Celebrating Holi In Pakistan: Sindh's Tradition Of Religious Harmony

Bad news has wings, while positive news tends to be seldom reported. This has led to people outside of Pakistan often seeing the nation as one-dimensional and riddled with radical elements, unaware of the diversity of the country and the tolerance that exists here.

Like any other country, Pakistan has issues; but these do not define the country or its people. If you travel across the country, you will find areas where local customs and traditions are as important to the people as religion. People of these areas celebrate each other's holy days and respect each other라이브 바카라 religion and places of worship.

This year, a good example of religious harmony and tolerance can be seen during Ramadan, which coincides with the Baha’i Nauroz and the Hindus’ Holi.

Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset throughout the month of Ramadan, and it is common that the sehri and iftar, the meals before sunrise and after sunset, are eaten with family and friends. In Pakistan, people from other faiths join in to celebrate Ramadan, especially in Mithi, Thar, and Karachi. Pakistani Hindus help the Muslims prepare a feast for the iftar and serve food, water, juice, and tea to those sitting for the iftar.

The Maheswari community, based in Karachi, was highlighted this year for organising iftar for Muslims in Karachi to promote inter-faith harmony. Interestingly, no one asked them, nor were they obliged to do this, but they wanted to serve their neighbours during this holy month.

Similarly, Governor of Sindh, Kamran Tessori wished the Hindu community a happy Holi on March 15 at the grand iftar at the Governor's House. As is the tradition, religious scholars of Hindus, Christians and Sikhs were also invited to the governor라이브 바카라 iftar.

Muslims have always supported and even participated in celebrating Holi across Sindh. Sindh has the largest percentage of the Pakistani Hindu population. According to estimates, Pakistani Hindus comprise about 2% of Pakistan's total population (241.49 million).

Pakistani Hindus generally reside in Karachi, Badin, Mithi, Umerkot, Sukkur, and Hyderabad in Sindh, and there are numerous temples located all over the province. It is common here that when the Hindus go to their ancestral temples and celebrate their festivals, the Muslims celebrate with them.

Interestingly, people in places like Mithi and Umerkot identify themselves by their ethnicity rather than religion and, therefore, it is usual for them to live in peace and celebrate with each other.

Despite all the news about the situation in Pakistan, relations between Pakistani Muslims and Hindus are strong. Sadly, radically motivated incidents have had more impact than positive stories. A few stories, however, have highlighted those who stood to protect the worship places and lives of others in the face of grave danger.

In 2019, when the Sacho Satram Das temple in Ghotki, Sindh, was attacked by a mob, it was a group of Muslims who stood between the charged mob and Hindus, defying the threats hurled at them. 

It was heartening to see religious scholars play an important role by speaking up against the attack on the temple, adding that those who attacked the temple had nothing to do with Islam. Muslim residents in and around the area took it upon themselves to protect the temple from further attack after the mob had made threats.

The attack was widely condemned on social media, and peaceful rallies were organised by civil society activists and members of Islamist parties carrying white flags and placards inscribed with pro-peace slogans to show solidarity with the Hindu community.

There is also the heart warming story of the Chandio family, which has protected the only Hindu temple of Johi, also known as kubi. The area around it is known as the ‘kubi mohalla’. The town라이브 바카라 population is fully Muslim; Hindus no longer live there.

The Chandio family had lived in and protected the temple for five generations. As the story goes, Jamaluddin Chandio was entrusted with the charge of the temple by a Hindu some five generations ago. The two men had a verbal agreement, and since then, generations of Chandios have been born and lived in the temple.

Due to a lack of funds, the family could not preserve the architecture and statues of Hindu deities, but they managed to keep encroachers away.

The Pakistani government has preserved several important non-Muslim pilgrim sites and places of worship such as the birthplace of the Sikh religion Nankana Sahib Gurdwara, the Panja Sahib Gurdwara, and the Hinglaj Mata, which is locally known as the Nani Mandir.

Besides Hindu festivals, Christians, Parsis, and Sikhs also celebrate different festivals, and people from all walks of life attend them. Likewise, they celebrate Eid and other festivals of Muslims.

With time, things have changed; but tolerance, peace and harmony still exist; it is only a matter of intentionally seeking them.

(Lubna Jerar Naqvi is a journalist and fact-checker based in Karachi, Pakistan)