Hindus from India perform rituals at Katasraj temple

Lahore: For the first time since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, 176 Hindu pilgrims from across India worshipped their deity Shiva at the historic Katasraj temple in the Pakistani Punjab.

The two-day worship began from the pond considered holy by the Hindus, where only men bathed and shouted "Har Har Maha Dev" and "Jai Bholey Nathji" as they jumped into the water.

The bath in the pond was followed by chanting of some hymns in Sanskrit and the worship of Shiva at night. The pilgrims, who reached Pakistan on Friday, washed the Shiva image and worshipped the trees in the area by playing on the conch.

The first formal post-partition Hindu pilgrimage is being organised by the provincial government in collaboration with the federal authorities which has already tasked the Punjab Archaeology Department with the job of conserving about seven ancient Hindu temples at the site.

Informal delegations

Locals say there were more than 100 Hindu temples around the site of the Katasraj temple. Over the last two years, informal delegations from India had visited the Katasraj temple site and begun performing rituals.

The pilgrims are mostly from Indian Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Their visit was organised by the Indian Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha Punjab, and they will be hosted by the Evacuee Trust Property Board and the Punjab Archaeology Department.

The provincial government circles say that tight security arrangements have been made for the pilgrims and they are escorted by heavy police contingents. They added that the pilgrims are being provided free accommodation, meals and all other necessary facilities at the Government College of Mines.

However, they have been barred from visiting any other site and their movement is limited to the route between the college and the temple. Their activities are being monitored by the intelligence agencies.

The local people are disappointed in not being allowed to interact with the pilgrims. Several people, mostly women, were at the site to see the pilgrims perform their rituals, but security officials stopped them from doing so.

Most of the pilgrims agreed that Pakistani government had taken special steps to conserve and develop the Katasraj temple site.