Historical monuments are a part of any country’s heritage and pride.At the same time preserving it in a right manner is one of the important aspects.A nine-foot-tall bronze statue of the first ruler of the Sikh Empire, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was on Tuesday vandalised by an activist of the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) at the Lahore Fort in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Indians responded to the incident and slammed the act, saying Pakistan has completely failed in its duty to prevent such attacks which are creating a “climate of fear” among the minority communities.A video clip circulating on social media shows the accused chanting slogans, breaking the arm of the statue and dismantling Singh’s bust from the horse and flinging it to the ground before being pulled away by another man.
Pakistan Administration Reacts On The Incident
The TLP activist has been arrested by the Punjab police, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.The Lahore Fort’s administration said that strict action would be taken against the accused.
Reacting to the incident, Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary in a tweet said that such “illiterates are really dangerous” for the country’s image internationally.Shahbaz Gill, Special Assistant to Pakistan’s Prime Minister on political communication, said that immediate action would be taken against the accused.
This Was Not The First Time In Pakistan
The statue was unveiled in June 2019. This is not the first time that the statue has been targeted. The arm of the statue was broken in Lahore last year. It was also damaged in August 2019 by two young men
Indian Government Reacts
We have seen disturbing reports in the media about the vandalisation of the statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore today. This is the third such incident wherein the statue has been vandalised, since it was unveiled in 2019,” Mr. Bagchi said.
“Such attacks on the cultural heritage of minority communities in Pakistan highlight the growing intolerance and lack of respect for minority communities in Pakistani society,” he added.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the founder of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. Well vandalising such prime statues of historical importance is an absolute disgrace and an immoral act, which eventually has to be taken into consideration whether it be Pakistan or India.
