Saira Rauf & Sumaira Rauf
Lahore is a darling city! The second largest city of Punjab, Pakistan. For ages, it has been the inamorata of monarchs, saints, historians, archaeologists, poets, authors, and locals.Lahore presents an excellent study on heritage from its inception to the present day. Throughout its history, it has been taken, inhabited, destroyed, witnessed significant and momentous changes with far-reaching consequences and resurrected several times, yet its beauty and wonder have never faded.
Lahore is shaped by several layers of culture, heritage, religious ethos, and architectural structures which serve as a reminder that it is a city of lasting civilization. The city has aninvincible ability to absorb everything into itself, however, the city folks have a destructive ability to pull off their personal, political and religious agendas over the city’s legacy.Lahorites’ religious sentiments were affected with the razing down of the historical Babri Mosque (Masjid) in Ayodhya, India on December 6, 1992 by Indian right wing activists of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) organization. The ancient mosque was constructed between 1528 and 935 AH by Baqi Tashqandi or MirBaqi, a Mughal Commander on the model of the mosques in the Delhi Sultanate. The name“Babri Masjid” is derived from the first Mughal emperor Babur, who ordered its construction.
Masjid-i-Janmasthan was the name of the mosque until the 1940s (“mosque of the birthplace”).The mosque was built atop Ramkot (“Rama’s fort”), a hill. Hindus believed that Baqidemolished a Rama temple that had previously been on the site. The enraged Lahori mob, unaware of the difference between Jainism and Hinduism, destroyed the Jain Temple (Mandir) which stood tall in all its splendor near Old Anarkali at a well-known junction in Lahore known as the Jain Mandir intersection.
The temple’s canopy was the sole surviving part of the original structure. It remained derelict for the following two decades, until it was encircled by a boundary wall in 2016 and theremaining land was handed to the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT).
The ancient structure and facade of Jain heritage in the old city is being rescued from further degradation after years of neglect and a lack of significant preservation measures. Then Supreme Court Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed ordered the government to restore the deteriorated Jain’s temple in Lahore in December 2021, a day before the 19th anniversary of the Babri Mosque destruction.The walled city accommodates Jain, Hindu and Sikh temples, Muslim medieval mosques among other heritage and historical buildings. Along three other Jain temples in Lahore, thecity embraced the Old Anarkali’s Jain Mandir, a Digambar temple with shikhar based on theone of the two sects of Jainism (Digambara and Swetambara).
The word ‘shikhar’ comes from Sanskrit which means ‘mountain tower,’ and the structure of a ‘shikhar’ temple resembles a beehive tower. Jainism’s objective is to promote moksha, or liberation from the eternal cycle ofreincarnation.
It advocates nonviolence (ahimsa) along with equality of all living organisms’ i.e. humans, animals and insects must be appreciated and safeguarded. It endorses the idea that the Almighty, who is capable of comprehending reality, is the sole ‘absolute truth.’ All living beings have to pursue the ‘relative truth,’ i.e., education.Jainism is one of the world’s oldest faiths, dating back at least 2,500 years and having its roots in India. Plutarch’s ‘Life of Alexander’ describes the Greek king’s meeting with 10 ‘gymnosophists’ on the banks of the Indus.
These weird ‘naked sages’ were the Jains fromPunjab. And for more than 1,000 years, Jainism was the only religion practiced in the walledcity of Lahore, far longer than any other faith.
The initial rulers of Lahore, Jains, were followed for a brief time by Buddhist kings, who were ousted by Hindu rulers, who were overthrown by foreign Muslim invaders, who reigneduntil 1799, when the Sikhs took control for 50 years. Furthermore, power and bloodshed were inextricably linked with British Raj and the history continues till Partition.
The bulk of Jains in Punjab were from Bhabra, a town along the Chenab River a few kilometers north-west of Kot Momin. Although the majority of them moved east in 1947, there is still a tiny Jain population in Punjab.Indeed, in Lahore, the previously magnificent Jain temple (mandir) was much more than just a place of worship. It was a symbol of interfaith harmony and Jain’s heritage.
The domewhich was lying on the ground is picked up with the cranes and The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) has started work at the temple.
Saira Rauf
affiliated with Riphah International
University, Lahore. Email Address:
sairarauf.k@gmail.com.
Sumaira Rauf
affiliated with
University of Education, Lahore,
Email Address:
sumairarauf.k@gmail.com
