About a hundred such families have been living in mud houses in Refugee Colony of Majnu Ka Teela since their migration from Pakistan in 2013.
While some political parties are calling notification of CAA a political tool before Lok Sabha elections, it has brought smile on the faces of refugee families living in the Majnu Ka Teela in Delhi. The CAA notification has brought a sense of relief, and an end to adversities they have been facing for years due to the issue of their citizenship. About a hundred such families have been living in mud houses in Refugee Colony of Majnu Ka Teela since their migration from Pakistan in 2013. As news of CAA notification reached these families, they celebrated it by dancing and playing Bhajans.
Nanki, a 35-year-old lady, told The Sunday Guardian, “We are thankful to PM Modi and Amit Shah; our prayers have been finally answered; we are not a burden on this country, but we want to be part of it.” She added, “We have suffered a lot in Pakistan, and fleeing from there was last option we had. India was the only country in which we could go, so we came here.”
However, several political parties including Aam Aadmi Party have opposed it. AAP supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “The implementation of the CAA will result in a large number of people from Pakistan and Bangladesh coming to our country. Where will they be settled? Would you want people from Pakistan living in makeshift tents in front of your house? Would you feel safe? Law and order will deteriorate, and who will these people be? What about the country’s security?” This resulted in protests from hundreds of refugees from Pakistan and Bangladesh in front of Kejriwal’s house on Thursday and Friday.
Commenting on Kejriwal’s statement, Chandrama, a refugee, said, “We were farmers in Pakistan and not thieves. We have been living here for the last ten years, but we have not created any structures here.” Also, we came to India because we trusted people here, and we have gone through a lot of suffering, so we know the pain and will never create any problems for citizens here, she added.
The refugees living in Majnu Ka Teela migrated from Mir Fazal town in Pakistan’s Sindh. Pooran Das, a 65-year-old refugee, became emotional while remembering the atrocities they used to face there. Speaking a mix of Hindi and Sindhi, he told The Sunday Guardian, “Some of my family members who are still in Pakistan are facing problems as local police and ISI officials are reaching out to them and saying why he is speaking so much. Tell him not to speak.”
Das also stated that he first came to Haridwar for ‘Asthi visarjan’ of his relatives. He was so happy with India that he decided to migrate here. So he, along with his family of twenty members, boarded Samjhauta Express and came to Delhi. He commented that it is better to live here in poverty in India than to live a decent life in Pakistan because of mistreatment there. Das was a mango trader in Pakistan, but his trade was regularly targeted and looted because he was a Hindu. He also said “Some miscreants threw beef in our village temple, and the police and authorities took no action. My family members could not go out of the house, and they lived in fear. So at that moment, when I first saw Haridwar, I decided to migrate here and seek asylum.”
There are many such families who have migrated to India and are living in slums like Majnu ka Teela area. They have received support from local people. They sometimes give them clothes and flour. One such is Ayush, a member of Hindu Raksha Dal and owner of a restaurant. He told The Sunday Guardian that many people come and support them, including giving them building materials to make temporary settlements for them. Hindu Rao Hospital takes care of their medical treatment, but Delhi government should also provide them with the facilities of Mohalla Clinic, he added.
Also, various NGOs come here and teach their children and train the elders in Hindi. However, the implementation of CAA will ensure a permanent house under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for them, they expressed hope.