Secluded within a confined zone in Delhi's Majnu-Ka-Tila, Pakistani Hindu refugees who moved to India with hopes of securing their lives have been surviving in tents and semi-kutcha houses with no access to basic facilities like water and electricity.
Fifty-two-year-old refugee Radha Solanki, who moved to India from Pakistan nine years ago, said their hopes and dreams were shattered after the implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act was put on hold by the Centre. The Act which seeks to grant Indian nationality to persecuted Non-Muslims from Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi communities in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan — was passed by Parliament but could not be implemented as the rules have not been framed yet.
"We haven't received any help, not even water and electricity. We feel betrayed. We have no compassion left in us anymore, because nobody has shown compassion to us here. Only a caged bird can feel the pain of being caged," Solanki told PTI. Narrating her ordeal, Solanki said their financial situation after the COVID-19 pandemic deteriorated to a point that her children had to opt out from school as they couldn't afford digital classes. "The situation worsened during the coronavirus pandemic to a point that we had to halt our children's education when nation-wide lockdown was imposed. It is only my husband who uses a mobile phone in our entire family, how could we afford digital classes for the kids?" Solanki asked.
