Whatever Happened To The Sikhs/Hindus Left In Pakistan Post 1947

[hinduveer]

[hinduveer]

SIKH IN PAKISTAN - After the creation of Pakistan

<>Panja Sahib Gurdwara in Hasan AbdalNationwide, there are no reliable numerical figures for Sikhs in the country. Estimates vary, the US Department of State estimates 20,000.

The largest Sikh population in Pakistan is found in <A title=Peshawar, /Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa">Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which was spared the scale of violence during partition that raged in Punjab. There are small pockets of Sikhs in Lahore and Nankana Sahib in Punjab. The (West) Punjab andSindh provinces of Pakistan were mostly emptied of their Sikh and Hindu population in the communal massacres of partition, with nearly all fleeing for India.

There has been an influx in the population of Sikhs in Pakistan due to the turbulent civil war and conflicts that have ravaged neighboring Afghanistan, like Pakistan, has had a very small Sikh and Hindu population. There has been a massive exodus of refugees from Afghanistan into Pakistan during the past 30 years of turmoil up to the reign of the <A

="War in Afghanistan (2001–present)"US invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001. Due to Pakistan's porous borders with Afghanistan, large numbers of Afghanistan's minority communities, based mainly around the cities Kabul, Kandahar >Kandahar, andJalalabad have fled, and some Sikhs have joined their kinsmen in Peshawar and Lahore.

The Sikh community in Pakistan in modern times

.Until today, Sikhs have mainly kept a low profile within the monolithic population of Pakistan.

Though, Pakistan maintains the title of Islamic state, the articles twenty, twenty-one and twenty-two in chapter two of its constitution guarantees religious freedom to the non-Muslim residents.^{<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism_in_Pakistan#cite_note-6">[7]} Since indepdence in 1947, relations between Pakistan's minorities and the Muslim majority have remained fairly and politically stable.

Until 2002, Pakistan held a system of separate electorates for all its national legislative assemblies, with only a handful of parliamentary seats reserved for minority members. Minorities were legally only permitted to vote for designated minority candidates in general elections. The regime of former President General Pervez Musharraf had professed an agenda of equality for minorities and promotion and protection of minority rights, however, the implementation of corrective measures has been slow.

The historical and holy sites of Sikhs are maintained by a Pakistani governmental body, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, which is responsible for their upkeep and preservation. Nonetheless, many Sikh shrines have fallen into disrepair since 1947,^[8] as the remaining Sikh population and its corresponding manpower, economic power and political influence is minuscule compared to that of the pre-1947 community.

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However, before Partition :

Prior to the Partition of India in 1947, which divided British India into its successor states of Pakistan and India, Sikhs were spread all across the region of Punjab and played an important role in its economy as farmers, businessmen, and traders. Lahore, the capital of (now in Pakistan) Punjab was then and still is today the location of many important religious and historical sites for Sikhs, including the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh. The nearby town of Nankana Sahib has nine gurdwaras, and is the birthplace of Sikhism's founder, Guru Nanak Dev. Each of Nankana Sahib's gurdwaras are associated with different events in Guru Nanak Dev's life. The town remains an important site of pilgrimage for Sikhs worldwide

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[hinduveer]

Wikipedia :

Pakistan's estimated population was 172,800,000 in July 2008,^[1] 96% Muslim, with Christians (1.6%) and Hindus (1.85%) making up the largest minority faiths, according to the last census taken in 1998.^[2] Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Ahmadi Muslims and some adherents to animist religions make up the remainder.

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Nice to see how the Hindu/sikh population in Pakistan has dwindled in the last 64 years, whereas the Muslim population has increased IN INDIA from 12% to 18 % , est 180,000,000.00, more muslims in India than Pakistan.

In Pakistan we finally get a Sikh memeber of the traffic police after 64 years, BUT the Stupid politicians in India, make muslims superstars of Bollywood.

The greedy corrupt politicians in India are only good at punishing Hindus and Sikhs ie Punjab, Assam, Gujrat, etc, and pandering to Muslims, whilst pocketing money for themsleves.

No wonder the Assamese Hindus want their own Hindu country, The Sikhs and (many Hindu Punjabis TODAY) want their own independant Punjab, Tamil Hindus want an independant Tamil nadu, Gujrati Hindus talking about an independant Gujrat.

Congress, BJP should all be scrapped.

[genie]

India is a Union. The politicians in power want to claim its one country when its not its made up of several past kingdoms which has many different ethnic religious nations. So this union like the European union is only as strong as the consent of the people and working together for the common good of the union. If the main big parties of central government cant reconcile the many different nations within the union to work together then its a doomed project it will fall apart within a few years if concessions are not made to appease the aggrieved peoples.

In the meanwhile the strength and numbers of muslims within the union is increasing at the expense of the dharmic faiths (hindus. sikhs, jains, buddhists,etc). Hinduveer you make a valid point in regards to the numbers of Sikhs and Hindus in pakistan that are decreaseing since 1947 because of persecution it is an important issue that we must highlight and bring world attention to. If no one makes a fuss there will be no non-muslims left in Pakistan while numbers of Muslims in Indian Union will increase threatening the power structure and voting in of governments that favor their community than others.

The hindu community can see this but our daft Sikh leadership and people focus on small issues when the tsumani is approaching like in 1947 they looked on at the sea until it washed them out and Sikhs were left with nothing. Our people really need to get a kick up the back side and have foresight at the future implications.

[hinduveer]

Good post genie veer, except I think majority hindu leadership are just as daft as the sikh one. They are corrupt, lazy and cant see the problems in the future, and just care about MONEY.

[hinduveer]

In reality the corrupt leadership in India couldnt care less about the persecution and dwindling numbers of hindus and sikhs in Pakistan, or the abduction of 2 to 3 sikh hindu girls a week. They only care about their seats, money and power. Im glad Anna Hazare EMBARASSED them.