Pakistan continues to eliminate the final remnants of Hinduism from the country as the authorities now have attacked two prominent Hindu places of worship, a report published in CNN News18 said. The assault on religious minorities claimed the existence of the Hinglaj Mata Mandir (temple) in Sindh province where officials in the Tharparkar District demolished the holy place in the city of Mithi under the pretext of a court decision.
Furthermore, the Sharda Peeth Mandir, which is another Hindu shrine along the Line of Control (LOC) has been destroyed. The anti-Hindu action transpired notwithstanding a permanent Supreme Court judgment meant to safeguard the temple. Notably, the temple is recognised as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) site, but even that has not helped to protect the place from Pakistani crackdown. There are accounts that a coffee shop is being established next to the religious site with an opening planned for November of this year.
Hindu Minority under attack in Pakistan. Hindu Temple at Tharparkar Mithi, Sindh
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) November 23, 2023
Hinglaj Mata Mandir is being demolished by Pakistan’s anti encroachment Court in Mirpurkhas of Sindh. Will they ever demolish a mosque in Pakistan similarly? The world remains silent on such abuse. pic.twitter.com/Ei3w254gNw
Top official sources admitted that there are regular occurrences of crimes against Hindus in Pakistan. The marginalised religious minority has consistently had to endure issues like murders, targeted violence and land invasions. Local participation in these shocking activities which is frequently accompanied by official government approval has been a consistent trend.
The action against Sharda Peeth casts doubt on the region’s ability to preserve its rich cultural and religious legacy as well as runs counter to global preservation initiatives. These incidents serve as a reminder of the ongoing discrimination that Hindus suffer in the Muslim-majority nation.
Hinglaj Mata Mandir
Hinglaj Mata also known as Hinglaj Devi, Hingula Devi and Nani Mandir is a Hindu temple in Hinglaj, a town on the Makran coast in the Lasbela district of Balochistan and is in the middle of the Hingol National Park. It is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in the Shaktism denomination of Hinduism. It is one of the three Shakti Peethas in Pakistan, the other two being Shivaharkaray and Sharada Peeth.
It is a form of Goddess Durga or Devi in a mountain cavern on the banks of the Hingol River. Over the last three decades, the place has gained increasing popularity and become a unifying point of reference for Pakistan’s many Hindu communities. Hinglaj Yatra is the largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan. More than 250,000 people take part in the Hinglaj Yathra during the spring.
Sharda Peeth Mandir
Sharda Peeth is a ruined Hindu temple and ancient centre of learning located in the Neelum Valley of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). It was one of the most renowned temple institutions in the Indian subcontinent from the sixth to the twelfth centuries CE. Its library is especially well-known and scholarly accounts describe researchers traveling great distances to access its texts. It played a key role in the development and popularisation of the Sharada script in North India, which led the script to be named after it and Kashmir to acquire the moniker “Sharada Desh” meaning “country of Sharada.”
Hindus believe it to be one of the Maha Shakti Peethas which signify the spiritual place of the fallen right hand of the goddess Sati. Sharda Peeth together with the Martand Sun Temple and the Amarnath Temple is one of the three most sacred places for Kashmiri Pandits to make pilgrimage to.
Sharda Peeth is located approximately 150 kilometres from Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK and 130 kilometres from Srinagar, the capital of Indian Kashmir. It is 10 kilometres away from the Line of Control, which divides the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated 1,981 metres (6,499 ft) above sea level along the Neelum River in the village of Sharda in the valley of Mount Harmukh and Kashmiri Pandits believe it to be the abode of Lord Shiva.
