New Delhi, April 10
The borders might be tranquil and Muzaffarabad may have become only a bus ride away but amid talk of peace comes the discordant voice of an artiste, a Hindu singer from Pakistan, who yearns for freedom and honour in his village that is at risk of being torn apart by intolerance and prejudice.
Krishan Lal Bheel says he is the only folk singer from Pakistan’s Hindu minority. He is the proud recipient of four awards, including one instituted by the Government of Pakistan. He, however, resents belonging to the Bheel community, which has suffered persecution over decades in certain parts of Pakistan.
The kidnapping of girls from the minority community and discrimination is rampant where he lives. He says the Hindus have tried to blend into their social milieu but with little success. The decades-old hostilities between the two countries also contributed in no small measure to their plight, he observes.
“The situation is very bad in Rahim Yar Khan from where I belong. We suffer humiliation on a daily basis. People fight all the time. We are looked down upon but I tell them so what if I am a Hindu, I understand the tenets of Islam more than some of them.
