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A minority has a fate no one wants. Pakistan being a diverse country has inhabitants of various religious group – Hindus, Parsis, Christians and Sikhs play a huge role in Pakistan’s development. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, while addressing the first constituent assembly of Pakistan had said, “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. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the state.”
Unfortunately, the past Government of Pakistan had not done much for the prosperity of minorities but something amazing happened on November 8, 2018. The regime organized Diwali celebrations at Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA). The Event was attended by Minister of religious affairs, Noor ul Haq, MNA Jamshed Khan, Joint Secretary for interfaith harmony along with Pir Azmat Ullah Qadri.
PM Imran Khan wished Diwali to the Hindu community
Prime Minister Imran Khan has felicitated Hindu community of Pakistan on the occasion of #Diwali and has expressed best wishes for them. #HappyDiwali pic.twitter.com/mhTOK42E3m
— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) November 7, 2018
Minister of religious affairs, Noor ul Haq addressed the gathering at PNCA
Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony Noor-ul-Haq Qadri Speech at Diwali celebration ceremony at Pakistan National Council of Arts Islamabad (08.11.18)#PTI #Diwali #PNCASpectators also enjoyed religious ritual during Diwali celebration ceremony at PNCA. Diwali, Deepavali or Dipavali is the Hindu festival of lights, which is celebrated every autumn in the northern hemisphere. One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance.
Posted by PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday, November 8, 2018
Diwali is a Hindu festival which is mainly celebrated for the victory of king Ram over the ruler Ravan. The 5-day festival is celebrated every autumn in the northern hemisphere and in spring in the southern hemisphere. In the spiritual sense, this event showcases the triumph of good over bad or light over dark. In the celebrations, Hindus lighten up their houses, stores and other public places coupled with crackers and fireworks.
Minister of religious affairs and other chief guests
A couple, depicting ram and her better half
An enthusiastic performance
“Rangoli” one of the pre-requisites of Diwali
As per the statistics of the government of Pakistan’s national database and registration, authority (NADRA), in 2012, the population of minorities are: Hindus: 1,414,527, Christians: 1,270,051, Sikhs: 6,146, Parsis: 4,020,Others: 66,898. All the minorities of Pakistan have played a cardinal role in prospering Pakistan. The induction of Krishna Kumar Kohli, the first Hindu senator, in the Senate of Pakistan has proved Pakistan is adopting the true democratic culture.
On the festival of Diwali, celebs and Pakistanis reacted in the following manner on social media
The pretty lady of Pakistan, Mawra Hocane wished as follow:
Happy Diwali to everyone celebrating in Pakistan & all over the World. Wishing Love & Light.. and big awkward smiles! ✨✨✨✨? #FestivalofLights pic.twitter.com/4xLokii9oh
— MAWRA HOCANE (@MawraHocane) November 7, 2018
Director Fahad sherwani Shared the Diwali Picture of Mithi , TharParkar ,Sindh
#Diwali night in Mithi #TharParkar Sindh #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/nFOeEDuJX5
— @Fahad Sherwani (@fahadsherwani71) November 8, 2018
Rehman Malik also wished Diwali to the Pakistanis
Happy Diwali to Hindu brothers &sisters in Pakistán &India and living in other parts of the world . I wish you all good health & prosperity .Let us work for a peaceful world .we all need to work with mutual respect and care. With all my best wishes Senator Rehman Malik https://t.co/EtCXVHN58V
— Senator Rehman Malik (@SenRehmanMalik) November 8, 2018
A human right activist felicitated the Hindu community
Im extremely Happy to join my hindu Brothers & sisters in their #Diwali Celebration.❤️
We want a Pakistan that my mother, Quaid-e-Awam & Quaid-e-Azam dreamed of.A Pakistan where Muslim & non Muslims are treated equally @BBhuttoZardari #happyDiwali #PPP @AseefaBZ @BakhtawarBZ pic.twitter.com/Wy9efYgNHn
— Syeda Aqraba Fatima (@AqrabaFatima) November 7, 2018
To sum up, Pakistan is proving that it is really a land of diversity and has a place for the followers of every religion. Being an Islamic republic, the constitution of Pakistan gives every basic right to the minorities. Hopefully, the Government will pave for the next Diwali along with Christmas to be celebrated with more zeal and vigor.
