Peshawar

As the first batch of Hindu pilgrims came to pay obeisance at the resting place –Samadhi – of a cult Guru Shri Param Hans Dayal at village Teri’s Krishna temple complex in Karak district on Sunday, the atmosphere in this quaint village of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan had turned eclectic.

The Samadhi of the Guru Param Hans Dayal  who passed away 114 year ago, was visited by the general public and his followers till 1947, when it was closed down due to partition.

On Sunday, the first group of 200 Indian pilgrims crossed Wagah, to enter Pakistan while another group flew from Dubai to Lahore.

The locals were thrilled to see the first group of 15 men, women, and children, arriving in a convoy of vehicles from Peshawar Airport in the morning. The same afternoon the 200 Indian pilgrims arrived in a chartered flight from Lahore to Peshawar and then to the village in a convoy.

Pilgrims praying at the temple in Teri

The 117-year-old temple in Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that was demolished by an angry mob of Muslims in December 2020, was rebuilt for the first time in India, Dubai, the USA, and other countries of the world. 

Ashok Atri from India was very happy; he thanked the locals for their love and warm welcome. Amol Malhotra from Delhi said it is difficult for him to describe his feelings on seeing the Samadhi after the news about its demolition along with the temple were flashed all over the world in 2020. The locals invited us to their homes. “It looks like a beautiful dream,” he said.

Local media reported that extraordinary arrangements were made for the pilgrims who came for the first time after the completion of construction work of Samadhi and Krishna Dawar temple in Teri.

Rohit Kumar Advocate in charge of Legal Affairs of the Pakistani Hindu Community appreciated the good initiative taken by the government of Pakistan to protect other religious places of Hindus including Teri and to open places for religious tourism.

Indian pilgrims at Lahore Railway Station

He said such events would send a positive message of his country to the world and also send a positive message to the neighboring countries, especially India. He sought reciprocity from the Indian government towards Pakistani Muslims.

Pakistan’s most vocal and influential Hindu leader Dr. Ramesh Vankwani said that Teri temple-samadhi is among the four topmost religious places of Hindus in Pakistan. Vanakwani, who is also a member of the National Assembly of the ruling PTI, said a Pakistani religious delegation will visit India in January.

Ramesh Vankwani welcomed the pilgrims in the chartered flight from Lahore. He said this is the beginning of religious tourism between two countries. “We will increase cooperation in trade and other fields because we have started a good work through a religious tour,” he said amidst applause by the passengers. He posted his speech on Twitter:

Expressing views with Hindu Pilgrims during their Faith Tourism Trip pic.twitter.com/wp4LVQkSgz

— Dr. Ramesh Vankwani (@RVankwani) January 2, 2022

He claimed after January 20, Pakistani Muslims will visit Delhi, Jaipur, and Ajmer Sharif for pilgrimage and said as “there are people to people interactions, the hatred between the two countries will disappear. For the development and prosperity of the region, we have to move forward with positive thinking.”

The pilgrims has one day visa for Karak and they were disappointed to return to Lahore the next morning where they will visit religious places in other cities of Pakistan.

The Krishna Dwara temple in the Teri area of ​​Karak was built in 1904 when a Hindu religious leader from Uttar Pradesh, Shri Pram Hans Dayal Maharaj migrated to the area. later when he passes away, his devotees buried him there and raised a samadhi to commemorate him name.