Asamai temples’ destruction shows sheer lack of respect

Land mafia started demolition which has now been halted with administration’s help

PESHAWAR: Respecting history, architecture and more importantly the religion of others, clearly holds little value for land mafia which has started demolishing Asamai Gate temples. These structures are important for the city’s religious minorities such as Sikhs and Hindus and also attract foreign tourists.

When Kashmiris residing in the area sold their property to Shinwaris and subsequent demolition of historic sites commenced, lawyers and activists started highlighting the issue.

“These mandirs are of historical importance and we will not allow them to be erased,” K-P Archaeology and Museums Director Dr Abdul Samad told The Express Tribune on Tuesday. “With the help of the district administration, we have stopped it [the destruction] and a guard has also been deployed there.”  He added the district administration has also been quick to take action against the culprits.

Stripping lustre

Although the demolition has been halted at present, the sites are still in a crumbling state due to the damage. The structures are in close proximity with Masjid Mahabbat Khan, showing religious harmony was the order of the day in the past.

Three ancient Hindu temples and a small gurdwara complex are located near the Asamai Gate. According to tradition, the temples were named after the wife of Shiv Mahraj.



“These temples have been cast aside and their past grandeur has been forgotten for all intents and purposes,” Humayun Akhund, a local heritage enthusiast told The Express Tribune on Tuesday. “Among other places of Brahmanical conception in the city, the Asamai mandir and Laldwara hold an important place for Hindus.”

He added there are hundreds of Laldwara (small temples) in the city that have been completely erased from history. “Someone by the name of Raj Kapoor was their custodian and the land on which these temples were built in Gulozai village on Dalazak Road was used for agricultural purposes,” Akhund said.

After partition, when Hindus and Sikhs left the city, people inhabited the area. As a result, it was called Kashmir Colony.

Time has been cruel to these structures and only the shikara or minarets of the temples remain intact. Even those are being used by people as living spaces, resulting in the destruction of the shape and paintings inside.

New plans of turning the ground into a shopping plaza now threaten their existence.

According to Sikhs and Hindus, the land has allegedly been sold to a “tribesman from Khyber Agency in connivance with a nazim and an official of the Evacuee Trust Property Board”. The latter wants to build a shopping plaza on the site, but the Auqaf department has denied any such move. Advocate Moazam Butt also filed a writ petition in the high court, requesting declaration of all such plans as illegal and protection of the historical site.

Babaji Gurpal Singh, a Sikh elder, said these areas belonged to Hindus and Sikhs. “Even though they are now occupied by Kashmiri people, they cannot destroy them,” he said. Gurpal Singh confirmed three small Hindu temples and a Sikh gurdwara still stood at the site, albeit in a worn-out condition.

He added Peshawar’s centuries-old monuments must be protected from further destruction at the hands of greedy market forces who want nothing more than short-term gains. He added Asamai temples of Peshawar are documented in ancient records. The exact date of construction is not confirmed as small temples and gurdwaras were constructed at almost every corner of the city in those days. In 1927, some repair and reconstruction was also carried out on the temples and a plaque was placed on the gateway to Asamai compound. It also had names of different mahants such as senior religious gurus who contributed towards the construction of the building.

“The city’s Hindu and Sikh-era remains should be protected at all costs as it is the cultural heritage of people. It represents a tolerant and multicultural society,” Akhund added.

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