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%26nbsp%3BOn%20December%2030%2C%20before%20the%20year%20ended%20there%20came%20the%20sad%20tidings%20that%20a%20Hindu%20temple%20in%20Karak%20district%20in%20Pakistan%27s%20northwest%20province%20of%20Khyber%20Pakhtunkhwa%26nbsp%3Bwas%20vandalised%20by%20a%20mob%20comprising%20Islamic%20fanatics.%26nbsp%3BPakistani%20police%20authorities%20claim%20that%20around%2030%20members%20of%20a%20radical%20Islamic%20party%20were%20arrested%2C%20which%20is%20a%20really%20small%20number%20considering%20that%20the%20mob%20reportedly%20numbered%20over%201500%20persons.

%26nbsp%3BHindu%20organisations%20in%20Pakistan%20condemned%20the%20attack%20on%20the%20temple%2C%20while%20the%20Pakistan%20Supreme%20Court%20has%20ordered%20local%20authorities%20to%20appear%20before%20it%20on%20January%205.%26nbsp%3BIndia%20has%20lodged%20a%20protest%20with%20Pakistan%20over%20this%20incident.%20As%20a%20result%20of%20international%20pressure%2C%20the%20Chief%20Minister%20of%20Khyber%20Pakhtunkhwa%20has%20said%20that%20his%20government%20would%20rebuild%20the%20temple.

Throughout%20my%20three%20and%20a%20half%20year%20stay%20in%20Pakistan%20when%20I%20was%20posted%20as%20Consul%20in%20Karachi%20in%20the%20early%201980%27s%2C%20I%20observed%20that%20anti-Hindu%20sentiments%20were%20prevalent%20very%20widely%20among%20the%20majority%20of%20Muslims%20there.%20This%20situation%20seems%20to%20have%20only%20worsened%20with%20the%20passage%20of%20time.%20Hindus%20are%26nbsp%3Bregarded%20as%20kaffirs%2C%20and%20Islamic%20fundamentalist%20groups%20operating%20in%20the%20country%20freely%20distribute%20anti-Hindu%20propaganda%20material%20to%20the%20masses.%26nbsp%3B

%3Cstrong%3EAlso%20read%3A%3C/strong%3E%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/pakistan-cancels-nearly-200000-fake-citizen-id-cards-of-afghan-refugees%22%3E%3Cstrong%3E%20Pakistan%20cancels%20nearly%20200%2C000%20fake%20citizen%20ID%20cards%20of%20Afghan%20refugees%3C/strong%3E%3C/a%3E

The%20plight%20of%20Hindus%20has%20only%20worsened%20due%20to%20the%20rise%20of%20radicalised%20Islam%20in%20Pakistan.%26nbsp%3BHindus%20in%20that%20country%20often%20allege%20that%20their%20community%20members%20are%20subjected%20to%20pressure%20and%20intimidation%20by%20radical%20Muslim%20groups%20in%20order%20to%20force%20them%20to%20leave%20Pakistan.%20Hindu%20girls%20are%20often%20reportedly%20kidnapped%20and%20forcibly%20converted%20to%20Islam%20before%20being%20coerced%20into%20marrying%20Muslims.%20Attacks%20on%20temples%2C%20especially%20in%20the%20interior%20areas%20of%20Sindh%2C%20take%20place%20from%20time%20to%20time.%26nbsp%3B

During%20my%20posting%20in%20Karachi%20%2C%20I%20visited%20some%20Hindu%20temples%20which%20in%20later%20years%20were%20destroyed%20by%20Islamic%20radicals.%20For%20example%2C%20in%20December%201982%2C%20while%20accompanying%20the%20Indian%20cricket%20team%20for%20their%20one-day%20international%20match%20in%20Multan%2C%26nbsp%3BI%20got%20the%20opportunity%20to%20visit%20the%20Prahladpuri%20temple.%20According%20to%20mythology%2C%20the%20original%20temple%20was%20built%20by%20Prahlad%20in%20honour%20of%20the%20half-man%20half-lion%20god%20Narasimha%2C%20who%20is%20believed%20to%20be%20an%20incarnation%20of%20Lord%20Vishnu.%20The%20Prahladpuri%20temple%20was%20completely%20destroyed%20by%20a%20violent%20Muslim%20mob%20in%201992%20.%20This%20was%20just%20ten%20years%20after%20I%20had%20visited%20it.%20I%20felt%20sad%20when%20I%20learnt%20about%20its%20destruction.

