Memoirs of a Hindu girl

manbearpig · Aug 27, 2012

Good personal account of the religious persecution, thought I'd share -

I grew up in fear – every face around me depicted nothing but fear. I am sure that the first expression on my parent’s face on my birth as a female child born to Hindu parents living in Kandhkot would have been that of fear also. Why did I bring so much fear into the lives of my parents? I grew up always wondering what is it about me that continues to terrify. But I always drew a blank. How naïve I was.

Before I knew it, the time to attend school had arrived. School was comfortable; however, there were times when I felt like an outsider, finding it difficult to gel in with rest of the majority. Perhaps the snide remarks and incidents of discrimination led me to believe that I am not one of ‘them’. Of those incidents, I still vividly remember no one eating with me and refusing to sip from the cup I drank from.

Home wasn’t very different either. My mother asked questions about my life at school and otherwise looking for answers that would somehow relinquish her from the unknown fear. Afraid to disappoint her, I realised very early in my life that my mother could not be my confidant.

Growing up was not easy.

And then it happened. The fears of my mother and many Hindu mothers like her materialised. I went out to one of the largest markets of Kandhkot and was abducted by a man I knew very well. He was none other than the guard who was responsible for safeguarding our temples.

Knowing his face well prompted me to sit with him in his car without protest, however, instead of taking me to my house he turned to an alley that I wasn’t too familiar with. Scared and unsure about what lay ahead I started screaming just to hear my abductor scream louder and threaten me. Astonished and unable to comprehend the gravity of the situation I sat still until it was time to step out of the car to a small house which looked abandoned.

We entered the house to find a large room devoid of any furniture and other bearings except for a carpet that covered the floor. I was made to sit down on the floor.

Uncertain about what was going to happen to me; my mind raced with thoughts of the recent news of the abductions and forced conversions of Hindu girls. I sat there shuddering. The realisation struck me and I could see my entire life in front of me in kaleidoscope. My mother’s fears, my father’s warnings, the alienation I felt, the yearning to be a part of the circle of friends, the search for a confidant, a friend.

My worst fears were reaffirmed when a man wearing a turban entered the room to teach me about a religion which I grew up hearing about, however, felt no urge to practise or embrace. He kept sermonising me for hours but was unable to get me to listen to him, realising that he left asking me to ponder about the true religion.

His departure did not ignite any fire for eternal glory inside me but only made me wonder why did my parents not relocate to another country when they had the chance to do so? Why did they continue to live in fear waiting for the inevitable to happen instead of making a move to safer pastures? And, what made me think that I am any different from countless girls who are forced to change their faith?

Each passing day appeared to be more and more surreal. The ritual of preaching continued for days, I lost track. Eventually, when preaching did not do the trick, my abductor threatened me.

The routine ranging from threats to persuasion and from glorifying the paradise to the wrath of God for non-believers only made me wonder: Do we not all pray to the same God — a God who is manifested in nature, colours, happiness and love? Why would he punish me for being a Hindu?

Somewhere along this relentless persuasion, came that horrifying threat of harming my family – I gave in. My approval followed a small ceremony in which I was forced to embrace Islam and later married off to the man who will always be remembered as the ‘messiah’ who for saved me from the unknown territory of sin and infidelity I was treading on.

After the ceremony, instead of receiving blessings for a happy and prosperous life ahead, I was immediately escorted to a local court where a Muslim magistrate declared my conversion and marriage in accordance with the law.

The news of my conversion and marriage to a Muslim man spread like wildfire. I dreaded the moment of meeting my parents. I never wanted to see pain and agony on their faces let alone be the reason for all their grief. Sure enough, one look at my mother made me yearn for my own death.

