Migrants, Refugees and the Stateless in India politicians are wary of speaking out against in public is another source of worry. ‘It is not like violence against us is happening in Pakistan every day, but the atmosphere is very insecure. When one incident happens, it has a chilling effect on the rest of our society. We did not feel safe practicing our religion in public there,’ says Aakash, who is quick to add that the situation is much better in Pakistan’s cities compared to its rural areas. The launch in 2006 of the Thar Express, a rail service that links Pakistan to India, has led a multitude of Pakistani Hindus to attempt the journey to India. The rise to power of the Hindu nationalist BJP in India has further accelerated this trend. Most of the new arrivals come holding short-term pilgrimage visas, usually limited to 25 days and restricted to Hindu religious centres like Haridwar and Mathura, but many also come with regular visitor visas, claiming kinship ties on the Indian side of the border. According to many respondents, obtaining a Pakistani passport and then an Indian visa is a long and harrowing process, with corruption, discrimination and nefarious middlemen involved in almost every step. Respondents have also reported a tendency among Indian authorities in Pakistan to break up families who apply for visas in groups. ‘Almost all the families in this camp are incomplete. Two of my daughters are still at home in Pakistan. My nine-year-old daughter, Anjali, has just managed to arrive recently with her uncle,’ says Aakash. Once in India, they apply for repeated visa extensions, with the hope that one day they will meet the minimum residency requirement to apply for Indian citizenship. Harassment by Indian authorities during the visa extension process has substantially decreased since the rise of Modi and the BJP, say many residents. However, their status as Pakistani nationals in India, with Pakistani passports often being their only official documentation, has greatly restricted their life in India. ‘If you hold a Pakistani passport, the tendency of Indians is to assume you are a terrorist,’ says one resident. The lack of official documentation has made it difficult for the ablebodied men to seek fruitful employment. Most of them are engaged in petty daily-wage labour such as hawking, garbage collection and other odd jobs, mainly in the nearby vegetable market. ‘We manage to earn around 150-250 rupees [USD 2-3.5] every day, and we have to support families of five to seven with this amount,’ laments one resident. In the absence of tangible government support, civil society has had to step in to help the residents lead a dignified life. Ashutosh Joshi, a local finance professional, has run a number of crowdfunding initiatives for the colony residents. ‘The attempt has been to provide them with some basic 47