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RAWALPINDI, July 19: Hundreds of people from the Hindu community here on Monday took to the streets against the lessee of an ancient temple for pulling down half of its structure for commercial purposes.
The Muslim residents of the locality also joined the protesters to express solidarity with them and blocked the road for an hour. However, on the assurance of the police that the demolition work would be stopped, the protesters dispersed peacefully.
Located on Tipu Road opposite Rawalpindi Medical College, shamshan ghat (cremation place) was built in 1923 in memory of Tunsukh Rai by his sons and wife.
Talking to Dawn, Channa Lal, the Hindu priest for the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, claimed that it was the Hindu temple adjacent to shamshan ghat where religious rites were offered before cremating the body.
Hindu Sabha President Jag Mohan said they noticed some labourers demolishing the building and also digging its foundations on Monday morning. He said he along with some other people reached there and asked the labourers to stop work and produce orders.
He said the staff of Auqaf department also said the workers were not allowed to demolish the building.
Mr Mohan said before partition shamshan ghat spread over 277 kanals but when majority of Hindus migrated from the city the families left behind handed over the extra land to the government for educational purposes during Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos tenure.
He said at present the total area of the shamshan ghat including the temple building was over two kanals. The Auqaf department rented out the building to a welfare society despite protest by the Hindu community, he added.
He said in 2000 the welfare society failed to pay rent to the department after which the latter got the building vacated.
He said the Auqaf department later leased the building to one Raja Abdul Wahid who further leased it to a private media group in 2005. On the protest of the Hindu community, the department constituted a committee which declared that the building was not a temple.
It is unfair that we have been offering religious rituals in the building for the last many years but the Auqaf department gave it to a private company for commercial purposes.
He said over 100 Hindu families were living in the city and many foreigners including some diplomats also used the shamshan ghat for their religious rituals. When contacted, Ibadur Rehman Lodhi, a lawyer, said the Auqaf department cannot lease out worship places where religious rituals are performed. However, he said it can lease the property adjacent to worship places.
He also said the department can also rent out or lease those places which were abandoned for many years.
This reporter tried but could not contact Administrator Auqaf department Rawalpindi Noor Aslam Khan. However, Commissioner Zahid Saeed said the auqaf department was of the view that the building was not a temple so it leased it out. He said the Hindu members of the department had also verified that the building was not meant for a temple. The commissioner said he had directed the district coordination officer (DCO) to verify whether the building was a temple or not.
DAWN.COM | Islamabad | Hindus protest demolition of ?temple?
The Muslim residents of the locality also joined the protesters to express solidarity with them and blocked the road for an hour. However, on the assurance of the police that the demolition work would be stopped, the protesters dispersed peacefully.
Located on Tipu Road opposite Rawalpindi Medical College, shamshan ghat (cremation place) was built in 1923 in memory of Tunsukh Rai by his sons and wife.
Talking to Dawn, Channa Lal, the Hindu priest for the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, claimed that it was the Hindu temple adjacent to shamshan ghat where religious rites were offered before cremating the body.
Hindu Sabha President Jag Mohan said they noticed some labourers demolishing the building and also digging its foundations on Monday morning. He said he along with some other people reached there and asked the labourers to stop work and produce orders.
He said the staff of Auqaf department also said the workers were not allowed to demolish the building.
Mr Mohan said before partition shamshan ghat spread over 277 kanals but when majority of Hindus migrated from the city the families left behind handed over the extra land to the government for educational purposes during Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos tenure.
He said at present the total area of the shamshan ghat including the temple building was over two kanals. The Auqaf department rented out the building to a welfare society despite protest by the Hindu community, he added.
He said in 2000 the welfare society failed to pay rent to the department after which the latter got the building vacated.
He said the Auqaf department later leased the building to one Raja Abdul Wahid who further leased it to a private media group in 2005. On the protest of the Hindu community, the department constituted a committee which declared that the building was not a temple.
It is unfair that we have been offering religious rituals in the building for the last many years but the Auqaf department gave it to a private company for commercial purposes.
He said over 100 Hindu families were living in the city and many foreigners including some diplomats also used the shamshan ghat for their religious rituals. When contacted, Ibadur Rehman Lodhi, a lawyer, said the Auqaf department cannot lease out worship places where religious rituals are performed. However, he said it can lease the property adjacent to worship places.
He also said the department can also rent out or lease those places which were abandoned for many years.
This reporter tried but could not contact Administrator Auqaf department Rawalpindi Noor Aslam Khan. However, Commissioner Zahid Saeed said the auqaf department was of the view that the building was not a temple so it leased it out. He said the Hindu members of the department had also verified that the building was not meant for a temple. The commissioner said he had directed the district coordination officer (DCO) to verify whether the building was a temple or not.
DAWN.COM | Islamabad | Hindus protest demolition of ?temple?
