A picture from the Shri Laxmi Narain temple. PHOTO: EMA ANIS
The temple, which is located in Native Jetty, Karachi, is believed to be 200 years old. It is the only temple in the country which has direct access to the sea. A member of the Hindu community, Kailash Wishram, who was living on the temple’s premises, had gone to court against the demolition of some of the structures in the temple. His lawyer, Zain Jatoi, had told the court that the route from the temple to the sea was blocked by the construction work being carried out by Port Grand and Karachi Port Trust.
Wishram pointed out it was important for the Hindu community to have access to the sea to be able to perform their religious rituals. “This route has been cut off since the staircase which led from the temple to the sea has been blocked,” he said.“The authorities have also demolished some temples within the compound which prevents the Hindu community from performing their rituals.”
The temple’s caretaker told The Express Tribune earlier that the demolition was carried out on the orders of the Minister for Excise and Taxation Mukesh Chawla, who denied these allegations.
On September 14, 2012, the court had ordered its nazir [official] to inspect the site and see whether any construction work was being done at the temple’s site. Wishram told the judges on Tuesday that the court had ordered the relevant authorities earlier to reconstruct the demolished structures and restore the staircase leading to the sea.
The bench, headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar, issued notices to file comments at a later date to be decided by the office.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2013.
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Babloo take a chill pill. There has been no genocide of Hindus in Pakistan after since the early partition days when atrocities were being committed on either side of the border. Hindus enjoy mostly the same freedoms (or lack of them) just like the rest of the Pakistani people. If the person is rich and educated they are in better shape. The poor in Sindh, no matter they be Hindu or not have always been suppressed. There are more Hindu doctors, judges and engineers in Karachi in particular and Sindh in general than their ratio to the population percentage would suggest. When you read about the plight of the Hindus, it is not any different than the plight of the poor from other religions in Pakistan. Just like in India the poor are mistreated no matter what their religious background is.
@Babloo: Err Babloo dear ( I am an Indian Hindu BTW) but are muslims not treated in the same manner here in our country ? So its tit for tat. And no , we dont know who started this but yes its going on since several decades .
The genocide of Hindus is complete in W pakistan. From 22% of population of W Pakistan in 1947 to 1.6% today. If that is not complete genocide, nothing else is.
On some occasions, though rare, ET's reporting leaves much to be desired. This is one of those instances where ET's reporting is horrible. Regarding this temple, which has been my frequent haunt on a weekly basis every time I am in Karachi, because of the sheer beauty of its' venue, ET had reported in the past the dispute between two parties among the Hindu community because of which construction problems persist. Granted, the whole dispute cannot be repeated and reported in detail each time, and this news article is supposedly meant to report only a recent court hearing, but it really leaves a murky and confused picture in most readers' minds who are not familiar with the dispute and its' background. @Stranger: The temple is very well guarded and secured and the Hindu community enjoys it with total freedom and security, something I cannot say with certainty about many major mosques in the City. ET's reporting is also wrong regarding this temple being the only temple with access to sea water, but that's another topic for another day.
@Afzaal Khan: I was not aware of the story and like you yourself said , ET should publish the entier context and not just the bits to inflame the already hurt community. By the way its a fact that the number of hindus has drastically reduced so small wonder that not many are left to defend ( or maintain) their structures. @Laali- A big thanks sweetheart. You seem to be having a big heart and a broad mind too.
Their temples should be restored immediately!! they are a part of our country , they are us .
@Stranger
How abt reading the news b4 spouting nonsense? This is dispute btween 2 hindu parties the whole case been in news 4ever, Mukesh Chawla was minister, no one demolished the mandir. Last time old hindus claimed that new temple administration has demolished it, now its Mukesh chawala tom it gonna be TTP & God knows who else.
Pretty bad reporting by ET as usual, the case was reported earlier by ET in great detail should have atleast rewvied that b4 posting this nonsense.
Please dont annihilate the Hindus from Pak. They used to form a major part of the population once upon a time . Please rebuild and preserve our temples too .We too have a say in this matter.