Pakistani Hindus Celebrate Diwali
-
Loading... - Mirai Char
- 26 Oct 2022
- 54 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
Diwali symbolises the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance”. Diwali is a main religious feast that Hindu people celebrate. Diwali is celebrated at the end of every autumn to commemorate the victory of Hindu god Lord Ram over evil Ravana and how he spent 14 years in tranquillity. Remembering the event when Lord Ram rescued Sita from the captivity of Demon Rawan. The feast celebrates the return of Ram, his wife Sita, and his brother Lakhshmi, after many years of exile in the forest.
Diwali is celebrated with a variety of rituals which centre on the lighting of candles, electric lights and fireworks. Fireworks are very loud indeed and I needed to put my hands to my ears so as to lessen the effect of the deafening sound. People exchange gifts and homemade sweets, clean and decorate homes, wear new clothes, dance, feast and forgive one another.
There are approximately one billion Hindus in the world, making it the third largest religion with about fourteen per cent of the world’s population. It is an Indian religion and Dharma (‘Way of Life’). It is the major religion in India practised by about 970 million people or 80% of the population. 95% of Hindus live in India, with the remaining 30 million living in Nepal, Bali (Indonesia), Pakistan and other countries.
Pakistan’s population of 207.7 million is made up of approximately 96% Muslim, 1.7% Hindu and 1.6% Christian. Therefore there are about 3.3 million Hindus living in Pakistan. Many Hindus live in Tharparkar (Province of Sindh) , with most living in the many outlying villages. Most work as landless peasant farmers and are poor. St Paul’s School, situated in the church compound in Tharparkar district.
The Pakistani Hindu community also lit earthen lamps in the night and fireworks were also be exhibited to celebrate the festival. Apart from Karachi, Lahore, and other major cities, festivities were also held in Umerkot, Mithi, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Jamshoro, Badin, Sanghar, Hala, Tando Adam, and Shahdadpur.
The homes and temples were brightly lit with many candles and lights. The “Row of Lights” for which the Dewali Festival is named are lit on the ‘New Moon Light’ to welcome Lakhshmi, ‘the goddess of wealth’.
For many Hindus, Diwali is also New Year’s eve as Diwali is held on the final day of the Vikram (Jantri) calendar.Diwali symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. It also celebrates a good year of harvests and honours the goddess of wealth. While we were guests in a room, a member of the family came in with a flaming fire on a stick and circled this around the room. This was to chase away any evil that may be in the house. Read More…
