In November 2018, the government of Pakistan decided to restore 400 Hindu temples in Pakistan. These temples had either been encroached upon or were in dire need of restoration. The decision was welcomed and celebrated by the Hindu community of the country. The recent attack and desecration of the Shree Ganesh Mandir in Bhong, Rahim Yar Khan, highlights the state’s failure to protect its minorities from the powerful radical elements in the society.

The incident followed an unfortunate event. An eight-year-old allegedly urinated on the premises of a madrassa. He was caught and after some beating and abuse by the administration, handed over to the police who initially registered an FIR against the child and made a formal arrest. He was later released on bail. An angry mob then blocked the M5 motorway and the police were unable to defuse the situation. This emboldened the mob to attack the temple.

The chief justice of Pakistan has taken suo motu notice of the incident and called into question the role the police and administration played in the temple attacked. The prime minister, too, has expressed “grave concern.” The exterior of the temple has been repaired.

Why does the state appear to be so inept, indifferent or powerless in preventing such incidents and dealing with radicalism?

In this case, the police have arrested nearly a hundred men for desecrating the temple after a case was registered under provisions including terrorism. IGP Inam Ghani has told the Hindu community that while there have been no convictions in similar cases in the past this is about to change. He said a security plan had been made for the religious minorities in Bhong.

In recent years, more than 30 temples of the Hindu community have been desecrated. These include ancient temples that the community holds in great reverence; like a hundred-year-old Krishna Temple in Rawalpindi, Teri Temple in Karak, Mata Rani Temple in Nagarparkar and Shree Ram Dev Temple. Some of these temples have been attacked and desecrated in 2020 and 2021. Add to that the instances of forced conversion and kidnapping of Hindu girls and cases of violence targetted towards Hindus, and the gravity of the situation sinks in.

The country has moved away from a harmonious co-existence to an atmosphere of resentment, violence and hatred of almost hysterical levels and dangerous radicalization. Some of the vulnerable sections of the society find that their spaces is shrinking at a terrifying pace.

The Hindu community has been portrayed as villainous in some of the books taught in our schools. Many of its members see themselves as ‘non-citizens’. They often bear the brunt of societal hate. They complain that no official or person in power seems to back them meaningfully in times of need or when they face violence. The silence works to the advantage of the radical forces. The community struggles to find meaningful care and empathy from those elected to represent the people of Pakistan.

The near absence of condemnation of sustained communal violence and meaningful support to the minority community even from influential figures from the Hindu community has been tough. On the societal level, it is a worrying state of affairs where few have voiced concern and condemned the blatant use of force and power in what can be termed as moral paralysis.

The international community too has failed to heed the call of the Pakistani Hindus. It is ironic to note that the only voice that echoes their miseries is from India, where Muslims and other religious minorities are facing the brunt of religious hate and violence. Shrouded in a dangerous state narrative and undermined by India’s own record of ongoing atrocities against religious minorities, it drowns what little impact and resonance such solidarity could have had.

74 years after independence, the Quaid’s words “You are free; you are free to go to your temples; free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in the State of Pakistan” seem to have been submerged in security concerns and strategic frameworks. The humanist perspective is apparently forgotten.

The fact that not a single person has been convicted in cases of vandalism of Hindu temples or religious symbols, has encouraged the radical forces to manipulate the masses into a self-proclaimed sense of victimisation.

The radical forces appear to enjoy impunity for their actions. Such impunity, is a brewing ground for radicalisation that seems to be expanding and testing its already overwhelming power to directly challenge the state. It has been reported that there were intelligence reports and warnings that such an attack could happen, yet the security apparatus did not act to prevent it. How long can we afford to not act against the radical forces? What effects will such a policy have on the society? With every passing year we see more brutal and violent attacks against minorities. The reaction from those in power seems to be less effective than before – no concrete corrective actions appear to have been taken.

A society bent upon pushing some of its citizens against the wall and being selective in its condemnation of violence cannot sustain peace for too long. If today, we push our Hindu community to the fringes of citizenship, there will be others in the same position tomorrow.

The writer is the director of   Centre for Peace and Secular Studies. She is a peace activist and social worker