The provincial Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has announced that it will pay for reconstruction of Hindu temple destroyed by a mob. It has so far arrested 55 suspects too. The Indian government had also expressed its concerns on the targeting of a Hindu temple.  

According to a report in The Telegraph, India’s Ministry of External Affairs had conveyed to Pakistan through its mission in New Delhi, that India “expects the federal government to investigate the matter and take strict action against those responsible for the demolition of the temple, pointing out that this is not the first time such an attack has taken place”. The report quoted MEA sources stating, “Our message reiterated that the government of Pakistan, in discharge of its responsibilities, is expected to look after the safety, security and well-being of its minority communities, including protection of their religious rights and cultural heritage.” 

The Pakistan government seems to have acted fast, and damage control decisions have been put in action in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. However, there seems to be no words of ‘assurance’ from the government, on repeated allegations of the persecution of tribals, Christians, Ahmedias, Shias in Pakistan. No words even on the allegations made in September that “around 171 Hindus in Pakistan’s Sindh province had been converted to Islam”. It was then reported by the Times Of India that men, women and children were inculcated into the Muslim faith at a a mass ceremony “held at madarsa Ahsan-ul-Taleem, Sanghar in Sindh province of Pakistan.”  The news report quoted sources as confirming that all those who were converted to Islam allegedly by “various allurements”, were from Bhil community, one of  the most vulnerable and marginalised among the minority communities of Pakistan. It is noteworthy that Bhils are a tribal community following animist traditions. In India they are considered Adivasis and designated as a Scheduled Tribe in many states. 

Meanwhile, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police have arrested 10 more people in overnight raids for their alleged involvement in the vandalisation of the Hindu temple by a mob led by members of a radical party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, reported NDTV. The total number of accused arrested in the case has risen to 55, and over 350 people have been named in the FIR. 

Pakistan’s Supreme Court took suo motu notice of the vandalism, and its Chief Justice directed a Minority Commission to visit the site and submit a report by January 4.

Pakistan Supreme Court takes suo motu notice of the burning of a Hindu temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak.

Chief Justice have direction to One Man Minority Commission to visit the site and submit a report by January 4.#Pakistan pic.twitter.com/LI2bWogTBt

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) December 31, 2020

While Hindus make up for around two percent percent of the total population of Pakistan, the government is keen to showcase that it is deeply concerned to protect the minority community and will rebuild the destroyed temple using provincial government funds, stated multiple news reports. 

The  incident took place in Terri village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak district, on December 30. However, the leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), one of Pakistan’s largest Islamist parties, Amir Maulana Ataur Rahman had strongly condemned the incident and said his party had nothing to do with it. According to news reports the mob was allegedly protesting “the expansion work of the temple and demolished the newly constructed work alongside the old structure.” Pakistan’s federal Parliamentary Secretary for Human Rights Lal Chand Malhi had also strongly condemned the vandalisation of the temple by “some anti-social elements”, and said such anti-social elements were defaming Pakistan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister Mahmood Khan termed the attack on the temple as “an unfortunate incident” and  vowed that his government will protect places of worship.

Now the reconstruction will start as soon as possible with security provided at the site. According to a report in the New Indian Express, this temple was destroyed in similar circumstances in 1997 and then rebuilt. While no Hindus live in the area, devotees visit the temple and its shrine to pay homage to the Hindu saint Shri Paramhans, who died there before the 1947 partition of India, stated the report

When the attack on this Hindu temple happened, a couple of days ago, the bigoted right-wing ecosystem in India began using visuals of this, to serve its pro-CAA agenda in India. As always this added to the anti-Muslim sentiments the right wing continusly fuells. However when the Pakistan government announced the rebuilding the Hindutva groups probably see it as a ‘win’ for the community. The Hindutva agenda against Muslims will continue. 

A question has also been raised by former diplomat KC Singh: “when mob destroys/damages mosques in India any nation asking questions violates Indian sovereignty. Can’t have it both ways.”

What kind of unilateralism is this? India questions mob’s destruction of temple in Pakistan. In fact Pakistani authorities promptly arrested culprits. But when mob destroys/damages mosque in India any nation asking questions violates Indian sovereignty. Can’t have it both ways.

— K. C. Singh (@ambkcsingh) January 2, 2021

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan compared how India was treating its own minorities. 

Secular India? Where have we come? pic.twitter.com/plS6acckIV

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) January 1, 2021

Human Rights’ activist, journalist John Dayal called out Pakistan’s move to rebuild one temple, saying the country continued to discriminate against its Hindus, Sikhs, and Dalit Christian citizens. He said, “Christians see their young women abducted and forcibly converted, churches desecrated and vandalised, lands grabbbed, their Muslim defenders persecuted and occasionally assassinated. That is your history of the freedom of religion you give us.”

As reported by SabrangIndia before, Hindus in Pakistan, are a vulnerable minority, often even ignored  by the media, who fail to highlight crimes against the community. Even when reported, they do not come to the fore and catch people’s attention. Hindus comprise 2 percent (around 3 million people) of Pakistan’s population. In 2019, the All Pakistan Hindu Panchayat (APHP) launched a campaign to collect data to ascertain the number of Hindus in Pakistan. Hindus are mainly concentrated in Sindh province where they form nearly 8% of the population. Some  Hindu families in Pakistan reportedly hid their religious identities due to safety concerns too.

Meanwhile, it is not known if Pakistan’s Sindh government has apologised to its Hindu community and offered to rebuild the Hindu temple that was vandalised, and the idol of the Goddess Durga desecrated in Nagarparkar area during Navratri, a few months ago.

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April 15, 2019, 7:34 p.m.: Notre-Dame de Paris in flames. Leighton Kille, CC BY

“Notre Dame is burning, the whole of France is crying, the whole world is crying,” said Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris. “It’s terrible, frightening, painful, a tragedy, a nightmare.”

