Author: Anuradha Dutt
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: June 15, 2006
Why doesn't Government speak out against the
ongoing minority bashing in Pakistan and Bangladesh
India's western and eastern neighbours - Pakis-tan
and Bangladesh - are increasingly pushing minorities, especially Hindus, into
a corner. The latest outrage is the demolition of the sole temple in Lahore.
The Krishna Mandir has been razed to the ground
so that a huge commercial complex can be built in its place. Adding insult
to injury is the disclosure that the order was issue by the Evacuee Trust
Property Board, a body that is meant to protect the properties of minorities.
It also manages Sikh shrines through the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak
Committee. ETPB earlier allowed razing of a Hindu shrine in Vehari, Punjab,
last year.
These offences are grave enough to derail
the peace process between the two countries since they violate the Nehru-Liaquat
Pact, providing for reciprocal protection of places of worship of minorities.
Pakistan had invoked this clause when the Babri Masjid was demolished in December
1992 as well as during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
While the Congress and the Left, which equate
secularism with minorityism, can hardly be expected to take up a Hindu cause,
the BJP's response to the report so far has been lukewarm. A similar transgression
targeting Muslims here would have brought the nation to a standstill, with
riots erupting, and politicos and social activists launching campaigns to
uphold secular values.
This, in fact, was the scenario in the aftermath
of the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Rioters in Bangladesh and Pakistan
attacked Hindus, Jains and Sikhs in reprisal, and the violence spilled over
to England. However, the incident in Lahore seems not have stirred the secular
conscience. The hounds that bay against any Hindu indiscretion are silent.
Similarly, there was no whisper of protest
from the secular lobby and human rights groups in India after this paper reported
that fundamentalists in the Bangladesh Government are pressurising the Khaleda
Zia regime to relocate the historic Dhakeswari shrine, which gives Dhaka its
name. It is one of the 51 shaktipeeths that mark the place, where one of the
parts of the severed body of Goddess Sati fell. Most of these shrines are
in India, but some are located in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Since the site is deemed most sacred in Hindu
religious lore, the pilgrimage cannot be relocated. The belief in sanctity
of place is also integral to the demand for the restoration of the original
sites of the Ramjanmabhumi in Ayodhya, Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi
and Krishnajanmasthan in Mathura. Arguments that favour Muslim claims to these
pilgrimages completely miss the point that their spiritual importance for
Hindus is irreplaceable. For Muslims, they are symbols of Islamic conquest
and pride.
Unfortunately, the BJP, by deploying the temple
campaign as a mere tool for capturing power, trivialised the issue. Ms Sushma
Swaraj, among the second-rung leaders, tipped for better things, is reported
to have dismissed the Ram temple cause as "an encashed cheque".
If this statement is true, it indicates a degree of cynicism, for long associated
with the Congress's brand of caste and communal politics.
On the Dhakeswari shrine issue, Bangladesh's
Hindu Boudhya Christian Aikya Parishad, headed by Maj Gen CR Dutta, is spearheading
protests against the relocation move. Hindus, as a persecuted community, would
be fighting a losing battle if India fails to take a firm stand on the issue
by supporting them.
The 12th century shrine, a major centre of
tantra. The existing records credit Raja Ballal Sen of having built the Kali
shrine in the 12th century. Subsequently, Gopal Giri, a monk of the Badrinath
Ashram at Joshi Math in the Himalayas, set up a religious seat for his guru
at the place.
Great saints frequented the shrine. Its sanctity
attracted enemy ire when the retreating Pakistani forces during the 1971 war
attacked the temple. Many mendicants and pilgrims were killed. Much later,
in retaliation for the Babri Masjid demolition, rioters attacked the pilgrimage.
The BJP, confused about its course of action
ever since career politicians hijacked its Hindutva agenda, is yet to react
in a demonstrable way. In the event that the UPA Government does nothing,
UNESCO would do well to intercede by declaring the temple a world heritage
site.
