New Delhi: India Wednesday strongly condemned the demolition of the 125-year old Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sahib in Farooqabad, Pakistan. New Delhi called the act “highly deplorable”, while slamming Pakistan’s record of protection of minorities.
“We strongly condemn this highly deplorable and targeted act of vandalism against a revered Sikh shrine. Its destruction, along with reports of no meaningful action being taken by local authorities or the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), is a matter of grave concern,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.
He added: “This is unfortunately not an isolated incident, as we have also seen similar reports earlier. The systemic targeting of religious minorities and their places of worship in Pakistan continues unabated.”
The gurdwara was reported to have been demolished on 24 June, allegedly by miscreants. The gurdwara held some significance to the Singh Sabha movement that began in the late 19th century. The movement which began in Amritsar in 1873, gained momentum across undivided Punjab and was formally established in Lahore in 1878.
The Singh Sabha movement eventually laid the foundation for the formation of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Farooqabad is located roughly 60 kilometres from Lahore, close to Sheikhupura and was known as Chuhar Khana till the 1980s.
The city was founded by Sardar Chuhar Singh, a courtier under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. The name change occurred during the tenure of President Zia-ul-Haq.
The Indian government called on Pakistan to “expeditiously investigate this matter and bring the perpetrators of this despicable act to justice.”
The statement added: “The demolished portions of the Gurdwara Sahib should be restored and reconstructed at the earliest. Further, we urge the Government of Pakistan to discharge its obligations to ensure the safety, security, and well-being of its minority communities and their places of worship, and put a decisive end to the prevailing environment of sectarian violence and religious intolerance in Pakistan.”
The demolition of the gurdwara came days after a Sikh caretaker couple—Jagannath and Asma Wanti—was killed in a gurdwara in Babu Mohalla, Mardan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Pakistani authorities arrested the main suspect on 19 June, according to reports.
India also took aim at the Pakistan Evacuee Trust Property Board, which was set up in 1960 to look after the land left behind by Hindus and Sikhs following partition in 1947. The board manages shrines, gurdwaras, hospitals, as well as libraries that were run by Hindus and Sikhs during the pre-partition days.
The double attacks on Sikh religious places last month has brought Pakistan’s protection of minorities under a lens. India has consistently raised Islamabad’s poor track record of the protection of minorities, and the systemic targeting of minority religions across the country.
The Minister in charge of human rights and minorities for the province of Pakistan Punjab Ramesh Singh Arora paid a visit to the site and “announced an immediate restoration,” according to a statement from the Pakistan Punjab government.
Arora in comments to the media highlighted that a “local businessman had demolished the gurdwara without obtaining a no-objection certificate”.
The Pakistani politician directed the Auqaf department to conduct an inquiry into the status of the land and report back as soon as possible.
(Edited by Vidhi Bhutra)
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