How Pakistan betrayed India on protecting the religious minority

New Delhi, Dec 12: Jawaharlal Nehru and Liaquat Ali Khan had signed a pact in 1950 in the wake of the large scale migration of people who belonged to the minority community owing to attacks by the majority community.

The pact was important as there was an exodus of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists from Pakistan and Muslims from India. The pact said that forced conversions would be unrecognised, minority rights were confirmed and abducted women and looted property would be returned.

Pakistan never honoured this pact and sensing this early, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee even quit as the Industry Minister from the Nehru Cabinet. The objections that were raised was that Pakistan never honoured this pact and this was confirmed by Nehru's minister.

In 1966, Jana Sangha leader, Niranjan Varma asked the then external affairs minister, Sardar Swaran Singh for clarification on this pact. One of the key questions was whether both countries were still acting in accordance with the pact.

Singh said that instances of such violations were noticed immediately after the pact was signed.

This statement gains significance in the wake of Union Home Minister, Amit Shah stating that both Pakistan and Bangladesh had failed to protect the religious minorities after partition. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill became absolutely necessary only because, Pakistan never fulfilled the conditions as per the Nehru-Liaquat Pact.

The CAB was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah following a six-hour debate replied that the Bill seeks to provide citizenship to persecuted minorities in the three countries. It does not take away the citizenship of anyone, Shah also said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the passage of the Bill as a landmark day for India and its ethos of compassion and brotherhood. The Bill will "alleviate sufferings of many who faced persecution for years", Modi also said.