Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Pakistani government demolished the UNESCO-listed historical Hinglaj temple.
Fact
Viral claim is false, the under-construction temple demolished in Sindh was not historical.
Several mainstream Indian news outlets shared a news item claiming that Pakistani government has demolished the UNESCO-listed ‘historical Hinglaj temple’ in the Sindh province. Union Minister Giriraj Singh was also among the many BJP leaders who shared the same claim on his Twitter account.
Hindi news portal ‘Live Hindustan‘ was one of the news outlets that published the claim in on 24th November 2023. An excerpt of this article reads “UNESCO listed Hinglaj Mata Temple in Sindh province of Pakistan has been demolished”.
Apart from Live Hindustan, news outlets like India TV, Republic TV, News 24, and Asianet News have also carried the viral claim.
Giriraj Singh, Rural Development Minister in the Government of India also posted the viral claim on his X page, along with a video, writing, “In the name of development and reconstruction, UNESCO listed Hinglaj Mata temple has been demolished in Pakistan. The so-called secular community of India did not raise any voice against it. many mosques in India have been also built by encroachment. These are also hindrances in development.”
RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya also posted the claim on their verified X account, along with many others, which can be seen here, here, and here.
Hinglaj Mata Mandir: One of The 51 Shakti Peeths
The Hinglaj Mata Temple is located along the banks of the Hingol River in Hinglaj, the Balochistan region of Pakistan. The goddess seated at the shrine is commonly known as Hinglaj Devi or Hingula Devi and is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas made in honour of Goddess Sati. It serves as a spiritual hub for numerous Hindus world over, especially in Pakistan.
So was this ancient temple really destroyed by the Pakistani authorities on a court order as is being widely claimed? Here’s what we found:
Fact Check/Verification
Demolished Temple Not Historical, Was Encroached Property
Newschecker first ran keyword search on X and found a tweet made by former Pakistani cricketer Danish Kaneria on November 23, 2023. In his tweet, Kaneria claimed that “Pakistan authorities have demolished Hinglaj Mata Mandir in Mithi, Tharparkar following an order of anti-encroachment court Mirpurkhas”. Same Video of people raising slogans was also included in his tweet.
We then scanned the X post by Danish Kaneria thoroughly, where we found a repost by Sanjay Sadhwani a journalist with Pakistani news outlet ARY News, on November 23, 2023.
Journalist Sanjay Sadhwani reposted the tweet with the caption, “Neither it was a historical temple, nor a religious site. The plot was encroached by the said individuals who were trying to build temple on the property which actually belonged to another party, who fortunately are Hindus too. The other Hindu party took it to the court & hence it was decided to demolish the illegal structure. State of Pakistan or Government has nothing to do with this”.
After this, we contacted journalist Sanjay Sadhwani who helped us to access court orders relevant to the case, issued by the Mirpur Khas Anti-Encroachment Tribunal on 7th December 2022. Anti-Encroachment Tribunal had ordered the demolition of the temple for being built on public property in the case of Aroon vs. Paroo Mal.
According to the court order, one Arun Lohana, a resident of Khatri locality of Mithi, filed a case against Paruoo Mal and others accusing them of illegal construction of the temple on state land in front of his house, due to which he was facing trouble. Denying the allegation, the other party contented that the property was private and belonged to their ancestors. They also claimed that their ancestors had earlier constructed a dharamshala, a well and a temple on said land.
After inspection, the local tehsildar, in his report to the court, mentions that “The said land where other party had tried to construct a temple is government land”. After listening to the argument of all the parties, the tribunal ordered the removal of encroachment from state property.
We also contacted Arun Lohana’s lawyer and his father Harish Chander Lohana in our investigation. Harish Chander told Newschecker that “The said land was granted before independence by Deputy Commissioner of Tharparkar to the ancestor of the other party. This land was granted to construct a well. The well was in condition for many years, but due to lying unused in last few years, it fell into a dilapidated condition. After that people from nearby areas started dumping garbage in the well. Due to this, the well was completely filled. Even after the well was filled, people continued dumping garbage in the area. But in 2022, the other party started constructing a wall around the land with the aim of capturing it.
“Due to the construction of the wall, the road that led to our house became narrow. When we complained about this to the Revenue Officer, the officer took action and demolished that construction. However, after few days the construction work resumed. They constructed a boundary wall and erected a religious flag. We approached the court, which ordered the removal of encroachment from the state land. Following the court order, the said construction was demolished on 23rd November 2023.
Harish also shared some pictures of that land with us. These pictures were from 2022 and 2023 & consisted visuals from before, during and after the construction, and also from the recent demolition.
We also came across a video released by SSP Tharparkar Ali Mardan Khoso regarding this matter. In this video, SSP Tharparkar can be heard saying “In the case filed by a person named Arun Kumar Lohana, the order to demolish the illegal encroachment was given by the Anti-Encroachment Tribunal. The other party in this case also belongs to Hindu community.”
Thus, it is clear that the Hinglaj temple which has been demolished is not a historical temple and that it was built on public land in 2022.
Historic Hinglaj Temple Is Not A UNESCO Site, Is Located 500 KM Away
The historical Hinglaj Mata Temple is located in Hingoli National Park of Las Bela district of Balochistan, which is about 500 kilometers from the demolition site.
We also looked upon the UNESCO website in our further investigation to obtain information about listed place of Sindh. As per the information available on the UNESCO website, Mohenjodaro and Makli are the only two historical monuments from the region that have been included in World Heritage List by UNESCO.
We also found that the historical Hinglaj temple which is located in Balochistan is still in the UNESCO’s tentative list and it is not included in the World Heritage List.
No Demolition At Historic Hinglaj Temple, Confirms Temple Secy
We also reached out to Versi Mal K Deewani, General Secretary of Hinglaj temple who denied any demolishment at the holy site. Versi Mal told Newschecker, “Not any kind of demolishment has happened in this historical temple. The Hinglaj temple which has been demolished is in Sindh and it is not a historical temple. The temple has been demolished due to land dispute”.
Conclusion
Newschecker found that the Hinglaj temple, which was demolished due to land dispute in Sindh province is neither historical nor included in the UNESCO list. The actual and historical Hinglaj temple is located in Hingoli National Park of Balochistan.
Result: False
Our Sources
Pak Journalist Sanjay Sadhwani X Account: Tweet on 23rd Nov 2023
Mirpurkhas Anti-Encroachment Tribunal Order
Photos of location from Pak Advocate Harish Chander
Tharparkar Police FB Account: Video of SSP on 27th Nov 2023
UNESCO website: Information about sites of Pakistan
Telephonic Conversation with Pak Advocate Harish Chander
Telephonic Conversation with Hinglaj Temple Balochistan Committee Member Versi Mal
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Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
