Filmmakers show Pakistani Hindu refugees plight in a new documentary

New Delhis Majnu ka Tila was named after a crazed Sufi mystic who ferried people back and forth on the river Yamuna free of cost Guru Nanak it is said was moved by this manrsquos devotion and stayed on in the area Today one of the oldest existing Sikh shrines is found here But Majnu ka Tila like a fabled princess of the wondrous East is referred to by many other namesIt is formally called New Aruna Nagar The Tibetian refugees who arrived here in two waves mdash once in 1959 and again after the 1962 SinoIndia War mdash loan it the sentiment of a motherland For authentic Tibetian fare in the Capital Mini Tibet is the place to goHindus from Pakistan in Majnu ka Tila celebrated Holi for perhaps the first time in their lives Seen here are filmmaker Prakash Jha left wearing spectacles and Narma Dadi in yellow who fled Sindh and loves singing Bollywood numbers PICsP2P ProductionsSince 2011 Hindu families from Sindh Pakistan have sought refuge in this ramshackle shantytown With their arrival Majnu ka Tila could have technically become a cosmopolitan melting pot but there is only so much that you can ask from a refugee settlement It remains an unrecognised slum for invisible people and two young filmmakers have taken it upon themselves to throw light on the lives of Pakistani Hindu refugees hereFilmmakers Prakash Jha and Anuradha Mishra are documenting the lives of Pakistani Hindu refugeesPrakash Jha a 26yearold filmmaker says that at Majnu ka Tila the buzzword is Pakistan And when combined with Hindu the identity is exotic problematic and almost unbelievable Many a voyeur comes here to observe this seeming paradox and to ascertain what a Hindu from Pakistan is like People come here to gawk and talk to them but few offer actual help he says Along with his associate Anuradha Mishra 24 Jha has been meeting the 3000odd Hindus from Pakistan who now live in Majnu ka Tila and the neighbouring settlements of Adarsh Nagar and Rohini Camp Their visits started in September 2015 and their observations boiled down to an oftheard bottomlineGovernments and politicians may be helping them but we are not able to see any change at the groundlevel says Jha who hails from Munger BiharThe stories they heard of the refugees they decided needed to be recorded and their plight made known Mishra speaks of families who arrived on pilgrimages to the Kumbh and found it an escape from their struggles back home But the grass has not been greener Necessities basics and rights are at stake for the Pakistani refugeesEducation and jobs are hard to come by for those who have abandoned all property and ties to come here Now most of them peddle mobile phone covers paan and chai until they are busted by the police Originally farmers they cannot move out of the NCR without legal recognition leave alone acquire farmlands Children go to primary school but the older 14 lot cannotldquoThe Constitution and the UNHCR donrsquot recognise them as refugees We are hoping to move a change in this direction so that those who were persecuted in the name of religion can get a better liferdquo says Mishra She recounts incidents they have shared with her which range from the critical to the absurd The abduction of schoolgoing Hindu girls is as big a problem as when Pakistan loses a cricket match against IndiaThey tell us that if India won they were beaten up says Mishra Jha and Mishra arenrsquot too fussed about what to title their documentary Instead of choosing poetic epithets to address the refugees existence the documentary is simply called Who Am I Pakistani or IndianFor instance Narma Dadi a 75yearold refugee from Sindh looks every bit Pakistani and sings a rsquo90s Bollywood number with great zeal Bollywood is loved by everyone right says Jha Last month many of them in the camp celebrated Holi for the first time in their lives with the same elation that those in Maharashtra feel when they go to Goa and are able to order a prime beef steaOne would think Majnu ka Tila is the ideal court for the Ghar Wapsi and Bharat Mata ki Jai camps The filmmakers say that rightwing organisations had made promises of blankets ahead of winter but it is now summer and the offer is yet to materialise Mishra and Jha are waiting for an Aam Aadmi Party representative to meet them At this point the two have resolved that any help from any quarters will have to do