The Rama Peer Temple, which some say was 80 years old, was one of many Hindu temples in Karachi that have in recent years been the subject of property disputes involving commercial builders.
The compound where it was located, and the land around it, is owned by the military.
In 2008, the military estates officer (MEO) of the area issued eviction notices to the temple and more than a dozen Hindu families residing in houses built around it, to clear the way for its purchase by a major construction firm based in Karachi.
“The residents refused, saying they had been living here for more than 50 years and had a right to be offered ownership rights for a price instead of being thrown out,” says Dr Ramesh Vankwani, the head of the community organisation, the Pakistan Hindu Council.
A plea filed by one of the residents was dismissed by a court in November, paving the way for the construction firm to forcibly evict the residents last Saturday.
The community staged angry protests, saying the demolition squad had desecrated their articles of faith and deprived several poor people of a roof over their head. – BBC, 5 Dec 2012
Marwa’s Story: The plight of Hindus in Pakistan Bonded Labour: Veerji Kolhi Interview
Filed under: india, pakistan | Tagged: bonded labour, hindu, hinduism, hindus, india, islam, islamic iconoclasm, islamic rulers, islamic terrorism, minorities in pakistan, pakistan, psychological warfare, rama peer temple, religious bigotry, sindh, sindh province |
The plight of Hindus in Pakistan must be viewed in the context of the plight of minorities in Muslim countries generally, and in the more general context of minorities in most countries around the world. Pakistan was a theocracy from the beginning and what safety could Hindus expect there? If the general Hindu population did not know how the Muslims treated their minorities, the leaders should have educated them. But leaders like Gandhi and Nehru perhaps knew even less and were in no position to offer constructive advice or leadership. Muslims have clear ideas as to how to treat the minorities–they will have to be converted or damned. In pakistan both have happened, as the dwindling number of Hindus there since 1947 testify. The only way to save Hindus there is to bring them to India.
The dominant Muslim denomination does not tolerate its own other divisions–how then will they permit or protect non-Muslims?
All over the world, there are conflicts involving ethnic minorities in countries having composite populations, as the countries of the former USSR demonstrate. No system of international guarantee exists or works as there is no agency to enforce it. On the contrary, the refugee or Muslim minorities in the developed European nations enjoy not only the fruits of development and good governance there, but also keep their religious rights intact. But these nations which are nominally secular face tensions, as when Muslims resort to Namaz in public places, halting traffic, as in France or demand legal treatment under sharia as in Germany. The recent statement of the British PM that Britain should be considered a Christian country should be seen in this context.
The problems faced by Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh are specific and the only solution is to bring back the Hindus to India, so long as those countries remain Muslim. Our leaders should be realistic and not behave like the ostrich. Reading the history of those times, one finds that Dr. Ambedkar alone had a clear head and offered the correct advice: exchange of population in his book Pakistan or The Partition of India. In fact he offered it as the solution to the Muslim problem in India! The Muslims of India felt safer about their status in India with the creation of Pakistan! It is the Hindus who have suffered in both countries–whether as majority or minority! What an ironical twist to the tale!
LikeLike