History bears witness that during the Mughal era, Hindu girls were often abducted by force. Sikh warriors would then confront the Mughals, rescue the girls from captivity, and safely return them to their families. Even at the time of India’s partition in 1947, many Hindu and Sikh girls were mistreated in Pakistan by Mughal descendants. They were forcibly separated from their families, taken away, and made to convert their religion.
According to data coming from Pakistan, minority girls — including Hindus and Sikhs — are being forcibly converted to Islam. In recent times alone, more than 1,000 girls have reportedly been made to convert. Among them are daughters of Gurdwara Sahib’s Granthi Singhs, sewadars, and even Sikh leaders. Many cases remain unknown because families, out of shame or fear, choose to stay silent.
Hearing about such cases is deeply distressing and compels one to think that even after centuries, the Mughal mindset hasn’t changed. It is also possible that many of these perpetrators are descendants of those very Mughals who once inflicted atrocities on Sikh Gurus and forced conversions on Kashmiri Pandits.
In light of all this, those people need to rethink who still say things like “We can’t denounce Pakistan.” A Punjabi singer has even composed a song expressing this sentiment. We respect such feelings because they stem from the belief that one shouldn’t speak ill of the land where Guru Nanak Sahib was born. But if one reflects deeply, the land of Nankana Sahib — the birthplace of Guru Sahib — was originally part of India, which was separated due to British rule and the Muslim community’s demand for a separate nation, resulting in the creation of Pakistan.
Pakistan has lost every war it has fought with India, yet it continues with its troubling actions. The Indian government should raise the issue of forced religious conversions of minority girls on international platforms as well.
