Rightful owners: Govt to reconstruct shrine in Karak

Action taken following orders of Supreme Court of Pakistan after evicting occupant

PESHAWAR:

The shrine of Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj situated in Teri, Karak has finally been vacated by its occupants following negotiations. The shrine will be reconstructed as per the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP).

The administration of Banda Daud Shah and Auqaf department demolished the house over the property where the shrine of Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj, a Hindu mystic, was situated.

Where the Maharaj lies

The property was occupied by Iftikharuddin, a local, who said his elders had purchased the place before Partition.

A slab inside the shrine, which was believed to have been constructed by Maharaj, is inscribed with text about the history of the Hindu guru. It says Maharaj came to the area and settled in Teri. The text states the guru died in 1919 and was buried inside the house, the reason it gained the status of a shrine. His picture is displayed beside the slab.

Little remains of the original shrine as the property was vandalised over time. One of the locals told The Express Tribune the shrine was surrounded by orchards and a small market, signs of which disappeared over the years.

The Hindus migrated from Teri in 1947. However, they would make the pilgrimage to the shrine of their guru in large numbers until it was too risky, discouraging them to visit the area.

Battling ownership

The ownership of the shrine remained a controversial issue for years. It resurfaced on August 15, 1997, when a delegation of Hindus, who came to Teri to pay homage to their late guru, was attacked by the locals. The decades-old shrine was also vandalised.



Later on, the then chief minister Akram Khan Durrani formed a committee, comprising religious figures to devise a solution. They visited the site, held a jirga, and saw the documents Iftikharuddin presented, which stipulated the house was purchased before Partition.

However, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, patron of the Pakistan Hindu Council, took the issue to the SCP and filed a case against what he said was illegal occupation of
the shrine.

The SCP issued orders on April 17, 2015 to the K-P government to reconstruct the shrine of the saint. The K-P government also allocated funds in the budget for it.

Sticky occupants

However, work could not begin immediately as the occupant was not ready to vacate the property. The local administration negotiated with Iftikharuddin, after which the authorities demolished the house which was in the premises of the shrine. This came with promises that reconstruction of the shrine would soon start.

Haroon Sarbdiyal, the All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement chairman, told The Express Tribune Hindus were extremely happy over the decision of the court and the government to reconstruct the temple. “Across the country, Hindu properties have been usurped either by locals or government institutions,” said Sarbdiyal. He added the 22-member Evacuee Trust Property Board, recently formed by the federal government, does not have a single Hindu member despite the fact that almost all communal properties belong to Hindus or Sikhs.

Lauding the efforts of the government, Sarbdayal said, “Construction of this shrine will be greatly appreciated by the world.” He added Hindus await the reconstruction so they can get back to at least one of their  lost properties.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th,  2015.