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During%20my%20Karachi%20posting%2C%20I%20also%20had%20many%20opportunities%20to%20discuss%20the%20plight%20of%20Pakistani%20Hindus%20and%20other%20minorities%20with%20Minocher%20%28Minoo%29%20Bhandara%2C%20who%20was%20President%20Zia%u2019s%20Advisor%20on%20Minorities.%20He%20was%20a%20prominent%20Parsee%20businessman%20and%20his%20family%20had%20owned%20a%20thriving%20liquor%20business%20for%20over%20a%20hundred%20years%2C%20including%20the%20famous%20Murree%20Brewery.%3Cbr%3EMinoo%u2019s%20family%20was%20not%20only%20financially%20well%20off%20but%20also%20intellectually%20oriented.%20His%20sister%20Bapsi%20Sidhwa%20is%20a%20well-known%20novelist%20known%20for%20her%20collaborative%20work%20with%20the%20film%20maker%20Deepa%20Mehta.%20Bapsi%20wrote%20Ice%20Candy%20Man%20on%20which%20the%20film%20Earth%20was%20made%20by%20Deepa%20Mehta%2C%20as%20well%20as%20the%20novel%20Water%20based%20on%20Deepa%20Mehta%u2019s%20movie%20by%20the%20same%20name.

%3Cstrong%3EAlso%20read%3A%20%3C/strong%3E%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/11-coal-miners-from-paks-minority-shia-hazara-community-shot-dead-in-balochistan%22%3E%3Cstrong%3E11%20coal%20miners%20from%20Pak%27s%20minority%20Shia%20Hazara%20community%20shot%20dead%20in%20Balochistan%3C/strong%3E%3C/a%3E

Minoo%20Bhandara%20was%20of%20the%20firm%20belief%20that%20Pakistan%20was%20not%20set%20up%20as%20a%20theocratic%20state%2C%20but%20rather%20as%20a%20secular%20one%3B%20he%20had%20no%20doubt%20communicated%20this%20to%20Zia.%26nbsp%3BDuring%20one%20of%20our%20conversations%2C%20Minoo%20recalled%20Jinnah%u2019s%20speech%20on%2011%20August%201947%20when%20he%20presided%20over%20Pakistan%u2019s%20Constituent%20Assembly.%20Jinnah%20had%20said%3A%26nbsp%3B

%22You%20are%20free%20to%20go%20to%20your%20temples%2C%20you%20are%20free%20to%20go%20to%20your%20mosques%20or%20to%20any%20other%20place%20of%20worship.%20You%20are%20free%20to%20belong%20to%20any%20religion%20or%20creed%2C%20and%20that%20has%20nothing%20to%20do%20with%20the%20business%20of%20the%20state.%22%26nbsp%3BJinnah%20had%20also%20said%3A%20%u201CWe%20are%20starting%20with%20the%20fundamental%20principle%20that%20we%20are%20all%20citizens%20and%20equal%20citizens%20of%20one%20state.%u201D

Minoo%20told%20me%20emphatically%20that%20Jinnah%20was%20clear%20in%20his%20belief%20that%20religion%20would%20be%20kept%20apart%20from%20temporal%20matters%20in%20Pakistan%2C%20for%20in%20the%20very%20same%20speech%20he%20had%20also%20said%3A

%22Now%20I%20think%20we%20should%20keep%20that%20in%20front%20of%20us%20that%20in%20course%20of%20time%20Hindus%20would%20cease%20to%20be%20Hindus%20and%20Muslims%20would%20cease%20to%20be%20Muslims%20not%20in%20the%20religious%20sense%2C%20because%20that%20is%20the%20faith%20of%20each%20individual%2C%20but%20in%20the%20political%20sense%20as%20citizens%20of%20the%20state.%22

Minoo%20would%20also%20often%20refer%20to%20Jinnah%u2019s%20radio%20broadcast%20to%20the%20people%20of%20the%20United%20States%20in%20February%201948%20in%20which%20he%20had%20categorically%20ruled%20out%20a%20theocracy%3A

%27In%20any%20case%2C%20Pakistan%20is%20not%20going%20to%20be%20a%20theocratic%20state%20to%20be%20ruled%20by%20priests%20with%20a%20divine%20vision.%20We%20have%20many%20non-Muslims%u2014Hindus%2C%20Christians%2C%20Parsees%u2014but%20they%20are%20all%20Pakistanis.%20They%20will%20enjoy%20the%20same%20rights%20and%20privileges%20as%20other%20citizens%2C%20and%20will%20play%20their%20rightful%20part%20in%20the%20affairs%20of%20Pakistan.%22%26nbsp%3B

