Wishing for change: LG system brings a ray of hope for Karachi’s minorities

Members of these communities decry the living conditions they are forced to live in.

KARACHI:

Ashiq Masih sprinkles slug on the doorstep of his brightly painted double-storied house in Pahar Gunj Christian slum.

"This is to keep the young men, who spend days and nights on the pavements, away from my house," says the Catholic Christian.

"They do nothing but drink alcohol right outside my house at night and use filthy language as they get drunk and fight with each other," says Masih. "We can't sleep at night."



The living conditions for the members of minority communities, particularly the Hindus and Christians, appear to be pathetic in Karachi, much like the rest of the country. The streets are littered in Pahar Gunj, most of whose residents are employed as sanitary workers in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). As the night falls, some sanitary workers form groups in the streets to play cards. Above their heads hang the flags of political parties. Those of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) are the prominent ones.

The area falls in Ward No 1 in the West district, where the contestants are campaigning ahead of the local bodies' elections scheduled for December 5.

The young men, mostly in their teens or early twenties, are drug addicts. They sit in small groups on the corners of narrow streets in the haphazardly-designed slum. At first glance, the internal streets present a scene of some ghetto, as many slum localities where non-Muslims reside do.

Masih was born in Pahar Gunj and now his grandchildren have opened their eyes in the same house, which has changed from muddy structures to a cemented building. What hasn't changed in the decades is the fate of Pahar Gunj and many other similar slums.

"I've served the country, safeguarding its territories from the enemies," says a resident of another Christian locality, Lily Town, requesting anonymity. "The enemies of Pakistan are our enemies. Is this the reward of our services to the country?" says the resident, who recently retired from the Pakistan Navy.



There are a total of 247 'reserved' seats for members belonging to the religious minorities in the metropolis. Major political parties, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), claim to be the champions of the rights of religious minorities. The religio-political parties, such as the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) also have their minority wings. The living conditions in these communities' localities, however, show a different picture. All these non-Muslims want is a reward for the services these communities have rendered for the development and progress of this city.

Representatives of religious minorities such as Father Sualeh Diego have high hopes from the future local administration with regards to the resolution of the civic problems. At the same time, he said, there are a lot of problems that can be solved by local leaders. "People are deprived of their rights and their own leaders have a better understanding of their issues," he said. "They should become the voice of the many people who have remained voiceless for a long time."



According to Pakistan Hindu Council patron-in-chief Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankvani, there are around one million Hindus residing in Karachi. Of them, nearly 275,000 are registered voters. Vankvani said that the living conditions of the majority of his community members are poor, as they lack basic facilities.

"Over 100 Hindu candidates are contesting on the general seats on the tickets of different political parties such as the MQM, PTI, PML-N and others from the localities where these parties have their dominance," he added. Following the changes to the policies of JI with its new ameer, Sirajul Haq, the Vankvani said that some Hindu candidates are also contesting from the JI's platform.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th,  2015.