Source: Reuters

By Zeba Siddiqui

JODHPUR/JAIPUR, India (Reuters) – Nar Singh can vividly recall the day in 2014 when Narendra Modi promised to provide refuge to Hindus suffering around the world. The 39-year-old shop owner sat awestruck inside his two-bedroom house in Pakistan’s eastern Mirpur Khas district, as Modi’s voice boomed from the television during his successful campaign to become India’s prime minister.

Nar Singh, a Hindu migrant from Pakistan, poses as he sits at a shelter on the outskirts of Jodhpur, in the desert state of Rajasthan, India, October 30, 2018. Picture taken October 30, 2018. REUTERS/Zeba Siddiqui

“If there are atrocities on Hindus in Fiji, where will they go? Should they not come to India? If Hindus are persecuted in Mauritius, where should they go? Hindustan!” Modi declared to a roaring crowd.

For Singh, whose grandfather had been born in British-ruled India before the bloody partition that led to the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Modi’s words resonated deeply. “He spoke so wholeheartedly, it felt like a warm invitation,” said Singh. “I was so proud and happy.”

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