Although%20the%20Objectives%20Resolution%20of%201949%20envisaged%20an%20official%20role%20for%20Islam%20as%20the%20state%20religion%2C%20Pakistan%20retained%20most%20of%20the%20laws%20that%20were%20inherited%20from%20the%20British%20secular%20legal%20code.%20It%20was%20only%20in%201956%20that%20the%20name%20%u2018Islamic%20Republic%20of%20Pakistan%u2019%20was%20adopted%20and%20Islam%20was%20officially%20declared%20the%20state%20religion.%26nbsp%3B

It%20was%20under%20Bhutto%20that%20the%20process%20of%20Islamisation%20received%20a%20fillip.%20For%20political%20reasons%2C%20he%20not%20only%20banned%20alcohol%20and%20gambling%2C%20but%20also%20declared%20the%20Ahmedia%20community%20to%20be%20non-Muslims.

Zia%20ul%20Haq%20took%20the%20Islamisation%20process%20to%20a%20whole%20different%20level%20during%20his%20rule%20from%201977-88.%20From%20this%20period%20onwards%2C%20the%20difficulties%20of%20the%20Hindu%20minority%20worsened%20considerably%2C%20with%20Islamic%20hardline%20groups%20unleashing%20a%20campaign%20of%20hatred%20and%20vendetta%20towards%20these%20hapless%20people.%26nbsp%3B

%3Cstrong%3EAlso%20read%3A%20%3C/strong%3E%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/pakistans-kpk-govt-approves-rs-235-crore-to-purchase-ancestral-homes-of-bollywood-greats%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EPakistan%27s%20KPK%20govt%20approves%20Rs%202.35%20crore%20to%20purchase%20ancestral%20homes%20of%20Bollywood%20greats%3C/strong%3E%3C/a%3E

One%20Hindu%20businessman%20in%20Karachi%20whom%20I%20got%20to%20know%20quite%20well%20said%20to%20me%2C%20%u201COur%20life%20in%20twentieth%20century%20Pakistan%20is%20what%20it%20must%20have%20been%20like%20for%20Hindus%20during%20the%20rule%20of%20Allauddin%20Khilji%2C%20Aurangzeb%20or%20many%20other%20such%20tyrants%20who%20ruled%20over%20India%2C%u201D%20and%20lamented%20that%20%u201CIndia%20does%20nothing%20to%20help%20us%u201D.

Compounding%20the%20problems%20for%20Hindus%20was%20the%20fact%20that%20hatred%20against%20them%20was%20being%20officially%20propagated%20through%20textbooks.%20The%20anti-Hindu%20bias%20got%20further%20strengthened%20on%20account%20of%20the%20fact%20that%20school%20curriculum%20was%20Islamised%20from%20the%201970s%20and%20has%20steadily%20adopted%20an%20anti-Hindu%20flavour.%26nbsp%3BThe%20three-and-a-half-year%20period%20of%20my%20stay%20in%20Karachi%20from%20December%201981%20was%20exactly%20when%20under%20Zia%20ul%20Haq%u2019s%20directives%2C%20the%20revisionism%20of%20Pakistan%u2019s%20history%20was%20being%20implemented%20at%20a%20feverish%20pitch.%26nbsp%3B

No%20doubt%2C%20some%20Pakistani%20intellectuals%20have%20expressed%20their%20unhappiness%20at%20these%20trends.%20According%20to%20the%20historian%20Dr.%20Mubarak%20Ali%2C%26nbsp%3B%22The%20Pakistan%20establishment%20taught%20their%20children%20right%20from%20the%20beginning%20that%20this%20state%20was%20built%20on%20the%20basis%20of%20religion%u2014that%20is%20why%20they%20don%u2019t%20have%20tolerance%20for%20other%20religions%20and%20want%20to%20wipe%20out%20all%20of%20them.%22

In%20an%20editorial%20Curriculum%20of%20Hatred%20%2820.5.2005%29%2C%20Pakistan%u2019s%20oldest%20and%20most%20respected%20newspaper%20The%20Dawn%20stated%3A

