Hindus demand action against manufacturer of shoe bearing ‘Om’ inscription

The seller in Sanghar district arrested, booked under blasphemy law

HYDERABAD: The Hindu community is unsatisfied with the mere arrest of the shopkeeper who was selling sandals bearing an inscription of 'Om' as they want action against the manufacturer of the controversial footwear.

Om is a sacred mantra and icon in Hinduism. In the case of selling footwear considered profane by the Hindu community, the Sanghar district police have arrested a man and booked him under the blasphemy law. However, the action has failed to allay the worries of the offended community, which had demanded action against the manufacturer instead of an individual seller.

Late Sunday night, the City police station in Tando Adam town of Sanghar registered an FIR against the shopkeeper, Jahanzeb Khaskheli, for selling footwear inscribed with the sacred mantra written in Devanagari script. The case was registered on ASI Arshad Gadani's complaint under section 295-A, which contains a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment.



"Time and again, our community is outraged by the sale of such shoes in southern Sindh," said Raj Kumar, a Hindu priest at Jhoolay Lal temple in Tando Adam town, referring to two similar incidents that took place in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas. "We want to pursue a case against the Lahore-based manufacturing company," he told The Express Tribune. "Jahanzeb is just one seller [of these shoes]. There was another shop in Tando Adam that was selling Om-inscribed shoes last month but it stopped the sale on our request."



The SHO of City police station, Agha Shamshad, said that they could not find the receipts of any Lahore-based company from Khaskheli's shop. "During interrogation, Khaskheli didn't tell [us] about any specific company in Lahore from where he bought the shoes [for sale in Sanghar]." The suspect is currently under physical remand.

According to Kumar, the Hindu community has managed to get receipts of the Lahore-based company from Khaskheli's shop and another trader who stopped the sale on their request. "We are preparing a petition for the Sindh High Court to get justice and to make sure that no company does this blasphemy ever again."

Raising their voice

On the complaints of the local people, the Pakistan Hindu Council raised the issue nationally, entailing an outcry of the Hindu community from all parts of the country. According to MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani's statement, the police have traced the sale from 'Naeem Footwear' located in Lahore's Moti Bazaar, contradicting the SHO's version who denied knowledge of any company.

"For the last three years on the occasion of Eid, some shopkeepers in Tando Adam have been offering shoes on which Om is displayed," regretted Dr Vankwani.

Not the first time

A similar issue surfaced in Mirpurkhas district in April, 2014. At least three shops in a main market of Mirpurkhas were selling shoes manufactured by Lahore's Rafique Shoe Factory, with buckles inscribed with Om. A Hindu activist, Veerji Kolhi, filed a petition against the factory in SHC. However, a year later, the court disposed of the petition without pronouncing any punishment on the company after its owner, Khwaja Saad Khalid, submitted a written apology. Khalid maintained that he could not read Sanskrit language in which the word Om is written, adding that he did not intend to hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community. Kolhi, who had prayed the court to convict Khalid under blasphemy law and seal his factory, withdrew the case after the apology.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2016.