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Land of Peace



Towards the end of June, Hindu community of Pakistan announced the construction of first Hindu temple in the capital city of Pakistan.

Soon different opinions started surfacing on social media and TV for or against the construction. 
The internet users of Pakistan's arch enemy India took it upon themselves to bash Pakistanis regarding the earlier lack of a Hindu temple in the capital city whereas the Muslim religious clerics and their followers bashed the current government for its lenient attitudes towards minorities.
Some outrightly criticised the construction of a temple whereas others accepted the construction only if the Hindu community agreed to bear all expenses. In a country where only a fraction of people bother to pay taxes, there was a large hue and cry about using the tax payers money on building a temple.

A faction of religious political parties and some prominent Ulema stated their "personal opinion" on TV and/ or social media against the construction of this temple.

Further developments led to halting the construction. Minorities in Pakistan were left furious at this decision and the enemies of the state found it as an ideal opportunity to malign the state.




Pakistan is a Muslim majority country which was created in the name of Islam. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of the country, in his first address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan clearly stated: 

"You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State."

On 08 July, a court in Islamabad dismissed all petitions against the construction of the temple and directed the Hindu community to complete all necessary paperwork so that the next phase of construction can be started.

The question arises regarding the importance of the personal opinions of prominent religious and political figures in the life of the nation and the social fabric, as  any irresponsible statement from them might have a profound impact on the future of the ethnic and religious harmony in Pakistan.

At the end I would like to quote Quaid e Azam's words regarding his vision for the future of Pakistan.

"...you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State."

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