Hyderabad:
Eight-year-old Sonia stands outside the Chanchalguda Jail in Hyderabad, tears spilling across her face. "Don't cry, Papa will be home soon," assures her mother, Jayshree, who is eight months pregnant. "Didn't the lawyer promise that papa will be back?" she asks holding the child she adopted in 2007.
There is no reason for Jayshree to believe her own words. Her husband is in jail on the basis of cases aimed at harassing him till he gives up Sonia because she is a Muslim.
Sonia was four when Jayshree and her husband, Papalal, found her alone and terrified after a bomb exploded in Hyderabad. They gauged that she had been orphaned and that she came from a Muslim family.
The couple decided Sonia was destined to be their daughter. But others resisted. Muslim groups wanted the child to be sent to an orphanage so that she would not be raised as a Hindu. Jayshree and Papalal convinced them that Sonia would not be converted. Then they had another daughter, Ekta. Their younger child wears a bindi. Sonia does not. In this and other ways, Jayshree and Papalal have kept their word.
That has angered Hindu groups and families who live in their neighbourhood. In the Begum Bazaar part of the city, Papalal, who made a living painting the walls of temples, found his work quickly disappeared. There were constant threats - some veiled, others more direct. Finally, his own brother turned against him. Papalal's mother says that tired of being ostracized by extension, her younger son accused Papalal of attempting to molest his wife. Papalal is in jail. The family is desperate for the amount required for his bail - Rs 30,000.
Some lawyers have approached a local court to explain Papalal's predicament and have offered free services to his family.
For now, Jayshree clings to her two children. But she needs support as well.
If you'd like to help Papalal and his family, please send your contribution to:
Jai Sree Ravi
Account No 52206009072,
State Bank of Hyderabad,
Moghulpura Branch,
Hyderabad
Andhra Pradesh
India
Additional details for online transaction:
Branch Code 20596
MIRC Code 5000004037
IFSC/RTGS/NEFT/SBHY00 20596
Swift Code: SBHYINB B002