Religious festivals are occasions where all communities come together and show interfaith harmony. On this Hindu festival of Holi, Sikhs, Muslims and people from other religions came together and celebrated the day of colours at Krishna Mandir, Ravi Road, Lahore.
Along with the community, Pakistan’s first and only Sikh cricketer, Mahindar Pal Singh, celebrated Holi. “My family lives in Nankana Sahib, but as I study and practice my cricket here that’s why I came to celebrate this festival. I have completed my BS in sports sciences from Lahore Garrison University,” Singh told Minute Mirror.
Mahindar Pal has played for Pakistan in the ‘under-nineteen team’ and also got selected as assistant manager for Peshawar Zalmi in 2021, but despite being part of Zalmis, his heart beats for Qalandars.
“I have played in Qalandar Rising Stars in 2017 and 2018 and currently I am playing in Central Punjab as a fast bowler. Muhammad Asif, Waqar Younis and Aqib Javed are my inspiration,” said Singh.
The 26-year-old cricketer lives in Gurudwara Dera Sahib but missed his family at the festival. While speaking to Minute Mirror, he said, “If the festival would have come on the weekend, then I would have gone to Nankana Sahib to celebrate it with my family. But all these brothers are like my family. All of my friends from the Sikh, Hindu and Muslim community celebrate Holi with me, because of that I miss my family a little less.”
The event was organized by Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), government of Pakistan and Punjab Human Rights and Minority Affairs Department Minister Ijaz Alam Augustine was the chief guest.
While congratulating the community, Augustine said that these were the colours of Pakistan.
“Look around, all of you are in beautiful colours and this is the message we want to give out to society that this is how we all live together in this country peacefully,” he said.
ETPB Chairman Dr. Aamer Ahmad wished the community and said that whether it be Holi, Diwali or Navratri, “we feel happiness while celebrating these festivals with our brothers”.
Hindu Welfare Council Pakistan Chairman Dr. Munawar Chand and Hindu Sudhar Sabha Pakistan President Amarnath Randhawa also spoke at the event and said, “Holi is the festival in which we celebrate the arrival of spring. It is a very colourful festival as we throw powder paint and coloured water on each other. It also celebrates the Hindu god Krishna and the legend of Holika and Prahlad. On the first day we also have a bonfire and then the next day we play with colours.”
While praising the efforts of the local government, Randhawa said, “Our brothers in uniform came a day earlier here and commissioner and deputy commissioner all made sure that we faced no problem while celebrating our festival,” adding that this happened every time.
He further said, “In the whole world, there is no place like Pakistan where we can celebrate with people coming from so many different religions.”
Pictures by Kiran Butt
