Rights body accuses Pakistan of systematic neglect of Hindu and Sikh heritage
Islamabad, Dec 6 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) A leading minority rights organisation accused Pakistan of deliberate neglect, institutional apathy and decades-long refusal to preserve the religious heritage of the Hindu and Sikh communities– the Pakistani authorities claimed to protect.
According to the Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM), 98 per cent of Hindu and Sikh places of worship in Pakistan are either abandoned, locked, illegally occupied or left to rot – a situation the rights group said is not an administrative oversight but an indictment of Pakistan’s power structure itself.
Citing a latest finding laid before Pakistan’s Parliamentary Committee on Minority Caucus, the rights body stated that out of 1,285 Hindu worship sites and 532 gurdwaras recorded on paper, only 37 remain functional.
“What makes this neglect more painful is the pattern of systemic discrimination surrounding it. While temples crumble, school curricula continue to carry hateful or discriminatory content. Minority students receive fewer opportunities, with no equivalent scholarship or quota benefits to those offered to Muslim students. Government job representation remains dismally low, and even senior officials frequently skip caucus meetings where minority issues are meant to be addressed. The message this sends is unmistakable: minorities are seen as an afterthought, and their concerns are seen as optional,” the VOPM stated.
The rights body noted the tragic irony of Pakistan proudly showcasing sites such as Kartarpur to the world while hundreds of other temples and gurudwaras across the country lie in ruins.
“A single well-maintained shrine cannot erase the silence of the hundreds that have fallen into decay. Sacred spaces where generations once prayed now stand shattered, overtaken by weeds or illegally occupied by private interests. It is a loss not just for minorities but for Pakistan’s identity, its cultural continuity, and its moral credibility,” the VOPM emphasised.
Asserting that a nation is ultimately judged by how it treats its smallest, most vulnerable communities, the rights body said Pakistan stands before the world with a stark statistic–only 37 out of 1,817 Hindu and Sikh worship sites are still functional, while the rest have become monuments to neglect.
“These structures are not just buildings — they are the last echoes of a pluralistic past that Pakistan once promised to protect. Each abandoned temple and each crumbling gurdwara is a reminder that the state has failed its own constitutional pledges of equality, justice and religious freedom,” VOPM stated.
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