by MARIANA BAABAR
Insecurity envelops Balochi Hindus after a series of abductions. Many are emigrating.
Maharaj Lakhmi Chand Garji, the 82-year-old head priest of the ancient Kali Mata Mandir in the town of Kalat, was abducted on December 17.
Armed men poured out of the vehicle to accost the group of Hindus. Blindfolded, their hands tied, they were driven into wilderness. Three of them—Sajan Das, Ram Chand and Babu Lal—were subsequently set free; Garji and Vinod Kumar, a prosperous trader’s son, were whisked away. Babu Lal later told the media, “Because we were blindfolded, it is impossible for us to know where we were taken.” Nor does the provincial government have any clue about Garji and Vinod’s whereabouts, more than a month after the abduction. It’s said the kidnappers have demanded a ransom of Rs 3 crore to free Garji, whom the Hindus of Balochistan revere as their spiritual leader.
His exalted status is precisely why his kidnapping has continued to hog headlines, stoked the simmering anger among the Hindus, and prompted some to file applications in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad seeking asylum. The federal minister for human rights Saeed Ahmad Khan confirmed, “As many as 27 Hindu families from Balochistan have applied for asylum to India.” This symbolises the minority community’s lack of faith in the Pakistan nation-state and is testimony to its faltering ideals. Hence the media’s dogged focus on the plight of Balochistan’s Hindus.
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