The government’s Diwali and Holi gift

Government of Punjab announces Rs5,000 for every Hindu family.

DERA GHAZI KHAN / BAHAWALPUR: The Government of Punjab has announced its decision to give every Hindu family Rs5,000 on the eve of Holi and Diwali.

According to government officials the step has been taken for the benefit of the poorest Hindu families in the Dera Ghazi Khan and Bahawalpur districts. The Punjab Government has issued a grant of 750,000 for distributing the money among a total of 150 families in these districts. “It is a welcome decision because people from minorities need to know that this is their government too,” said Bahawalpur DCO Dr Nadeem Rauf.

The Punjab government recently sent notices to the DCO of Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan DCO Iftikhar Ali Sahu to compile a list of the poorest Hindu families in their districts. “We have been conducting a survey and most of the Hindu families in the district live below the poverty line,” Sahu said. They local administration has been given a time frame of seven to 12 days to finalise the list of recipients for the funds. On the other hand the decision has been lauded by all minority groups, especially local Hindu leaders in Dera Ghazi Khan and Bahawalpur. Speaking to The Express Tribune Dera Ghazi Khan resident Om Prakash said, “We are grateful to the government for arranging this gift. It shows that they are looking out for us.” Jasu Ram said that he hoped the decision would soon be extended at the provincial level. “All Hindus should be eligible for these funds as this money will go a long way to help us,” Ram said, adding “Diwali and Holi are both times of celebration and now we finally have something we can really celebrate.” Members of the Hindu community in Bahawalpur said that they were extremely pleased with the government’s decision. “We had thought that we were completely forgotten but now it seems like the government is finally paying attention to our problems,” said Jassi Lal, adding that she intended to start a small business with her money. DCO Rauf said “This is a great step and the government is hoping to extend it beyond just these two districts.” He added that the initial distribution would prove to be a litmus test for extending the funding to other districts in the province. “We need to make our minority communities feel as if they are an equal part of our country and the government is working towards this,” DCO Sahu said. Some of the families said that the gift money should have been at least Rs10,000. “We are hoping that the government will increase the gift money so that we can rebuild our homes,” said Prakash.

Punjab government officials have assured the community that that money would be distributed among the finalised candidates on the eve of Diwali and Holi by the local administration.

Published in The Express Tribune January 10^th, 2011.