%22By%20propagating%20concepts%20such%20as%20jihad%2C%20the%20inferiority%20of%20non-Muslims%2C%20India%u2019s%20ingrained%20enmity%20with%20Pakistan%2C%20etc.%2C%20the%20Text%20Book%20Board%20publications%20used%20by%20all%20government%20schools%20promote%20a%20mind-set%20that%20is%20bigoted%20and%20obscurantist.%20Since%20there%20are%20more%20children%20studying%20in%20these%20schools%20than%20in%20the%20%u2018madrassahs%u2019%2C%20the%20damage%20done%20is%20greater.%22

The%20Sustainable%20Development%20Policy%20Institute%2C%20an%20Islamabad-based%20think%20tank%20released%20a%20report%20in%202003%20based%20on%20a%20survey%20of%20Pakistani%20Social%20Studies%2C%20Civics%2C%20Urdu%20and%20English%20textbooks.%20It%20pointed%20out%20the%20inaccurate%20facts%20and%20omissions%20in%20these%20textbooks%20which%20distorted%20the%20significance%20of%20actual%20events.%20The%20report%20asserts%3A

%22Associated%20with%20the%20insistence%20on%20the%20ideology%20of%20Pakistan%20has%20been%20an%20essential%20component%20of%20hate%20against%20India%20and%20the%20Hindus.%20For%20the%20upholders%20of%20the%20ideology%20of%20Pakistan%2C%20the%20existence%20of%20Pakistan%20is%20defined%20only%20in%20relation%20to%20Hindus%2C%20and%20hence%20the%20Hindus%20have%20to%20be%20painted%20as%20negatively%20as%20possible.%22

The%20report%20continues%20by%20stating%3A

%22The%20distortion%20of%20history%20has%20increasingly%20warped%20Pakistan%u2019s%20view%20both%20of%20self%20and%20others%20for%20decades.%20Each%20generation%20has%20twisted%20the%20facts%20that%20it%20passes%20to%20the%20next.%20This%20has%20served%20to%20create%20a%20world%20view%20that%20is%20removed%20from%20reality%20and%20confounds%20efforts%20to%20understand%20and%20fully%20resolve%20important%20social%2C%20national%20and%20international%20problems.%22%26nbsp%3B

Pervez%20Musharraf%20did%20try%20for%20a%20while%20to%20remove%20hateful%20content%20and%20some%20changes%20were%20made%20in%20the%20textbooks.%20However%2C%20the%20changes%20were%20short-lived.%20Musharraf%20restored%20the%20original%20content%20under%20pressure%20from%20religious%20parties%20whose%20support%20he%20needed.

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Taha%20Siddiqui%2C%20who%20is%20a%20well-known%20Pakistani%20journalist%20living%20in%20exile%20in%20France%20wrote%20in%20an%20article%20published%20in%20the%20Christian%20Science%20Monitor%20in%20February%202013%3A%20%22Across%20Pakistan%2C%20government-sanctioned%20school%20textbooks%20contain%20blatantly%20anti-religious-minority%2C%20anti-Western%20material.%20And%20many%20are%20worried%20the%20curriculum%20is%20fueling%20intolerance%2C%20especially%20among%20youth%20%u2013%20leading%20to%20violent%20behavior%20and%20even%20sympathy%20for%20the%20Taliban.%22%26nbsp%3B

Thus%2C%20there%20a%20few%20right-minded%20people%20from%20Pakistan%20who%20want%20that%20the%20process%20of%20instilling%20hatred%20through%20textbooks%20should%20be%20ended%2C%20for%20hatred%20only%20begets%20hatred.%26nbsp%3BChildren%20in%20Pakistan%20should%20not%20grow%20up%20perceiving%20Hindus%20and%20other%20religious%20minorities%20as%20enemies%20whom%20they%20want%20to%20annihilate.%20One%20hopes%20that%20the%20Pakistani%20Government%20pays%20heed%20to%20such%20persons%2C%20or%20else%26nbsp%3Blife%20will%20continue%20to%20be%20a%20nightmare%20for%20the%20religious%20minorities.

%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Pakistan%22%20data-user-id%3D%22wizuXkuQ3rL8%22%20href%3D%22/topic/pakistan%22%3E%23Pakistan%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Temple%22%20data-user-id%3D%22oi2LDnls7o2R%22%20href%3D%22/topic/temple%22%3E%23Temple%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23religion%22%20data-user-id%3D%22FsyIFDHF3MAE%22%20href%3D%22/topic/religion%22%3E%23religion%3C/a%3E%26nbsp%3B

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