The Covid-19 pandemic has created havoc across the world, leading to global healthcare emergencies and bringing almost all world economies down on their knees. Where the world is fighting the deadly virus originated from China, minorities in Pakistan have been fighting a dual crisis. The Hindus and Sikhs living in Pakistan are already fighting for an identity crisis, the Pandemic has added to their vows. Fanatic Islamic ideologists have taken advantage of the grim situation to suppress the minorities to their limits.

Harassment of minorities in Pakistan is not new, attacking and vandalising temples, converting Gurudwaras is a trend in the 74-year-old country. Abduction and forceful conversion, aquising Hindus under the audacious law of blasphemy are just a few.

Post partition of British India in 1947, thousands of Hindu temples and Sikh Gurdwaras have been damaged, broken or either converted into government buildings. The year 2020 has seen the same pattern follow.

January 3: Mob Attack on Gurdwara Nankana Sahib

On the 3rd of January, a mob gathered outside the holy shrine of Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan. They pelted stones, meanwhile, several Sikh devotees were stranded inside the shrine as the mob threatened to bring the shrine to the ground.




The mob led by Mohammad Hassan – who was one of the main players in the controversy of abducting and converting a Sikh girl named Jagjit Kaur – was trying to destroy the whole complex. Hassan’s videos surfaced on the Internet in which he was threatening the people to turn the Gurdwara Nankana Sahib into a mosque.

January 26: Mata Rani Bhatiyani Temple Vandalised, Scriptures Desecrated




Miscreants vandalised a Hindu temple in Pakistan's Sindh. The attackers entered the Mata Rani Bhatiyani temple in Chachro, Tharparkar, and desecrated holy scriptures and idol. The mob also blackened the face of the goddess' idol. The recent incident led to widespread criticism of the Pakistan government on social media. No arrests have been made in connection with the attack.

July 2020: 1700-years-old Buddha Statue Smashed on Orders of Maulvi

A rare life-sized statue of Buddha that was smashed into pieces with a sledgehammer by construction workers in Pakistan's northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province belonged to the Gandhara civilisation and was nearly 1,700 years old, a senior official has said.

Four persons were arrested on Saturday, 18th July for vandalising the statue that was discovered during excavation at an agriculture farm in tehsil Takht Bhai of Mardan district. The suspects had followed the orders of a local Maulvi (prayer leader).




The arrests were made after a video went viral on social media showing a man smashing the statue, parts of which were still embedded underground, into pieces with a sledgehammer. Other construction workers can be seen looking on as the statue is being destroyed while a couple of people were making videos.

It is significant to note that Takht Bhai was once a part of the Budhist Gandhara kingdom that stretched across modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan over 1,000 years ago. It is a tourist destination for people from Sri Lanka, Korea and Japan since it was a part of the Gandhara Civilisation - one of the earliest urban settlements documented in the history of the subcontinent. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's old name is Ghandhara and the region is a highly revered place for the followers of Buddhism.

July 2020: Pakistan Halts Construction Work on Krishna temple

The construction work at the site of the Shri Krishna Mandir -- first Hindu temple to be built in Pakistan's capital was stopped last week after the decision met with strong opposition by the Islamists and radical clerics. Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), a ruling ally of the Imran Khan government, also raised objection over the construction of the temple, asking its alliance partner to scrap the project as it is "against the spirit of Islam".



A video has also surfaced on social media in which a Pakistani cleric can be seen threatening to behead those supporting the construction of the Hindu temple in Islamabad.

16th August: Pre-partition Hanuman Mandir razed to the ground

Taking advantage of the COVID-19 lockdown in Pakistan, a pre-partition Hanuman Mandir in Pakistan’s Lyari district was demolished by a builder. The Karachi Police sealed the construction site after the temple was razed, reports a Pakistan daily, The Express Tribune.

A resident Hindu named Heera Lal, while speaking to the media, expressed grief as well as his anger as he informed that the Hindus in the area had been given assurance by the builder that the temple will not be harmed. The resident, who was one amongst the 18 Hindu families living near the temple, added that the demolition had taken place late on Sunday (16 August) evening.

 

Even local Muslims were surprised by the incident, a local anmed Mohammad Irshad Baloch said: “It is an injustice as a place of worship has been destroyed. It was an old temple. We have been seeing it since we were children.” A resident, Harish added that the builder had taken advantage of the lockdown said: “No one was allowed to visit the temple during the lockdown. The builder exploited the situation and demolished our place of worship while we could not visit it."

 

 

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Mohan Lal, a Hindu activist, accused the builder of threatening members of the minority community who had assembled at the site and highlighted the temple’s demolition. According to the report, the builder could not be reached for his comment on the matter.

These are just some examples of how Pakistan and its fundamental Islamic ideology has raised its ugly head from time-to-time for the sake of religious radicalisation.