Hindus celebrate Diwali in K-P

Local community leaders say govt must do more to reach out to minorities from lower strata of society

PESHAWAR: As Hindus across the world celebrate Diwali, Hindus in Peshawar also marked the occasion with full aplomb and traditional revelry despite lacking resources.

“Around 99 per cent of the population is poor, they cannot celebrate this festive occasion with full pomp and show,” complained Haroon Sarab Diyal, chairman of the Pakistan Hindu rights movement as Diwali began on Thursday.  However, he added that there were a few non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and even the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government helps organise celebrations. Diyal though, noted that while Hindus dot much of K-P, the efforts of the K-P government and the NGOs remain focused on the provincial capital.

Celebrating in peace

The Hindus gathered in their temples in Peshawar on Tuesday evening and decorated it with lights and colours and special prayers.

In a city which has seen every hue and strata of society face attacks, the Hindus acknowledged that the conditions were much better now and had helped restore the community’s confidence to celebrate the event more freely.  The improved security also means that the Diwali celebrations will continue for the next two weeks, unlike the religious festivities in other parts of the world. It will feature events organised by NGOs and different government organisations.

But the Hindus of Peshawar have not forgotten the bitter past and the hostilities the minorities had to face, especially the attack on the All Saint’s Church.

“As Hindus from around the city gather in the temples, there should be full-fledged security,” Diyal demanded.



Little support outside Peshawar

The K-P government had allocated Rs7 million for celebrating festivals and important religious events of the minorities in the province. The government also plans to invite key religious members from different minorities to participate in these events with the aim of promoting interfaith harmony.

However, Hindu elders complain that such celebrations are only focused in Peshawar while Hindus living in other parts of the province do not receive similar support.

Hindus believe that while the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has yet to release census figures for the population of minorities in the province, their calculations suggest that there are around 47,000 Hindus spread throughout the province.

Sikh’s, on the other hand, make up around seven to nine thousand people in the province.

“These celebrations are only for the elite, to which the common man has no access,” Diyal complained. “Support should be provided at the local and community levels so that the common man has the opportunity to celebrate [religious] events like in other parts of the world.”

He further said that while Hindus in K-P can celebrate in relative safety and with ease, Hindus in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) also deserve special attention who have had to live in extreme difficulty.

Apart from Hindus, Diwali is also observed by the Sikh and Jains around the world.

However, in Peshawar, the local Sikh community has distanced itself from the celebration, claiming that they have never celebrated it.

“The Sikh community in the city does not celebrate Diwali, but if the Hindus invited us to the celebrations, we will participate,” said Gurpal Singh, a Sikh community elder.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2017.