Protecting temples

The Supreme Court has barred any interference into the rebuilding of the Samadhi or shrine of a Hindu saint in Karak. A mob had attacked and vandalized the shrine on Dec 30, 2020. The Supreme Court has ordered the chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to ensure that the construction work of the shrine and temple gets completed without further delay. After the demolition of the shrine, the Supreme Court has taken suo-motu action and instructed the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) to immediately start the reconstruction. It is noteworthy that some local elders of a religious party had demanded the removal of the shrine and had earlier threatened to demolish it. Unfortunately, despite a clear and present danger to the shrine, the authorities had failed to protect the shrine.

Now the shrine is being reconstructed but some Hindu leaders have expressed reservations about the process and have alleged that the authorities have awarded the building task to a contractor who lacks the required expertise to build a temple. The memory of the Karak shrine’s destruction was still fresh when on March 29 this year a 100-year-old Hindu temple in Rawalpindi came under attack by a group of unidentified people. This temple was undergoing some renovation work which some local people did not like. The ETPB was prompt in registering an FIR as it was responsible for the renovation work being carried out at the temple for over a month.

Be it in Karak or Rawalpindi, the protection of places of worship is the responsibility of local authorities. Such attacks are a sign of increasing intolerance in society which makes us look bad in the eyes of the international community. Whenever such incidents take place, it is not good enough to just rectify the damage; the culprits responsible for such attacks must be punished so that it works as a deterrence in future. When no punishments are given, it sets a wrong precedence for more such attacks. The government must take this issue seriously and make sure that all places of worship are properly protected from such attacks and vandalism.