The Swami Narayan Temple witnessed quite a spectacle. Participants from the NSF (national Students federation) organized a human shield in order to protect their countrymen from any untoward activity that might take place. The move was to promote interfaith harmony and unity among all citizens of the country regardless of cast, color, race or creed.
The positive use of social media was at play as invites were sent out to like minded liberal people who also aspire to see a Pakistan rid of miscreants, terrorists and those who kill in the name of religion. An NSF participant was quick to term the organization as a “progressive leftist organisation” similar to the one that dated back to the era of General Ayub Khan.
The move is a welcome one as many reports of Hindu girls being forcibly converted into Muslims have surfaced in the near past. Pakistan has witnessed a spate of unprecedented, cruel violence which has targeted many communities, the Shia community specifically. A recent blast in Shikarpur claimed scores of lives and led to protests from Shia.
Such activities are only symbolic yet tend to alleviate the image of the country. At a time when Pakistan is dipped in terrorism and chaos, these actions help promote peace and provide the important message that everyone has equal rights in Islam as well as Pakistan.
