In a very sad development, Hindu refugees who had flee the Islamic State of Pakistan are suffering and facing many difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic in Congress ruled Rajasthan.
The persecuted Hindu migrants from Pakistan who are living in eight border districts of Rajasthan are struggling to find beds, vaccines, insurance cover, and free ration provided by the state.
The reason for the non-availability of such facilities is because of their foreign status and absence of citizenship as per a report in the Times of India.
Due to lack of proper medical care, since 20 March, seven Hindus have died in Jodhpur, which is home to 2,500 such families waiting for Indian citizenship for over several years.
While the Rohingya Muslims have been accorded several facilities, one Hindu refugee Baser Mal, who hailed from Sindh in Pakistan, died of Covid-19 on May 2 in his makeshift mud hut on the outskirts of Jodhpur. When he got sick he was taken to two private hospitals in Jodhpur where medical services was reportedly denied due to his non-citizen status.
A close relative of Mal Dr Rajkumar Bheel said, “The hospitals asked for his ID proof when we took him there on 26 April. Even for his RT-PCR test, we had to use our connections in the administration. This is how those who don’t have Indian citizenship struggle for basic facilities,”.
Dr Bheel who was a dentist from Hyderabad in Sindh province has been one of the few fortunate Hindus who have been granted Indian citizenship in 2016.
The Foreigners’ Registration Office (FRO) said 22,146 migrants, who have applied for citizenship, live in huts with no proper facilities. They have become vulnerable to Covid-19.
Hindu Singh Sodha, president of Seemant Lok Sangathan however said that the number over 25,000. Seemant said, “Neither they are protected under free food schemes, nor any state insurance/health schemes. They are left to fend for themselves in the most brutal manner, which is a matter of collective shame,”.
“I have written to higher authorities, seeking their guidance in providing the migrants vaccination and benefits under social welfare schemes. I am awaiting their response,” said Seemant.
It is disheartening that Rohingya Muslims are often caught with Aadhar cards and ration cards but Hindu refugees who left Pakistan because their lives were in danger are yet to be given special ration cards.
Rajashtan chief medical and health officer Balwant Manda says guidelines, in this case, are pending from the state government. “After a policy decision is taken at the government level, the requisite steps can be taken for vaccination of Pak migrants,”, it was said.
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