The plight of religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly minority Hindus, has deteriorated as a result of Islamic extremism in the country. Several reports have surfaced over the years of Hindu girls being kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam. Furthermore, there have been many cases of Hindu temples being demolished and Hindu houses being bulldozed to the ground with the government’s tacit approval.
It goes without saying that Pakistan has never tolerated Hindus or Hindu sentiments. Time and again have proved that anything that belongs to Hindu religion and culture have been vandalised or destroyed in Pakistan.
The small station was established as "Sita Road" in Dadu district but was renamed after partition by some religious element as Rehmani Nagar. But strong storm yesterday removed the iron sheet inscribed with Rehmani Nagar & exposed the original name. pic.twitter.com/zFWgBcylLO
— Kapil Dev (@KDSindhi) March 23, 2021
A road in Pakistan was named after the Goddess Sita since pre-partition days. But the name of the road in Pakistan named after Goddess Sita was changed to Rahmani Nagar. This information was provided by a social media user. In fact, a recent storm blew the iron sheet above the board, revealing the true name of the road, which was previously named after the goddess Sita before Partition.
A Twitter user reported that a powerful storm in Pakistan’s Sindh province blew away an iron sheet from the signage inscribed with Rehmani Nagar, revealing the original name of the road, which was named after Goddess Sita prior to partition.
A closer look at the image reveals that ‘Sita Road’ was originally engraved on the stone structure, which was later covered by a metal sheet with Rehmani Nagar inscribed in Urdu. Yesterday, it was reported that strong winds in the area tore off a portion of the iron sheet that was placed on the stone structure, revealing the original name of the location. However, Sita Road in Pakistan is not the only road that was renamed after partition in order to restore the country’s “Pakistani identity.”
Many roads, streets, and traditional places in Pakistan have been renamed after Hindus and Sikhs over the years. Ram Bagh in Karachi was renamed Aram Bagh, Krishan Nagar in Lahore was renamed Islampura, Wan Radha Ram in Kasur was renamed Habibabad, and Bhai Pheru was renamed Phool Nagar.
The Jain Mandir Chowk in central Lahore was named after a Hindu temple that once stood there. In 1992, the temple was destroyed to “avenge” the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, India, and the site was renamed Babri Masjid Chowk.
There are several other examples. Laxmi Chowk used to host one of the city’s biggest Diwali celebrations before partition. This, too, was called Maulana Zafar Ali Khan Chowk after an Urdu journalist who fought the Ahmadiyya community through his newspaper.
In fact, in 2017, Pakistan proposed laws to punish anyone who calls a location by a name other than that announced by the government, even if accidentally.