“This place leaves no one untouched. When you enter this cathedral, it inhabits you,” said Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris, in front of the burning monument.

“We will rebuild,” said the Rector of Notre Dame, “we will rebuild.”

In the light of the day, the extent of the destruction was stunning. The cathedral’s 93-metre spire had collapsed, two-thirds of the roof was destroyed and parts of the interior were grievously damaged. But thanks to the efforts of 500 firefighters, the structure of the cathedral itself was “saved and preserved in its entirety”, according to Jean-Claude Gallet, commander of the Paris Fire Brigade. Two towers with their immense bells still stand and many of the cathedral’s priceless treasures survived.

At about 7:20 p.m. on April 15, 2019, smoke from the burning cathedral obscured the sun. Jennifer Gallé, CC BY

Immense emotion

Of all the historic monuments on earth, Notre-Dame de Paris is one of the “superstars”: its unique history, exceptional architecture and renowned artefacts attract millions of visitors to Paris. Indeed, the cathedral can be described as an intangible strategic resource with few global equivalents.

Notre-Dame de Paris is first and foremost an exceptional place of Christian and Catholic worship, dating back nearly 1,000 years. It’s a jewel of Gothic art with countless treasures, including radiant stained-glass windows, the crown of thorns and tunic of Saint Louis, and the choir organ. It is collectively classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

As the “eldest daughter of the church” in France, Notre Dame is a national and cultural symbol, and has witnessed a large part of the country’s history: all its kings have stepped inside, and Napoleon crowned himself emperor there. Here the funerals of Charles de Gaulle, Georges Pompidou and François Mitterrand took place…

The Coronation of Napoleon, by Jacques-Louis David, 1808. Louvre Museum. Wikipedia

Millions of people who’ve never been to Paris have breathed the air inside the cathedral by reading Victor Hugo’s famous novel. While commonly known in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, the original title is Notre-Dame de Paris, putting the cathedral front and centre in title and the narrative. Hugo delivered a romantic vision of the cathedral, as well as passage that describes a fire that took place only in readers’ imaginations:

“All eyes were raised to the top of the church. They beheld there an extraordinary sight. On the crest of the highest gallery, higher than the central rose window, there was a great flame rising between the two towers with whirlwinds of sparks, a vast, disordered, and furious flame.”

The spire of Notre-Dame de Paris in flames. Guillaume Levrier, CC BY

As a direct consequence of Notre Dame’s history, architecture and art, of its place in culture and literature, the cathedral is the leading monument in Europe, with approximately 14 million visitors in 2018. It is one of France’s “primary assets”, the “cathedral of cathedrals”, a must – the actual word is used in French.

World Heritage Sites arouse emotions and emotions reveal shared values. Such emotions were on the faces of all those gathered in front of Notre Dame, the countless messages from heads of state, the flood of heartfelt sentiments on social networks – Notre Dame’s place in the collective imagination and worldwide influence is undeniable.

Speaking in front of the still-burning cathedral at 11:30 pm, French president Emmanuel Macron stated:

“Notre-Dame de Paris is our place, it is our history, our literature, our imagination, the place where we have lived all our great moments […]. It is in so many books and paintings […] Even for those who have never been there, this is our story.”

Such monuments encourage us to identify with them emotionally. They’re keystones to national identity, and can even further international relations. The agonised reaction to the fire at the cathedral mixes sentimentalism, nostalgia and nationalism in a way that is deeply linked to the past, as related by historian David Lowenthal in his study The Past is a Foreign Country.

Creative reconstruction

Continuing his speech in front of the cathedral, President Macron was unequivocal:
 

“We have built this cathedral and over the centuries we have made it grow and improved it. So I say to you solemnly this evening: we will rebuild this cathedral, all of us together […]. We will rebuild Notre Dame.”

Into the evening of April 15 and through the next day, an exceptional effort began to take form: The French president launched a national donation effort, Unesco pledged its support and mayors of towns large and small throughout France stood up as one. The wealthy Arnault and Pinault families have promised to donate a total of 300 million euros to the future restoration, and thousands of individuals have pledged their support.

Before the path to cathedral’s rebirth can be mapped out, we need a serious assessment of how the tragic destruction of such a priceless monument was even possible. It was undergoing renovation at the time of the fire broke out, and this raises questions about the requirements for work on historic monuments, and also the level of resources allocated. Art historians such as Alexandre Gady and Didier Rykner have stated that the fire could and should have been avoided. They state that even if Notre Dame is “repaired”, we have already in a sense “lost it”.

It is near certain that the cathedral cannot be rebuilt exactly as it was before. The fire started deep within the roof, which was under repair at the time. The oak frame dates from the 13th century, and according to experts, reproducing it would require a forest of 1,300 oak trees. One alternative is to use innovative techniques, as architect Henri Deneux did when he rebuilt the cathedral of Reims after it was nearly destroyed during the First World War.

The cathedral of Reims in 1914. Wikipedia, anonymous.

Monuments in general and religious monuments in particular are fragile. Against all odds, Notre Dame survived periods of immense turbulence in French history, and was touched by neither bombardments nor significant fires, a constant threat prior to the 1752 invention of the lightning rod. Until April 15, it had come to us remarkably preserved, and millions of visitors paid tribute every year. Yet the risk of the unimaginable still remained.

“It’s in our nature to mourn when we see history lost – but it’s also in our nature to rebuild for tomorrow, as strong as we can,” former US president Barack Obama said the night of the fire. Notre-Dame de Paris is the heart of the city and of France, and an inspiration for the world. We are all cathedral builders, in a moment of sacred union in a secular society.

Before the fire, during, and after. Leighton Kille, CC BY

Courtesy: The Conversation

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