New Delhi: Pakistan last week ‘demolished’ a 125-year-old Hindu temple in Punjab, allegedly to make way for a madrasa. The ‘demolition’ has now sparked a dispute between a minority rights organisation and the government body responsible for managing religious properties. Amid protests by a minority group, the government clarified that only a part of the temple had broken off, that too due to torrential rain.
The temple, located in Siraj village in Narowal district, was demolished on 21 August, according to the Pakistan Masiha Millat Party, a group that advocates for minority rights. The organisation, however, claimed the structure was deliberately dismantled to make way for the expansion of an adjoining seminary, Dawn reported.
The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), which oversees Hindu and Sikh religious properties in Pakistan, disputed that account and an official said the temple had not been demolished but had collapsed after torrential rainfall.
Reacting to the report in Dawn, the government of Pakistan Punjab issued a clarification saying the temple collapsed in the rain and was not demolished. “Contrary to what the Dawn has claimed, the adjoining land had been leased to a seminary, but the temple’s own land had never been leased to anyone,” the statement said.
“Minister for Minorities Affairs Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora has also visited the Hindu Temple side & found just a portion of temple sign collapsed due to torrential rainfall which the govt has committed to restore,” the statement added.
Aslam Parvez Sahotra, chairman of the minority rights group, was quoted in the Dawn report saying that some people had dismantled the structure and removed bricks, metal fittings from the dome and other materials from the site.
Sahotra added he and local residents met Punjab’s additional home secretary on 28 August and submitted a written complaint seeking action against those allegedly responsible, as well as officials accused of failing to protect the religious site.
The dispute is also tied to the ownership and use of land surrounding the temple. Sahotra said the ETPB had previously leased adjoining property to a seminary, but the lease was later canceled after years of unpaid rent and the failure to use the property for its stated purpose.
According to Sahotra, parts of the property were subsequently occupied illegally. His organisation has called for the temple to be rebuilt in its original form and asked the Punjab government to strengthen protection for Hindu temples, Sikh gurdwaras and Christian churches, along with their associated properties.
Iftikhar Rana, an ETPB official, rejected the allegation that the temple had been demolished.
Speaking to Dawn, Rana said the structure had collapsed after heavy rain. He acknowledged that the temple was very old, but said it did not have a formal name in the ETPB’s records.
He also confirmed that land next to the temple had been leased to a seminary, while emphasising that the temple’s own property had not been leased.
Earlier in July, a 125-year old Gurdwara, Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sahib in Farooqabad, was demolished. New Delhi called the act “highly deplorable”, while slamming Pakistan’s record of protecting minorities.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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