A Hindu girl prepares flat bread at her home in Master Alana Hasan Pantwar Goth, a village slum in Karachi. Muzammil Pasha for The National
Karachi // The plight of a small community of Hindus festering in poverty in Karachi underscores the vulnerability of Pakistan's minorities.
Passing behind a factory on the outskirts of the port city, the sight of sari- and dhoti-wearing Hindus signals the beginning of Master Alana Hasan Pantwar Goth, a ramshackle and fly-ridden slum even by Karachi's standards.
Drains that flood the breeze-block and tin houses during the monsoon rains carry toxic waste and dye from the nearby factories.
Gopal Chand, a social worker and member of the several thousand-strong community panchayat, or council, described the lack of opportunities for local Hindus.
"There is no permanent livelihood for us. We are not educated as nobody has guided us in that direction," he said.
Each house had a shop selling paltry wares: a few fish, a few baskets or a small pile of vegetables.
The village lies on rough ground, sandwiched between the ostentatious mansion of the local vadera, or landowner, who claims control of the land on which the Hindus reside, and a textile factory.
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4:03 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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