Anti-minority and anti-Hindu vernacular has become acceptable among the Pakistani political elite and now it has trickled down to the masses.
The recent vandalisation of a temple in Bhong town in Rahim Yar Khan is yet another blatant attack on minorities and their place of worship in Pakistan.
The videos of attack and vandalism have gone viral and picked up by both local and international media, reported The Nation.
The incident took place after a nine-year-old Hindu boy who allegedly urinated in a local seminary, was granted bail by a local court on Wednesday.
Reacting against the vandalisation (August 5) of a Ganesh Temple at Bhong, Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab in Pakistan, the Jatiyo Hindu Mohajote (JHM), a local Hindu religious and social organisation in Bangladesh, issued a letter (August 7) addressed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, expressing concern over the incident.
In the letter, JHM demanded to stop the vandalisation and destruction of temples and to provide safety and security of lives and properties of Hindus in Pakistan and ensure their social, economic and human rights.
Nepal too condemned the recent attack on a Hindu temple in Pakistan's Punjab province and has appealed to the neighbouring country to respect the rights of the minority Hindu communities.
On Friday, the Human Rights Organisation of Nepal issued a letter to the Pakistan Ambassador in Kathmandu Syed Haider Shah saying, "We are deeply concerned by the incident that a mob on August 5, 2021, vandalised a Hindu temple in Bhong town of Rahim Yar Khan district in Pakistan as a reaction to the alleged desecration of a Muslim seminary."
The incident is not an isolated one because minorities, their homes and their places of worship have been consistently under attack by the extremist elements within the society.
Every time an incident like this happens, eyewash condemnations pour in from the people in 'power' not to be backed by any action whatsoever or any long-term comprehensive plan that tries to address the root cause of such problems, reported The Nation.
Mere arrest and prosecution of the people involved in these horrendous acts will not suffice, said Shakoh Zulqarnain, writing in The Nation.
As per Zulqarnain, various festivals, having Hindu origin names, were perceived to be part of 'Hindu culture' and have been sidelined over the years.
The phenomena gained momentum particularly in the aftermath of the 1965 and 1971 wars with India. The words 'Hindu' and 'India' became interchangeable.
Anti-Hindu rhetoric was considered acceptable in public discourse including the school textbooks where Hindus were labelled as 'cunning', 'scheming', 'deceptive' and 'mischievous'.
Zulqarnain advised that a holistic approach is the need of the hour if Pakistan aims to curb this problem of extremism and specifically this wave of extremism against minorities.
Textbooks need to be reviewed thoroughly and all disparaging and derogatory references to minorities need to be expunged, he wrote.
Instead, content should be included that focuses on values of harmony, humanitarianism and all-inclusiveness. Religious seminaries need to be registered and their syllabus must be thoroughly reviewed bringing it in line with the demands of a globalised world and a nation-state containing people of all backgrounds, religions and sects, wrote Zulqarnain.
( With inputs from ANI )
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