I wanted to tell her that I love her and that her safety was all I had in mind when I converted. I wanted to tell my father to keep my sisters safe. I wanted to tell my brothers to leave the country whilst they still could. I wanted to say much more but their silent pain and suffering made me wish if only I wasn’t born a girl, if only I wasn’t born in Pakistan, if only I had the right to be myself and practise my faith without being herded into a religion that I failed to comprehend, if only I could make them all understand that there is just one God for all, if only I could give us all an identity that we rightly deserve.

Looking at all the faces that once seemed familiar; I wondered: who am I?

I am one but share the pain of many. I am Rachna Kumari, Rinkle Kumari, Manisha Kumari and the many more Hindu girls who will be forced to convert in Pakistan. I am the fear of their families and the agony that they undergo. I am the misery of those girls who die a little every day for the injustices done to them.

I am a minority living in an intolerant society.
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http://dawn.com/2012/08/20/memoirs-of-a-hindu-girl/

QdoubleA · Aug 27, 2012

Is she hot?

Mr. Brightside · Aug 27, 2012

TLDR version?

arjun · Aug 27, 2012

QdoubleA said: ↑

Is she hot?
Click to expand...

there is a time and place for a joke.

Xsatyr · Aug 27, 2012

arjun said: ↑

there is a time and place for a joke.
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And this is it. Also I don't think it is a joke. It's a legit question; it correlates with how much we care.

Mr. Clutch · Aug 27, 2012

Dot or feather?

moligity · Aug 27, 2012

Mr. Clutch said: ↑

Dot or feather?
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Dot or Feather Hindu?

That doesn't make sense

droxford · Aug 28, 2012

Is it a surprise to anyone that his happens (commonly)?

MadMax · Aug 28, 2012

that's horrible.

Surfguy · Aug 28, 2012

QdoubleA said: ↑

Is she hot?
Click to expand...

i doubt they would be wasting time on her if she was ugly.

sammy · Aug 28, 2012

I thought it would be about a girl in India caught in a sex trade of some sort.

This just in...the world is a ****** up place.

Oh..I forgot to add that Pakistan is a hell hole.

supdudes · Aug 28, 2012

Lolwut....a Muslim V?

srrm · Aug 28, 2012

This is the worst thing about most religions: they want to force their beliefs onto others. It's ridiculous that the religion instructs this, but it's even more dumb that the followers acknowledge and act on this part. Islam does it, the crusades happened, Jehova's Witnesses still go door to door.

Live and let live. That should be the core belief for anyone. Don't interfere so much.

mulletman · Aug 28, 2012

droxford said: ↑

Is it a surprise to anyone that his happens (commonly)?
Click to expand...

this happens to 20-25 girls a month

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/suhag-a-shukla-esq/growing-up-hindu-in-pakistan_b_1449374.html

According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), every month some 20 to 25 girls are forcibly converted to Islam in the Sindh province of Pakistan alone. These forced conversions are usually in conjunction with kidnapping and forced marriage. If they are not married off to complete and often times, far older strangers, they are beaten, maimed, raped, gang-raped, sold off or thrown into prostitution.
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http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/22/world/la-fg-pakistan-hindu-conversions-20120423

Hindus say the forcible conversions follow the same script: The victim, abducted by a young man related to or working for a feudal boss, is taken to a mosque where clerics, along with the prospective groom's family, threaten to harm her and her relatives if she resists.

Almost always, the girl complies, and not long afterward, she is brought to a local court, where a judge, usually a Muslim, rubber-stamps the conversion and marriage, according to Hindu community members who have attended such hearings.

Often the young Muslim man is accompanied by backers armed with rifles. Few members of the girl's family are allowed to appear, and the victim, seeing no way out, signs papers affirming her conversion and marriage.

"In court, usually it's just four or five members of the girl's family against hundreds of armed people for the boy," says B.H. Khurana, a doctor in Jacobabad and a Hindu community leader. "In such a situation when we are unarmed and outnumbered, how can we fight our case in court?"
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AroundTheWorld · Aug 28, 2012

This is terrible. Should be in the D&D, though.

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