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

By-election trends
Updated 23 Apr, 2024

By-election trends

Unless the culture of violence and rigging is rooted out, the credibility of the electoral process in Pakistan will continue to remain under a cloud.
Privatising PIA
23 Apr, 2024

Privatising PIA

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s reaffirmation that the process of disinvestment of the loss-making national...
Suffering in captivity
23 Apr, 2024

Suffering in captivity

YET another animal — a lioness — is critically ill at the Karachi Zoo. The feline, emaciated and barely able to...
Not without reform
Updated 22 Apr, 2024

Not without reform

The problem with us is that our ruling elite is still trying to find a way around the tough reforms that will hit their privileges.
Raisi’s visit
22 Apr, 2024

Raisi’s visit

IRANIAN President Ebrahim Raisi, who begins his three-day trip to Pakistan today, will be visiting the country ...
Janus-faced
22 Apr, 2024

Janus-faced

THE US has done it again. While officially insisting it is committed to a peaceful resolution to the...