and his marriage was solemnized by a Maulavi. Their mother died on the very next day of the incident and their father could also be seen in the video asking to shoot him, as neither police nor court in Pakistan helped him. This news created outrage across India and people severely criticized Pakistan. Even the Hindu organisations and Human Rights activists in Pakistan criticized the kidnapping and demanding the safe release of the girls. But amid all the uproar, the Congress remained tight-lipped and its president did not utter a single word to denounce the kidnapping, conversion and forced marriage of these two helpless Hindu girls in Pakistan.
Plight of Hindus in Pakistan
This is not the first incident in Pakistan but the minority community routinely faces this problem. According to a 2014 report of Movement for Solidarity and Peace, nearly 1000 non-Muslim girls are kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan every year. Even the reports over worldwide have come over years on the plight of Hindu girls in Pakistan. In the recent tragic incident, the girls were first kidnapped and then converted to Islam and a video showing a cleric solemnizing their Nikaah (marriage) soon went viral. The minuscule Hindu community (only 1.2 percent of Pakistan’s population) held demonstrations, calling for action.
Congress tight-lipped over kidnapping, conversion and forced marriage of Hindu girls in Pakistan
Though the Modi led Central Government quickly swung into action and sought a report from its High Commissioner in Islamabad yet Congress remained tight-lipped on this matter. Even today not a single tweet was posted on tweeter by Congress, though it has been over 6 six days since the girls have been kidnapped by the Islamic fundamentalists.
Some criticism of Congress over twitter
Congress history of minority appeasement
History is the testimony of the fact that Congress has always remained anti to Hindus:
- Since, 1947 Congress has never talked about the plight of more than 10 Lakh people from Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK), because most of them were Hindus and Sikhs. All these years Pakistan has ranted about Muslims of Kashmir yet the Hindus and Sikhs of POJK remained obscured from the discourse on Jammu and Kashmir.
- No rights in J&K to West Pakistan Refugees (WPR), who were Hindus, but Congress remained oblivion to their plight.
- Congress did not shed even tears when the Kashmiri Pandits were brutally murdered and forced to leave Kashmir. It even did not make efforts to ensure their safe return to Kashmir. The terrorists responsible for the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits were flourishing under the Congress regime.
- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that Muslims have the first right over resources of India.
- Even the phrased ‘Hindu Terror’ was floated by Congress to tarnish the Hindu community.
- Congress tallest leaders like Rahul Gandhi, P Chidambaram, Digvijay Singh, Sushil Kumar Shinde have often used the phrase ‘Hindu terrorism’ to gain the votes of the minority community.
- The calf of the Cow, the most revered animal among Hindu, was slaughtered in Kannur City by youth Congress Kannur Parliament constituency committee president Rijil Makutty and YC functionaries and workers A. Hari, Joshi Kandathil, Sharafuddin Kattampally, N.K. Varun, Sudeep James, Jastison Chandikolli and Shamej Peralasseri.
- The Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had commented that India will turn into a “Hindu Pakistan” if BJP wins 2019 LS polls.
- Even the recent temple visits of Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi is nothing more than the gimmick to get Hindu votes in 2019.
Congress's fear of losing minority votes
Now, the question arises why the Congress is not denouncing the abduction, conversion and forced marriage of the minority community girls in Pakistan. The answer is simple i.e. to keep the minority vote bank intact. Congress is apprehensive that it would affect its vote bank among Muslims if they criticize the Islamic fundamentalists of Pakistan.
With the advent of Modi in national politics, the situation has changed a lot over the ground. His politics of ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’ has changed the narratives in India politics that were surrounded only around minority appeasement and division of Hindus on the name of caste. As a result, even Congress has started focusing on Hindus and their issues but this entire thing is done purely for political gains. Hence, the Congress president must have found prudent to remain silent over the issue of Hindus of Pakistan so that it does not lose its vote bank among Muslims.
