From temple to shrine: Forced conversions?

Published October 31, 2012
From temple to shrine

In September of this year, Dawn.com got a chance to visit the shrines and temples of Reharki — a city located in the Ghotki District of upper Sindh, which is home to a sizable Muslim community, as well as a Hindu minority.

The Sant Satram Das Temple, is overlooked by multiple statues of Hindu deities and is located close to the Bharchundi Sharif Shrine.

The shrine is a Sufi centre with a madrassah that has been mentioned in the media in connection with a high number of alleged forced conversions of members from the Hindu community in the area, the most notable of which is the Rinkle Kumari case.

The administrators of the madrassah, including the local MNA Mian Abdul Haq also known as “Mian Mitho” maintain that the conversions are not forced, but a result of the individual’s own choice and convertees approach the shrine as a safe haven in cases where their family doesn’t approve of their conversion.

We got a chance to speak to members of the Hindu Community as well as a Hindu girl, Kiran Kumari, who maintained that she willingly converted to Islam on Eidul Fitr, while others contend that her conversion was not consensual.

In our visit, we spoke to people on both sides of the issue in order to get a clearer picture of the story.

  • Video by  Zehra Naqvi and Salman Haqqi/Dawn.com

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.