ISLAMABAD: The alleged abduction and conversion of a minor Hindu girl in Thar, Pakistan has prompted massive anger among members of the region's minority Hindu community. Ravita Meghwar, 16, was allegedly abducted by men from the Syed community of Wanharo village near Nagarparkar, on June 6. Last week, she, along with her “husband” Nawaz Ali Shah, met local journalists in Umerkot to “inform” them of her consent in both - embracing Islam and their marriage.
Meghwar claimed to have embraced the religion in the presence of an Islamic preacher. She even claimed to journalists in Islamkot that she had not been kidnapped but had in fact, eloped with Shah. Local reports said the marriage was ratified by Pir Mohammad Ayub Jan Farooqui. The marriage certificate issued by him read, “The girl is 18 years old, can marry the person of her choice and her Islamic name is Gulnar.”
The incident has not gone well with the Hindu community, with the girl's family insisting that she was kidnapped and forced to convert. Ravita's father, Satram Das Meghwar alleged that influential members of the Syed community kidnapped his daughter after giving sleeping pills to the family. He also claimed that the Thar police, despite frequent appeals, avoided tracing the girl till she was forced to convert. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker and chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani has expressed concerns over the incident. “A Hindu girl below 18 years of age cannot be converted according to the Hindu Marriage Act.”
Hindu protesters have also cited an FIR filed by the 16 year old at Dano Dhandal police station, months earlier, against her current husband and his relatives, Syed Noor Ali Shah, Mohammad Nohrio Junejo, and Sher Ali Junejo.
