Fence Beyond Fencing: Dilemma of Pak Minority Migrants in India Versus Regime of Rights

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Hindu Singh Sodha Having hometown Chachro in Tharparkar, Sindh province of Pakistan, Mr. Sodha later migrated to India, and completed his schooling sch from Chopasani School, Jodhpur. Since his college days, he remained active in social and political life, fighting for the rights of the underprivileged sections of the society. He completed his degrees in Bachelors and L.L.B. from Jodhpur University. All through his student years, he participated in activities related to the social welfare of the marginalised. In 1986, he successfully published the Jan Pataaka fortnightly. In 1991, Mr. Sodha started to work with an NGO called Urmul as it afforded him an opportunity to work for the migrants from Pakistan. In 1999, Mr. Sodha founded the organization Pak Visthapit Sangh that continued to spearhead the cause of getting citizenship for the refugees. As a fruition of Mr. Sodha's untiring efforts, 13000 migrants succeeded in getting their citizenship at once. Further Mr. Sodha also formed two more organizations including Seemant Lok Sanghathan in 2005 and Universal Just Action Society in 2008. He has led a number of demonstrations, committees, and pressed the local, state, central and South Asian governments (including peoples' SAARC) to pay attention to the human tragedy that largely remains invisible in India and Pakistan. Most of these migrants are extremely poor, and live in politically unviable spaces. While awaiting citizenship, they struggle to get everything that could benefit them in any way, including but not limited to, the BPL and caste certificates, driver's license, water and electricity connections, access to elementary education, and so on. Mr. Sodha has become their voice and has been assiduously speaking on their behalf. The WEEK magazine in its main feature on refugee community in Rajasthan titled Sodha as 'god of small people' which Sodha himself always abstains to hear this word for him. In addition, Mr. Sodha also tirelessly works for better-ment of the border people in Rajasthan. Moreover, he also has had continuously advocated for the initia-tive of peace with neighboring countries particularly with Pakistan. I marvel at Mr. Sodha's zest for fighting for the rights of others in the progressively cynical world. He is on a journey that very few undertake, and even those who do start often leave midway, but Mr. Sodha continues with unparalleled courage and humility for the rights of the migrants who otherwise would be lost orcohere of the border.

Ashok Suthar is a young, recent migrant from Mithi, Sindh, Pakis-tan. For the past six months, he has been working with SLS/UJAS as a development profe-ssional in Jodhpur. Suthar did his post-graduation in sociology at the Univer-sity of Sindh. After he graduated, he worked in the social development sector for more than a decade. He has vast experience working with both national and international organizations. In many of his past professional assignments, Suthar preferred to work with people affected by migrations and displacement, including the seasonal migration of drought affected people from the Tharparkar district and the internally displaced people affected by natural disasters in Sindh. He also established a social initiative in Tharparkar which advocated for the water and livelihood rights of the marginalized communities of Tharparkar who had succumbed to the seasonal migration during recurrent droughts. Suthar is a writer who has thus far authored four books on different developmental issues. As a journalist, he has contributed to many different newspapers throughout his career. It is perhaps with great fortune that Suthar came to western India in a group of Pak migrants that was fighting for their right to citizenship. I find it only natural that he would dedicate himself to the noble cause of helping Pak migrants fight for their rights. In my mind, Ashok is an indispensable social activist who will continue to help carry the torch I lit many years ago, aiming to alleviate the sufferings of Pak.

I began working as a human rights activist in the late nineties, fighting for pre and post citizenship rights for the Pak migrants badly suffering in India. With the passage of time, our efforts have translated into a movement which has garnered much attention in the local media. Despite the work I have done thus far, taking into account the extreme scarcity of human and economic resources, the cause has been largely ignored by both national and international authorities. Amid the prolonged and relentless struggle, I sometimes feel despair observing the uncooperative and often ignorant attitudes of important officials who should have otherwise addressed this crucial human rights issue of Pak migrants in India. Nevertheless, the setup of SLS/UJAS as the leading representative of the refugee community continuously inspires me and lets me hope that we will emerge as a major player in political discourse on this topic. First of all I must congratulate and thank Ashok Suthar for coauthoring this book and paving the way to render the organized work for migrants. I also extend my hearty blessings to him for being the foremost in the line of newly coming young and educated migrants to serve in this noble cause. I must also acknowledge and be ever indebted to all of those whose researched or published work we either referred to or used in this book. I pay gratitude to Prof. (Dr.) Satay Narayan as well for taking out his time to write a preface of the book. I must thank Divya Sharma too, for writing in about author section of the book. Furthermore, I am obliged to Monica Gillis, who is currently engaged with UJAS for her academic assignment, for reviewing and editing the language of the book. And last but not least, I must acknowledge the many individuals without whose contribution this book would have not been compiled and published. I hope that this book will serve as a reader-guide for all of the national and international authorities mandated to bring lasting solutions to the lives of anguished Pak migrants in India. Minorities in Pakistan are neither safe as nationals in Pakistan nor as migrants in India. India is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and therefore does not have a uniform national policy ational policy to protect refugees. Due to very strained Indo-Pak relations, it is difficult for religious minority groups of Pakistan to secure a safe passage to India to get refuge, asylum, or citizenship. Currently, no voice is being raised at the international level about the ethnic cleansing, oppression, and human rights violations of these groups neither in Pakistan nor in India, their country of asylum. In India these migrants have to wait at least seven years in order to be eligible for citizenship, during which they have to stay on visas. In the meanwhile, the migrants from Pakistan cannot: leave the city their visa is registered in, easily enroll their children in schools, access healthcare facilities, purchase SIM cards for their phones, rent or buy a home or shelter, access home utilities, obtain a driver's license, open bank accounts, set up businesses in their name, etc. They face harassment and exploitation until they receive citizenship, demonstrating India's indirect denial to receive, rescue, and rehabilitate this marginalized minority group coming from Pakistan. Sadly, no other institution working on human rights issues has come forward to address the concerns of this neglected group of migrants. In fact, UJAS is the only formal forum in India that exists to highlight the plight of these disenfranchised people. Hindu Singh Sodha should be praised on establishing SLS/UJAS which has endeavored to lead the migrants' movement and raise a voice for the rights of these migrants in India. However, Hindu Singhji believes that the addition of recent migrant Ashok Suthar a young development professional-to his team at a very crucial time adds to the future worth of his virtuous goal. Hindu Singh Sodha and Ashok Suthar created this book in the hopes that it will draw attention to the constantly overlooked issue of Pak migrants in India. The book strives to present the dilemma of Pak minority migrants in India versus 'Regime of Rights'. It is a desk review of relevant legal frameworks, mainly legislation, policies, and practices associated with Pak refugees in India. The book as a whole envisages discouraging the discouragement policy of Indian governmental authorities to welcomingly receive the persecuted Pak migrants in India. It also aims to establish migrant-friendly public perceptions and convince national and international authorities on the prevalence of the human rights violations of these religious minority groups in Pakistan and India. Hopefully, this book will persuade concerned officials in India to devise an effective roadmap that will permanently solve the issues regarding pre and post citizenship rights of Pak minority migrants in India.