Thiruvallikkeni Kandene: Pakistan

Hindu temples are under attack – in our own beautiful Country, some puranic temples are not so well cared for – centuries ago, they had pristine place. Now some of them are lying uncared for – for there are many living in the precincts and taking care – in many cases, the Temples own many assets – but they have falled into the hands of sinners who do not pay revenue property. The administration is lackadaisical and temple funds are exploited and used for various other purposes by Govts who have no right to administer in such a way. Those donations are for that Temple only and how they can they be used for any other purpose

Sad is the state of affairs .......

Here is something from Daily Mail reported on 28^th Aug 2014 on yet another temple that could become a casualty ... it is not in India – but in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Pakistan's most tumultuous fortnight threw up another, albeit sly and covert, cause for concern and strident outrage. An old Hindu temple in the garrison town of Rawalpindi may be poised to become a quiet casualty to development designs initiated by the army in the name of an educational complex. The 82-year-old Maharishi Valmik Swamiji Mandir in Chaklala Cantonment, better known as Balaknash Temple, has long served as a shelter for the homeless, a social welfare institution and a centre of unity.

The Pakistan Army wants to bulldoze the temple in favour of a new project. The impact of such a heinous move will resonate well beyond this place of worship - an ancient settlement of a vast Hindu populace. Muslims and Christians too will be dislodged and scattered to subsist on makeshift options or even under the open sky. Although community representatives maintain they have not received any written orders, fear pervades the neighbourhood. Hence, the anxious inhabitants have filed a civil petition against the demolition strategy and managed a stay order that sadly, offers short-term comfort, whereby they can live here till mid-September.

This is a novel scenario where the plan is not being hatched by regular land mafia but by the army, which begs for a larger debate: Are such strategies not in direct conflict with the war being waged on terrorists in the same country? Secondly, in times where a deeply strengthened civil society has held the same province hostage for two weeks, it is clear that the days when aspects of Pakistan's diverse citizenry stood undermined are bygone.

Where Pakistan adheres to Islam, its present-day social currents convey a categorical message – pluralism enshrined in the faith demands a celebration of humanity, the greatest manifestation of divinity.

Read the original article Rawalpindi Temple :

Tando Allahyar is a town in Sindh, Pakistan. It is the capital ofTando Allahyar District. ~ and here is a photo of the temple there known as ‘Ramapir’ temple – these are becoming a rarity or the ones that could be read only in newspapers due to intolerance and hatred of the land….

It is common history that after Pakistan gained independence from Britain on 14 August 1947, approximately 6 million of the country's minority Hindus and Sikhs had to migrate to India. Similarly, nearly an equal number of Muslims left India to live in Pakistan. Today, only 26 out of Pakistan's 428 Hindu temples exist. The 1998 Census of Pakistan recorded less than 2.5 million Hindus. The overwhelming majority of Hindus in Pakistan are concentrated in the Sindh province. In 1951, Hindus constituted 22% of the Pakistani population; now the share of Hindus is down to 1.7% in Pakistan, and 9.2% in Bangladesh.

The Sindh kingdom and its rulers play an important role in the great epic – Mahabharat. Legend has it that the city of Lahore was first founded by Lava, while Kasur was founded by his twin Kusha, both of whome were the sons of Rama. The Gandhara kingdom of the northwest, and the legendary Gandhara peoples are also a major part of Hindu literature such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Most Pakistani city names (such as Peshawar, Multan) can be traced back to Sanskrit roots.

In Dec last, a 100-year-old temple was demolished in Pakistan, angry Hindus asked Govt to arrange tickets to India. PTI Karachi reported on 3.12.12 that a century-old temple in Karachi was hurriedly demolished by a builder despite a Pakistani court hearing a petition seeking a stay on such a move, triggering protests by the minority Hindu community on Sunday. Besides razing the pre-Partition Shri Rama Pir Mandir in Karachi's Soldier Bazar, the builder demolished several houses near it. Nearly 40 people, a majority of them Hindus, became homeless as a result, The Express Tribune reported. Following the demolition, the Pakistan Hindu Council organised a protest outside the Karachi Press Club

Now today’s Daily Mail carries a news titled :

Pakistan fails to save a Hindu temple... So is anyone really surprised?

By Reema Abbasi 20 December 2013

How is an Islamic place of worship more significant than that of another faith? This question has come to haunt Pakistan now more than ever before. This week, the Hindu community staged a massive protest at the Karachi Press Club to save the remaining portion of a 100-year-old Mari Mata Temple in the old quarters of Soldier Bazar in Karachi. This time, a temple was easy prey for commercial gain as opposed to Islamist brutality. Equality: The priority of Islam in Pakistan has resulted in negligence towards Hinduism in the country

The historic structure was attacked by land-grabbers at the behest of a builder who wants the land for a shopping mall. So far, a portion of the temple has been razed and a dozen Hindu clans that lived in its surrounding area have been forced to evacuate, to subsist under the open sky.

This is not the first Hindu temple to be demolished in the metropolis; another Mari Mata Mandir was brought down last year in the name of commercialism. The Pakistan Hindu Sabha is duly infuriated with the provincial government, the Ministry of Minority Affairs and above all, Sindh's ruling party, the supposedly secular Pakistan Peoples Party. Each time push comes to shove, all their lofty claims of safeguarding tolerance and equality evaporate. Hence, the association is left with little choice other than organising mass protests and chalking out a strategy whereby their temple is restored, as are the homes in its area.

It is more than pertinent to mention that the Mata Mari Temple and its plot comes under the Evacuee Trust Protection Board and has existed along with the residents prior to Partition. For this reason, the Hindu families residing there for over 70 years should have ownership rights to their properties against a nominal fee. There is little evidence to negate the idea that such religious insensitivity has only raised its hideous head after hardliners and madressas mushroomed across the landscape. It seems to have reached a crescendo following cries from popular leaders asking for a peace process with criminals rather than holding them accountable for bloodshed.

Currently, activists and analysts see it as another pretext to generate religious apartheid. Pakistan's establishment has to recognize the crying need of the hour - to make an example of this criminal incident by hauling up perpetrators, initiating restoration and institutuionalising the most eminent of values - a country that celebrates God must recognize all that is human.

The writer is a columnist based in Karachi

Source : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2526609/Pakistan-fails-save-Hindu-temple.html & a couple of photos from : http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/

Below Hindu temples in Pakistan being attacked and demolished............