The forgotten pact

Just after three years of Partition, a terrible series of riots on religious grounds broke out in both parts of Bengal. At that time, extremists in East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) and West Bengal of India started brutally targeting religious minorities. Minority women from both sides were abducted while attacks on each other's holy religious places of worship were on rise. Reportedly, one million people were forced to leave their homes to seek refuge across the border.

In such critical moments, Pakistan's first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan reached Delhi on April 2, 1950, to initiate dialogue with his Indian counterpart Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The prime ministers of both countries signed a historic treaty on April 8, 1950, which was called the Liaquat-Nehru Pact in diplomatic circles and commonly known as the Delhi Pact.

On the occasion, both prime ministers showed firm determination to protect the dignity, property and lives of their respective minority populations. It was agreed that abducted women from the minority community would be returned to their families and forced conversion would not be accepted.

Even at that time, both governments were facing a serious challenge in the form of fake news and rumours. This is why the agreement also included a clause for strict monitoring and prompt action to prevent the dissemination of disinformation and mischievous opinion calculated to rouse communal passion.

Unfortunately, this relief for the minorities proved to be temporary and just a year after the Delhi Pact, Liaquat Ali Khan was martyred during a public jalsa in Rawalpindi. The agreement faced severe criticism from extremist elements in India from day one. Pandit Nehru's close political ally Syama Prasad Mukherjee resigned from Nehru's cabinet to record his protest against the said treaty with Pakistan. He formed his own political party, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh Party, the predecessor to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

I had a very cordial relationship with Rana Bhagwandas, the most honest chief justice of Pakistan, until his last breath. He considered the Liaquat-Nehru Accord to be a guarantee of permanent peace between the two countries as well as stability in the region. Many times during our conversation, it was discussed that since the signing of the Delhi Pact, the head of the Waqf institution to look after the properties of Muslim minorities in India has always been a Muslim, but unfortunately this is not happening in Pakistan.

I have raised my voice several times that the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) should be headed by a patriotic Pakistani Hindu. I also proposed the name of former CJ Rana Bhagwandas in this regard, but no progress has been made so far.

Unfortunately, today the situation has become so critical that if on the one hand, centuries-old holy sites of non-Muslims are in a state of disrepair in Pakistan, then across the border, the political party founded by Pandit Nehru's disgruntled colleague Syama Prasad Mukherjee is in power.

The Modi government, in a latest move, has amended the Waqf laws to control the Waqf properties of Indian Muslims. Due to this, not only is the historical religious heritage of the Muslims of the Subcontinent now in danger, but for the first time after Partition, a legal justification has also been provided for appointing a non-Muslim as the head of a Waqf institution in India.

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Liaquat-Nehru Pact, it seems that both countries have completely forgotten the historic pact to protect minorities. I therefore would like to appeal to the top leadership of both countries to ensure that minority representatives from both countries should be in the driving seat of the Waqf institutions established on each side. Religious minorities living in their respective countries must also be included in the national mainstream to address their sense of insecurity, as promised under the Delhi Pact.

The writer is a member of the National Assembly and patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council. He tweets/posts @RVankwani