Neither Pak nor India to be blamed, our fault is we were born: Hindu refugees in Majnu Ka Tila

Indian Express

2 days ago

On a table in a room that has walls made up of corrugated metal sheet lies a notice issued by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the contents of which are powerful enough to shake up the future of 800 Pakistani Hindu refugees staying in a camp in Delhi's Majnu ka Tila.
'Bhai, notice aagaya hai… ab hum kahan jaayenge,' said a camp resident while referring to the public notice issued on July 14.
'How can they evict us without giving us any alternate living space… Some imaginary lines were drawn by foreigners to divide India and Pakistan. They didn't care about the toll it would take on us… We hoped at least the government of India would care about us,' he added, refusing to share his name.
The refugee camp is located on the Yamuna floodplains, which, according to the Delhi Master Plan, fall in Zone 'O', where construction and housing are prohibited due to environmental concerns.
The DDA notice issued on July 14 has stated: '…the Hon'ble High Court has given judgment in favour of DDA… In compliance… it is proposed to conduct demolition drive against encroachment in Yamuna River flood plain DDA land south of Gurdwara in Majnoo ka Tila on 15/07/2025 and 16/07/2025.'
Requesting that the residents vacate the area by July 14, it added that if not done, 'they (residents) will be responsible for any damage caused due to demolition drive against encroachment' on July 15, 16, and thereafter.
The eviction, however, is yet to begin, said residents.
On May 30, the HC had dismissed a petition filed by one Ravi Ranjan Singh seeking the court's direction to the DDA not to demolish the camp, till some alternative piece of land is allotted to the residents under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Pointing out the need to secure the fundamental human right to a clean and healthy environment for the residents and future generations of Delhi, Justice Dharmesh Sharma had said in his May order: 'Given the critical condition of Yamuna river, this court unhesitatingly finds that no interference with the ongoing restoration and rejuvenation efforts of the river can be countenanced at the petitioner's instance.'
Dharamvir Solanki, who has been living in the camp since 2013, said, 'Around 1,000 people live in this camp…700 of them don't have Indian citizenship. None of them has a ration card. Some have come after the CAA cut-off date of December 2014… Why even have a cut-off date like this?' While the walls of houses in the camp are made of bamboo slats, corrugated metal sheets, or even mud bricks, the roofs are an amalgamation of tarpaulin and straw. Some houses bear the marks of recent destruction or ongoing construction, and the ceilings are a rustic lattice of wooden beams and bamboo.
'It is neither the fault of India, nor of Pakistan… our fault is we were born,' said Maina (25), who has been living in the camp for the last 12 years. 'They called us 'Hindustani' there, and they call us 'Pakistani' here,' said Shruti (40), who has recently shifted to the camp.
As her child asks for Rs 10 to purchase finger chips being made by a group of women inside the camp, Maina said, 'It breaks my heart when he asks for money… I earn just Rs 100 a day. I spend more than I earn. Earlier, we would sell mobile phone covers… but a single flood in the camp takes us 10 years back. Our savings, our inventory… everything gets destroyed.'
'We didn't even have power for the last 10 years. This used to be a cemetery… finding corpses in the ground was common a decade ago,' said Mohini, another resident. 'A snake is spotted here every single day… I am scared for my children,' she added.