‘No temple of their own’: Islamabad’s Hindus still wait for promised place of worship

Rawalpindi, PAKISTAN: Pawan Raj stepped through thick, untamed bushes into an unmarked, whitewashed structure and slipped off her shoes at the entrance. Inside, a worn carpet covered broken cement and chapped walls told a story of decades of neglect.

This is the Maharishi Valmiki Swamiji Mandir, built in 1935 in Rawalpindi’s Gracy Lines neighborhood and one of two Hindu temples in the garrison city. The city’s Hindu families still gather here, grateful the religious sanctuary has endured through decades of upheaval, migration, and abandonment.

“I consider myself lucky,” Pawan, 36, told Arab News, arranging incense sticks before the idol of the revered Hindu sage, Maharishi Guru Valmiki Bhagwan.

“My Hindu friends in neighboring Islamabad aren’t so fortunate. They have no temple of their own.”

Indeed, Islamabad has no functional Hindu temple, which means many of the capital city’s residents travel to neighboring Rawalpindi to worship at the Valmiki Mandir.