There came a time when the saints were called Majnu and the place where they lived was called Majnu Ka Tila. Majnu Ka Tila is a famous place in Delhi. Right next to it is the Tibetan Market, where Tibetan people have shops and houses. A little further beyond Majnu Ka Tila and the Tibetan Market, a Gurudwara is visible and right next to this Gurudwara, a thin broken unpaved path leads into a lane. This is a place for Pakistani Hindus in Delhi. Those refugees who came to India from Pakistan in 2011 live here.
Now almost everyone here has got Indian citizenship. Not only this, Pakistani Hindus are going to participate in any election in India for the first time. These people will vote in Delhi elections. Voting cards of some people are ready and those of some are in the process. We met these Pakistani Hindus and tried to know what is the issue for them in Delhi elections and on what basis they are going to use their vote.
Issues like gas, ration card among people
First of all we reached Sona Das’s house, where a cot was lying. Sona Das was sitting on it. There was a stove built on the ground right in front of them, in which wood was lit and preparations for cooking had begun. Sona Das’s wife Rani, while preparing food, said that she did not want to leave her work. She tells that cooking is a lot of trouble. All the work is done in the stove itself and wood has to be collected from the forest. Mostly women and small children go to the forest to collect wood because the men are already outside the house.
She says that they will vote for the one who provides them facilities. Among the facilities, the first thing they need is gas. After that, food grains through ration card is also a big issue for them. But on top of all this she says that she will first vote for the person who gave her the citizenship of this country. A big poster of Modi ji was seen kept in the house of Rani Das and Sona Das.
‘Why don’t we get free electricity and water?’
Sona Das is the head of the household. When he was asked who he would vote for, he directly took the names of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. He says that he is the one who got us citizenship. Whatever happens, we will vote for him only. When asked about Kejriwal, he says that till date he has not come to this locality. They talk about giving free electricity and free water to the whole of Delhi, then why did they never make any arrangements for us? Shouldn’t we get electricity and water?
‘First of all we will ask for a permanent house’
As soon as we entered a dilapidated street, we saw two houses on the left side. The front part of both these houses is mixed. Jamuna lives in one house and Lata lives in the other. Everyone’s houses in this refugee camp are kutcha. The roof is made of straw or tin. Jamuna tells that there are many problems in rain. Water keeps dripping from above. Many times we remain sitting wet the whole night.
Lata tells that in Pakistan we had to face many problems. It was difficult for women to even step out of the house there. At least here we live with freedom. We have been living here for almost 13 years and now we just want to get a permanent house somehow. We asked Lata that if any leader comes to meet her, what would she ask from him, she said that the first thing she would ask for is a permanent house from him. However, no leader has yet reached this refugee camp for election campaign.
Education and employment are also people’s issue
In this locality of Pakistani Hindus, you will see the kutcha houses built almost the same, but the picture inside each house, the structure between the people living in it, sometimes looks different. Here we reached a house. As soon as we entered, there was the kitchen, where the head of the house, Mohan Ram, was cooking vegetables. Standing beside him was his wife, whose name is Sita. Sita tells that this is how it works in our house. He (husband) prepares vegetables and I prepare roti.
Sita tells that she does not understand much about politics. Anyway, no leader from Delhi has come to meet him here yet, so how can he know about anyone. My two sons Pawan and Rajkumar. Both have passed 12th this year. But after this he did not go to college, rather he is doing odd jobs to earn money. They did not understand how to educate their children further because they had no money. Education and employment are a big issue for Sita in this election. She says that even after studying so much, the children have to work as labourers. This doesn’t feel good at all.
‘We will vote for the one who grants us citizenship’
This refugee locality is situated right on the banks of Yamuna. In such a situation, whenever Yamuna rises even a little after the rains, it gets filled with water and water enters the houses. In one such house, a woman named Shanti was sitting on a cot and weaving something. He told that when there is flood their houses get submerged. This sequence happens every year. After the house sinks, we all have to live on the streets. There is no place to eat or stay. Who will you vote for? In response to this question, he gave a direct answer, ‘The one who gave citizenship to him.’
Just outside the locality we found Darshan Lal, who had set up a small shop selling mobile covers and accessories on the footpath. Darshan Lal says that only Rs 200-300 is left per day. In such a situation, it is very difficult to run a household. If you get some other good work, it will be fun. They say that Pakistan was no less than hell, whoever brought it out of that hell, the first vote will go to him.
