A 1,200-year-old Hindu temple in Pakistan’s Lahore city will be restored after “illegal occupiers” were forced out of it after a protracted legal struggle, the federal authority in charge of minorities’ places of worship in the nation announced on Wednesday.
A Christian family had their possession of the Valmiki temple located close to the well-known Anarkali Bazaar Lahore taken from them by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) last month.
The only surviving temple in Lahore is Valmiki Temple, aside from Krishna Temple.
For the past two decades, the Christian family, which claims to have converted to Hinduism, had only allowed Hindus of the Valmiki caste to attend temple services.
According to a “master plan,” the Valmiki Temple would be restored in the next days, ETPB spokesperson Amir Hashmi told PTI.
“Over 100 Hindus, some Sikh and Christian leaders today gathered at the Valmiki Temple. Hindus performed their religious rituals and had lungar (food) for the first time it was retrieved from the grabbers,” he said.
According to a spokesperson of the ETPB, the land belonging to the temple was transferred to the ETPB in the revenue records; nevertheless, the family, claiming to be the rightful owner of the property, filed a lawsuit in civil court in 2010-2011.
He claimed that in addition to filing a lawsuit, the family built a temple exclusively for Valmiki Hindus. The trust was left with no choice except to pursue the matter in court.
The official continued, “This time the court also censured the petitioner for misleading assertions.
In 1992, a vengeful crowd carrying guns broke into the Valmiki Temple in India following the destruction of the Babri Masjid. It destroyed the idols of Krishna and Valmiki, shattered cooking utensils and dishes, and took the gold that had been used to adorn the statues.
The temple was burned down to the ground and reduced to ruins. It took days for the authorities to put out the fires that started in the neighborhood’s shops.
According to the ETPB spokesman, a one-man commission established by the Pakistani Supreme Court made recommendations to the government, noting that the temple needed to be refurbished to give the Hindu community better workshop facilities.
The ETPB, however, was unable to begin restoration work at the temple built on more than 10 marlas of land valued at millions after the lawsuit, the spokeswoman added.
The ETPB is responsible for maintaining the temples and land that Sikhs and Hindus who immigrated to India after the Partition left behind. In Pakistan, it is in charge of 200 gurdwaras and 150 temples.
(With inputs from agencies)
