Legal battle over blocked access to century-old Hindu temple in Tando Adam

SHC issues notices to provincial chief secretary, culture secretary and advocate general.

KARACHI: When Swami Teenu Ram Maharaj laid down the foundation of ashrams - Hindu spiritual centres - his objective was not only to teach religion but humanity as well.

About a century later, teachers of a ‘modern’ school established on the premises of the Maharaj’s final resting place in Tando Adam have been accused of doing the opposite.

Reejho Mal, a member of the Hindu community, has taken the provincial chief secretary and culture secretary to court over restrictions on pilgrims from entering a century-old temple built next to the Maharaj’s samadhi, his final resting place.

At a hearing of the case on Thursday at the Sindh High Court, he told the judges that members of his community were not being allowed to enter the historic temple, Amrapur Asthan of Prem Prakash Panth. He also claimed that the structure was not being preserved.

The petitioner’s lawyer, Shahab Sarki, said that the samadhi and the temple are spread over seven acres. They are important religious places visited by devotees from across the country and abroad.

“Because of the law and order situation during the late 1950s, most Hindu families fled the area,” said Sarki. “The provincial government allotted a portion of the temple’s land to the education department, which has established Dr Ziauddin Primary School there.”



The petitioner alleged that the attitude of the school’s administration, particularly the headmaster, was hostile towards minority members, who were restrained from entering the place of worship and performing rituals. He claimed that in October last year, the school’s administration had manhandled visiting Hindu pilgrims and did not let them enter the holy place. Since then a hostile group is damaging the historical structure, claimed Mal.

Sarki said that applications were sent to the authorities, asking them to ensure that Hindu community members get access to the temple and declare it as a protected heritage building. But no action has been taken as yet.

“Article 36 of the Constitution ensures right of free access to one’s worship place without any hindrance from the other,” argued Sarki. “Since this place bears historical and archaeological importance, it must be declared as protected heritage under Section 6 of the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act 1994.”

The counsel pleaded the court to declare that it was illegal for the school’s administration to prevent the petitioner and members of his community from practising their religion by blocking their access to the temple. After preliminary hearing, the bench, headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar, issued notices to the chief secretary, culture secretary and advocate general for January 24. The judges directed the office to “instantly” notify the respondents.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2013.