PDP President Mehbooba Mufti said on Sunday, at Harnipora Shehlal in Handwara, that Pakistan is making a law to safeguard temples in Pakistan and finds it better than secular India. She even did not see the radicalization of Kashmiri youth, who are wielding guns in their hands and killing innocent people. Though India has the largest population of Muslims, which been steadily increasing since the partition of India yet instilling hate-mongering among people is the apt tactics adopted by politicians. Ironically, she forgot that according to 1951 census there were 10% Muslims in India and whose population, now stands at 14.23%, as per the last census, in comparison to the minority Hindus in Pakistan.
Since it is the election season and political parties try to find one or the other ways to woo the voters, the PDP Chief found it in divisive politics. But it is essential that the facts must have been right and unfortunately, the PDP President did not do it. Some of the facts that will be an eye-opener for her are:
- 95% of all Hindu temples in Pakistan have been destroyed or converted since 1990: As per the 2014 survey report of All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement (PHRM) out of the total 428 minority places of worship in the country 408 are converted into toy stores, restaurants, government offices and schools after 1990 and only 20 Hindu temples are remaining there. Thousands of temples were destroyed since Pakistan has come into being in 1947.
- Hindu community is forced to bury the dead instead of cremation: Though the Hindu minority has conveyed their apprehension in this regard yet the Government has not acted so far. Their places of cremation have been usurped by the Islamic Government of Pakistan, hence they are forced to bury the dead in the graveyard of other religious community instead of performing Hindu rituals.
- From more than 14% in 1947 the Hindu population is less than 2% at present: Hindu constituted around 14.6% of the population during 1947 but presently their number has been reduced to 1.6% of the total population of Pakistan.
- Sikh religious places are usurped: Many of the places of worship of Sikhs have also been decimated by Pakistan. The prominent among them was Guru Duwara Gali, a Sikh religious place, that has been converted into a garments shop in Abbottabad. Around 171 Gurudwara in Pakistan are either destroyed, are close to collapsing, have been converted into mosques (or schools, police stations, etc.), or were demolished in order to build homes.
- Government of J&K officially said 208 temples destroyed in Kashmir in 20 years though its number is much higher, Srinagar tops the chart: The Jammu and Kashmir Government admitted, in 2012, that 208 temples have been destroyed since the terrorism was at its peak in 1990s, though the actual number of destroyed temple is around 550, according to Kashmiri Pandit organization Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS). The Government of J&K admitted that its summer capital Srinagar tops the chart in destruction of temples with the number of such destroyed temples is 57. However, none of the mosques was destroyed in this vandalism. Hindu Temples attacked, stoned, bombed or burned by Kashmiri Muslims and terrorists in Kashmir in Independent India yet the Government did not dare the blame the actual culprits. Many of these temples are now converted to mosques.
- 95% of Kashmiri Hindus had to flee from Kashmir during 1990s and most of them are still not welcome in Kashmir valley.
- Not only non-Muslim minorities but even the non-Sunni Muslims face discrimination in Pakistan.
Unfortunately, PDP Chief could not think beyond election and she is using all the tactics to gain votes in Kashmir itself. She did not see the plight of religious minorities in Pakistan and Kashmir. But she sees terrorists as angels and Pakistan has a heaven.
