Resfuses to identify claimant as her parents; DNA test conducted; three other claimants waiting in the wings.
New Delhi : It was a tryst that was not to be. Gita, the speech and hearing impaired girl from Pakistan, who was hailed as ‘India’s daughter’ by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, on Monday refused to identify a Mahato couple from Bihar as her parents. Among the other claimants are three other couples – from Jharkhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. The MEA lost no time in taking blood samples of Gita on her arrival, as also those of the Mahato couple. The problem will arise if the DNA test is positive and she indeed turns out to be daughter of the Mahatos.
But the ministry is unfazed and is determined to trace Gita’s rightful claimant after her seven year long sojourn with the Edhi Foundation in Pakistan. Responding to a question at a crowded Press briefing, Swaraj said, “We have not given up the search for her parents. But, if the DNA test is positive, it will create a complex situation.’’ For the time being, Gita is being sent to a vocational centre for the hearing impaired in Indore. Gita was just seven or eight years old when she was found sitting alone on the Samjhauta Express by the Pakistan Rangers over a decade back at the Lahore railway station. The police took her to the Edhi Foundation in Lahore and later she was moved to Karachi.
After the press conference, dominated by unstoppable camera flash lights, the Minister told this correspondent on the sidelines that the DNA test results will come in three to four days. Gita, whose age is anybody’s guess, could be between 21 and 25. The External Affairs Minister, who went all out after chancing upon Gita’s story in a television news report, said that she has no words to thank Bilquis Bano, the nurse of the Edhi Foundation, Pakistan’s biggest philanthropic organisation, who gave the girl a mother’s love and safeguarded her religion. “I appreciate what Bilquis Bano and her husband did. They presented her idols of Lord Hanuman and Lord Ganesha.”
A visibly emotional Swaraj said that people to people relations are a key element of ties between the two countries. The Minister assured journalists that Gita would never be forgotten and embraced the cheerful girl who could not stop smiling. MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that this was the most unusual press conference that MEA has ever organised. Also in attendance were Gita, Bilquis Bano, Monica Punjabi and Swaraj. Giving an account of the events that led to Gita’s return, Swaraj said, “There was a television report about an Indian girl who had strayed into Pakistan and wanted to return. I asked our High Commissioner to go with his wife to Karachi and find out the truth. He confirmed that beyond doubt Gita was an Indian. Gita drew a picture of her family home and recounted that she had seven siblings. We began a search immediately and had made up our mind that even if we do not find her parents, we will accommodate her in an institute.”
” The Mahato couple was insistent that she is their daughter. So, I asked them to send the pictures of the siblings. We were told that she had identified the siblings. That was very encouraging. But Gita upon arrival said that they were not her parents.’’ The Minister added, “We have brought back Gita as it is her right to return to her homeland. I will be failing in my duty if I do not thank the Pakistan government as they prepared her documents without any fuss. We had asked the Edhi Foundation to accompany her to India. They are our State guests. We would be happy to take them anywhere they want to.”
Asked to explain the delay in bringing Gita back as the Pakistan government had raised this issue in2012, Swaraj said, “We came in 2014.” She added that the governments of both countries have taken a very mature stand and the public has also hailed Gita’s homecoming. People to people contacts are very important in relations between the two countries. A boy from Aligarh has claimed that his mother had left them with his grand-parents in Pakistan. In our jail and in Pakistan jails, there are prisoners who have lost their mental balance. I have requested our High Commissioner to facilitate their release. It is not a question of political intervention. One needs to be sensitive and pro active and solutions can be found for problems.”
Gita’s face shone like a moon, framed behind a bright red and white dupatta and chooridar suit. She conveyed through signs, “I do not know what to say but I am very scared. I was never married. When I left, I was very small. So, the question of my marriage does not arise. In Pakistan, I used to feel very sad. I thought about India. Sushma said that she has been smiling non-stop since the time she arrived. Bilquis Bano said, “Today is Eid for me. She lived with me for seven years and remained a strict vegetarian. We never ask people to change their religion. “ Looking at Bano, the External Affairs Minister said, “You were her Ammi (mother) but now I am her Ammi (mother). Monica will teach her the sign language and provide her vocational training. We want her to be self reliant.” Suhsma also said that if she marries off Gita, she would surely invite Bano.
