india

Updated: Jan 18, 2015 11:08 IST

Residents of Miragpur village in Saharanpur started a ‘save Hindu Girls in Pakistan’ campaign on Thursday. Under the campaign, 130 villagers have given their consent to marry Hindu girls in Pakistan.

Adding another dimension to the ‘ghar wapsi’ issue, this time the impetus is on bringing Hindu girls back from Pakistan and their rehabilitation. A delegation of villagers would also visit the refugee colony in Delhi as over 350 Hindu families that have migrated from Pakistan and given Indian citizenship live here.

Surinder Kochad, a historian from Amritsar, thought of starting the campaign after visiting Pakistan and coming across the plight of Hindu girls. During a visit to Haridwar, Kochad approached religious leaders with the issue who assured cooperation and assistance.

“They (Pakistan) do forced conversion of Hindu girls,” Surinder Kochad told HT and added, “As per a writ filed in the supreme court of Pakistan, 1,120 Hindu girls have been converted into Islam in the past three years. Authorities and courts (in Pakistan) seldom asked these girls about their consent and other particulars, which is compulsory.”

Based on a religious leader’s advice, Kochad began his campaign from Miragpur.

“Our village is a historical village where people do not eat meat, consume alcohol and play cards because of the blessings of Baba Fakirdas, who visited the village over 400 years ago,” said Virendra Singh Gujjar, vice-president of All India Gujjar Mahasabha.