Posted on 02/01/2007 8:49:33 AM PST by SunkenCiv
The Katasraj Temples have huge significance for the Hindus living in the country... Plans to celebrate the festival in Pakistan are part of a development project for Hindu sites at Katasraj. Both India and Pakistan had in June 2005 agreed on the project during a visit by the then BJP president Lal Krishna Advani and Shivshankar Menon, the then Indian high commissioner, to Katasraj. It was also agreed that arrangements would be made to allow more Hindu pilgrims to visit Katasraj Temples in the near future. Then, in September 2005, president of the ruling party in Pakistan, PML, Ch. Shujaat Hussain held a meeting with the Indian high commissioner in Islamabad, and decided to jointly work on the development of this historic site to promote tourism... Located on a hill six km from Choa Saidan Shah in Chakwal, the Katasraj Temples have historic and religious value for Hindus. The temples have also been mentioned in Mahabharata - one of the three major Sanskrit Hindu epics. According to Hindu beliefs, both Katas and the Paskar (Ajmer) are the eyes of Shiva. It was here only that Alberuni attempted to measure the circumference of the Earth, studied Sanskrit and wrote his renowned famous book "Kitabul Hind". To this day, Hindu pilgrims regularly visit the site for worship.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailyindia.com ...
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Here's some interesting data from Wikipedia:
"The population of the province is estimated to be 86,084,000 in 2005 and is home to over half the population of Pakistan. The major language spoken in the Punjab is Punjabi (which is written in Perso-Arabic script, known as Shahmukhi, in Pakistan) and Punjabis comprise the largest ethnic group (and overlap into neighbouring India). Punjabis themselves are a heterogeneous group comprising different tribes and communities, although caste in Pakistani Punjab has more to do with traditional occupations such as blacksmiths or artisans as opposed to rigid social stratifications.
"The most important tribes within Punjab include the Gakhars, Jats, the Arain, the Gujjars and the Rajputs. Other smaller tribes are the: Awans, Rawns, and Maliks. In addition, there is a significant shift towards the usage of Urdu by the educated classes of the province as the Punjabis are the most ardent supporters of the nation-state of Pakistan and all of its national institutions. There is also a nationalist movement amongst the somewhat related Seraikis in the south of Punjab and many wish to see a separate the region into a new province of Seraikistan. Other smaller groups in the province include Hindko, Pakhtuns, Balochs, Kashmiris and others.
"The population of Punjab(Pakistan) is over 99% Muslim with a Sunni majority and Shia minority. There are small non-Muslims groups of Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs.
"The religious demographics pre-1947 were radically different owing to the mass exchange of populations at the time of partition . There were substantial populations of Hindus and Sikhs in all districts which went on to become part of Punjab(Pakistan )."
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