Why They Fled Pakistan— And Won't Go Back Continues....

I accost them:
“Are you from Barasat? I heard there was some trouble there last week.”
They eye me suspiciously; on the subject of religious confrontations, Moslems dis trust Sikhs like me as much as they distrust Hindus. I encourage them:
“Hindu refugees occupied your mosque?”
“It is the house of God. It's meant for prayer,” answers one.
“If they had been Moslem refugees, would you have let them stay?”
They fidget uneasily. Then one answers:
“It was not like this at all. These fellows forced their way in and told us to get out and go to Pakistan. Why should we go to Pakistan? We are Indians. They should go back to wherever they come from. Besides, how can we be sure they won't defile our mosque by cooking unclean food? If they had come and like gentlemen asked for shelter, do you think we would refuse them?”

Barasat is one town where an ugly situation was averted by the police. This very week newspapers have reported outbreaks of communal violence between locals and refugees in towns in Assam and Meghalaya. Many Hindus of the right‐wing Jan Sangh party have begun to say openly that they will not let the refugee migration be a one‐way traffic. “If
Pakistan dumps nine million Hindus on us, we should dump nine million Moslems on them,” said one party member. “We have 50 million Moslems in India. What right have they to stay here if Pakistan throws out all its Hindus, Christians and Buddhists?” Communal tensions will be yet another legacy of the refugee influx.

THE next morning I visit a hospital with a maximum capacity of 230 patients that has been stretched to more than 600. Every bed has one patient on top and at least two lying on the floor under neath. All verandas are crammed with the sick.

to be continued.....

( This account is maintained by Har Anand Publication)