Prahladapuri Temple Case Place: Multan, Punjab (Pakistan) Year: 1881 Incident: Prahladapuri Temple Case: Multan was described as a prosperous Hindu city when Hsuan Tsang visited it in the first half of the 7th century C.E. From ancient times, when it was called ‘Moolasthana’, it had two prominent Hindu shrines: The Prahladapuri temple associated with the Narasingha Avataar of Lord Vishnu, and the Sun temple. In the early decades of the 8th century however, the Muslim Arabs invaded and occupied it, starting a millennium long Islamic domination of the region. In this period, the region saw a steady influx of fanatical Muslim divines called ‘Pirs’ and other trans-Indus Muslim communities like Pathans. A combination of Islamic persecutions, divestiture of all temporal powers of Hindus and fervent Muslim religious preaching to a disheveled Hindu community reduced the latter to a 20% minority by the turn of the 19th century. Mismanagement by generations of Muslim rulers and predatory raids by neighboring Muslim tribes had reduced Multan to a desolate region living primarily by subsistence agriculture and some trade by the medieval times. In the beginning of the 19th century, the Sikh army from Lahore invaded and captured the region, and after a gap of more than a 1000 years, the Hindus heaved a sigh of relief, being freed of Islamic domination. Their enterprise made them leaders in trade and banking in the Multan district by 1850 C.E. The Sikh rule gave way to the religiously neutral British rule after the Punjab wars. Taking advantage of an unfettered environment, Hindus took the lead in acquiring modern education, and soon went on to control the economy of the region, to some extent. Still rooted in medieval beliefs, the Muslim community floundered in contrast. The famous Sun temple had been destroyed by Muslim rulers in the early centuries of the 2nd millennium and even its site was forgotten. The fabled Prahladapuri temple suffered several material losses and was reduced to a non-descript shrine by the 19th century, overshadowed by a late Muslim shrine in the vicinity. As the Hindus started regaining their well-deserved position in the Multani society, they became more assertive and confident and contemplated the improvement of the appearance of the shrine. The problem was that close to the temple was the fabulous Muslim shrine, built on land that was believed to have been usurped from Hindus. The Muslim shrine keeper objected to these architectural improvements on rather specious grounds. The communal atmosphere got further vitiated by a number of factors including the anti-cow slaughter movement by Multani Hindus and eventually, in 1881, a riot broke out in which 2 mosques and 22 temples were destroyed. The British government of Punjab played a partisan role and in pursuit of their ‘divide and rule’ policy, sided with the Muslims. There were hardly any convictions for the destruction of 22 Hindu temples whereas a disproportionate number of Hindus were convicted. During the riot, the Prahladapuri temple was also sacked and obliterated. While Hindus might have played a role in promoting communal tension, the fact remains that there is no justification for Muslim objections on the renovation of the Hindu temple that had been severely damaged under the millennium long Islamic rule. The Hindu temple was a shrine revered by all Hindus of India whereas the adjacent Muslim shrine was of mere local importance. The speed with which the Muslim masses appeared and destroyed 22 Hindu temples is indicative of the fact that even common Muslims behave in a very volatile manner when it comes to dealing with non-Muslims. Also noteworthy is the fact that the Muslims do not think twice before raising gigantic mosques in the midst of places help sacred by members of other religions. For instance, the Muslims have forcefully occupied land in Hindu pilgrim centers like Mathura and Varanasi and have constructed massive mosques that tower over the Hindu religious structures. Even in modern times, Muslims have spent millions to raise mosques in the heart of non-Muslim cities like London. Apparently, Muslims demand and expect freedom of religion when they are in a minority, but deny the same to non-Muslims in areas where the former are in a majority. The inherent intolerance in Islam and the attitude of ‘us versus them’ makes all expressions of the religion of their non-Muslim neighbors appear ostentatious and offensive to the eyes of non-Muslims, as the Prahladapuri temple case also demonstrates. The 1940’s saw a total decimation of the Hindu minority of Multan, but a description of the same is beyond the scope of this note. Recent visitors to Multan report that the remnants of the temple were finally burnt down in 1992, when approximately 100 temples were demolished in Pakistan in the month of December the same year. Reference: ROSEBERRY, J. Royal. 1987. Imperial Rule in Punjab: The Conquest and Administration of Multan, 1818-1881. Manohar Publications (Delhi); 1987. ISBN: 0-913215-23-6