By Nisar Ali;
Rawalpindi: Hindu community is facing acute obstacles in performing ritual cremation in Rawalpindi due to alleged occupation of premises of Shamshan Ghat by a power full media group of Pakistan near Tipu road since 2010.
Talking to this scribe central president Hindu-Sikh Social Welfare Council Jaag, Mohan Arora said Shamshan Ghat area of Rawalpindi were consist of 290 Kanal before the migration of thousands of Hindus from Pakistan to India on the occasion of partition. Later, decreasing the area by Pakistani government only 10 Kanal and 17 Marla were left for Hindu community in 1949. Following the foundation of Evacuee Trust property in 1959, 1 Kanal and 13 marla were given to Hindus for Shamshan Ghat, occupying remaining area of shamshan Ghat by TrustEvacuee Property.
He added that some part of area were given to powerful media group on a lease in 2010 and that’s why we could not perform our rituals following cremation of dead body at Shamshan Ghat. “We were born in this country and we love Pakistan but unfortunately we cannot die peacefully in Pakistan” said Mr. Arora despairing that the right for die had been snatched from us in Pakistan.
Arora told that when the media group tried to abolish the temple on 19 July 2010 than we protested and resultantly they had to stop to abolish the temple but the area are still in their possession.
When contacted, official of Trust Evacuee Property Official told this scribe that we neither did cancel nor restore the tenement of media group but we had squeezed the tenement right of media group. “Media group is being shifted soon from Shamshan Ghat to another place and the area will be specified to Hindu community” assured official. The Hindu community urged Chief Justice of Pakistan to take Sou Motu notice of the matter and insisted to the government for renovation of temple to perform their religious activities peaceably.
Commenting on the issue coordinator Human Right Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Islamabad Chapter Nasreen Azhar told this scribe that legal right on the premises next to the temple should be hand over to Hindu community for Shamshan Ghat without further delay. She further added that government should see the matter because they have equal citizenship right like Muslims.
According to Hindu religious practice, a Shamshan Ghat (cremation ground) is built near rivers or fresh streams so that ashes can be disposed of following cremation. One such old Shamshan Ghat is located at Tipu Road near Nullah Leh in Rawalpindi. The current dilapidated Shamshan Ghat of Rawalpindi was built in 1923 by the sons and wife of Lala Tansukh Rai Sahib Syal, the Rais-i- Azam of Rawalpindi. Rawalpindi is home to almost 4000 people of Hindu community whereas the population of Hindu is almost 3,078,306 in Pakistan.
