Author: Sunita Vakil
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: June 29, 2006
Pakistan has again thrown the gauntlet at
India by demolishing the only Hindu temple in Lahore. However, this was not
the first instance of minority bashing in that single religion-based country.
Minorities, especially Hindus, continue to be hounded in both Pakistan and
Bangladesh. The latest atrocity is but one more example of religious persecution
of this marginalised community in an Islamic nation.
Incredibly, the temple at Sarafa Bazaar in
Lahore's Rang Mahal area was ordered to be demolished by the very civic body
that is meant to protect the properties of minorities, namely, Pakistan's
Evacuee Trust Property Board. The body also manages Sikh shrines in coordination
with Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. Incidentally, this was not
the first time that ETPB permitted the demolition of a temple. Last year,
it had sanctioned the razing of a Hindu shrine at Vehari in Punjab. This indicates
that the nefarious gameplan of targeting religious bastions of Hindus has
the wholehearted approval of the Pakistan Government.
What is more puzzling is the fact that while
there were massive demonstrations against the demolition of the disputed Babri
Masjid, Gujarat riots and relocation of a Muslim shrine in Vadodara, no 'secular'
party worth its name made even a whimper of protest when the Hindu shrine
was razed in Pakistan.
Considering the Congress's obsession with
Muslim vote-bank, on account of which it is granting them quotas and concessions
on a platter, it would seem a waste of effort to comment on its endeavour
of joining issues with Hindus. In fact, nothing can be expected of a party
that cannot differentiate between secularism and minorityism.
The feedback from the Left has been similar.
While the UPA's attitude is understandable, an inaction of the BJP on such
issues is even more baffling. But across the border, while most Pakistani
newspapers have criticised the demolition, there was no protest either from
the political parties or the so-called secular media in this country.
There have been reports that the facts about
the property were concealed from the authorities who had no inkling that they
had given the go ahead for razing a temple in order to build a commercial
complex. If this is true, the Pakistan Government should make all efforts
to restore the Hindu shrine at the earliest.
