Pakistan will reopen an old Jain temple, after its rebuilding and restoration, which was attacked and vandalised by a mob in a reaction to the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.
The temple is located at a junction in Lahore, called the Jain Mandir intersection.
On December 6, 1992, in Ayodhya, India, more than 150,000 people gathered to listen to the leaders of Bharat Janta Party (BJP), a right-wing political party of India.
The crowd became aggressive and violent after listening to speeches of their leaders and then attacked the Babri Masjid. Afterwards, riots broke out in which 23 mosques and 2,000 innocents were killed. In Pakistan, aggression arose during a protest and they demolished almost 30 temples in reaction.
Almost 30 years after the incident, the Supreme Court of Pakistan gave an order to restore the temples of Jain and Neela Gumbad (Blue Tomb) located in Lahore. This order was given by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed which also stated that the reconstruction of all temples must be completed without any delay, followed by a preliminary report within one month.
A member of the National Assembly (MNA), Ramesh Kumar Vankwanil, also a member of a commission by the Supreme Court regarding minority rights, said “I have visited the site on December 2 and also appeared in the court regarding this.”
He added, “Pakistan is following its own Constitution in which all religions have the right to practice their faith. I am feeling proud that we are setting examples for others.”
On November 9, 2019, the Indian Supreme Court announced a verdict that the disputed land will be distributed to Hindus and Muslims will obtain five acres of land separately in Ayodhya.
All accusers were acquitted on September 2020 in the Babri Mosque demolition case including L.K. Advani of BJP.
Chairman for the Hindu Welfare Council Pakistan, Dr Munawar Chand said, “We can never forget what happened in India in 1992, the response in Pakistan was also very angry but we cannot form an opinion on just one incident.”
He added, “Our Muslim brothers have always stood by us. We wish we can have the Jain community again here in large numbers but this step of reconstruction of the Jain temple has given us immense happiness.”
Meanwhile, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) has almost completed their paperwork to reconstruct the temples. They will begin reconstruction by next week which will finish in phases.