The country's Hindu community is celebrating the annual religious festival of Diwali. The religious festivities are expected to take place in Shawala Teja Singh Temple, located in Sialkot, after 72 years.All preparations for the upcoming festival have been completed. The festival of Diwali is being seen as more of a cultural than a religious one as people from other faiths will celebrate alongside members of the Hindu community.The temple, where the festivities will take place, was closed down in 1947. The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) and certain members of the Hindu community decided to open the temple a few months ago, after which the renewal and renovation work had begun. Now, for the first time, this temple is going to celebrate a religious ceremony.Punjab ETPB Deputy Secretary Shrines Syed Faraz Abbas told The Express Tribune that following the directives of the prime minister and ETPB chairman, measures have been taken to renovate Hindu temples and religious places of the Sikh community.“The opening of Shawala Teja Singh Temple is evidence that efforts are being made for religious communities. The Hindu community living in Sialkot and nearby areas will be able to visit the temple for worship.”Along with Krishna Mandir of Lahore and Rawalpindi, immense Diwali celebrations are expected to take place in Peshawar, Sukkur and Karachi. Millions of rupees have been allocated for the celebrations, the deputy secretary said.Kashi Ram, the priest of Krishna Mandir, said that Diwali is the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community. “Today we have decorated our houses and temples with lights. On the occasion of Diwali, we will worship Lakshmi Devi, who is a Goddess of wealth, according to our community’s belief.”He added guests will be visiting homes and to exchange gifts. “Also, on the occasion of Diwali, the flickering clay lights of the temple and colourful lights in the houses of the Hindu community will beautify the built environment.”An artist named Aarti Devi painted beautiful prints in her courtyard using different colours, whereas, instead of using oil lamps, china lights will be used for decoration. A leader of the Hindu community, Dr Manoorchand, while sketching the history of the Diwali festival, said that after the 14-year exile of Ram, the prince of Ayodhya, and his wife Sita, he returned to Ayodhya where he burned Raavan.“Raavan is a symbol of evil and after he was burned, all the people of the city came to welcome Ram and Sita and lights were ignited in the temples and homes of Ayodhya.” Even today people celebrate the return of Ram wholeheartedly, he added. “In the holy book of the Hindu which tells the story of Mahabharat, there is another story about Diwali, when King Pandu of Hastinapur lost his brothers to Koro in gambling, and he was sentenced to a 13-year exile by the Koros.”He highlighted that after 13 years of wandering in the forests, when Pandu arrived in his native city of Hastinapur (present-day New Delhi), people welcomed him and the native city was decorated with flowers and lights, which became the day of Diwali. “The events related to the day of Diwali are also found to be on the same day a Sikh Guru was released from the captivity of Mughal king Jahangir.” Interestingly, on the day of Diwali, the stone breaking ceremony of the Golden Temple was laid in Amritsar and, on this day, Lakshmi Devi and Lord Vishnu also met with each other, he further said.In a media statement on Saturday, Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs (HR&MA) Ijaz Alam Augustine congratulated the Pakistani Hindu community, on their festival of Diwali. He said, “People of different faiths are equal citizens of the country and all religious minorities enjoy equal rights under the constitution of Pakistan.”The festival promotes a sense of service along with infusing the sentiments of unity of colours which creates the passions of brotherhood and goodwill among the people, the provincial minister added. The festival of the Hindu community is also a symbol of happiness and passion, he further said. “The community has played an important role in the process of national development and their contribution in different sectors of life, including socioeconomic and political sectors, is commendable.”The Minister appealed to the entire Hindu Community to celebrate Diwali with austerity due to the current situation of the people of Kashmir. He commented that the Pakistani Hindu community is a respectable faction of our society. “Greater socialisation among people of different faiths will promote the message of brotherhood, peace and harmony.”*With additional input from APPPublished in The Express Tribune, October 27, 2019.