Karachi: More than 70 Hindu couples got married in a mass wedding ceremony in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi. According to media reports, the mass marriage was organized by the Pakistan Hindu Parishad (PHC) and it was held on Sunday at the Railway Ground located on Second Chundrigar Road.
Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, a member of the National (Quami) Assembly for the last 14 years, organizes mass marriage ceremonies every year for poor Hindu families who cannot afford to marry off their children. He is also the patron of PHC.
In 2008, the first mass marriage ceremony was organized in which 35 Hindu couples got married. This figure has increased in the last few years.
Vankwani said, “This year, because of the safety measures related to the coronavirus pandemic, we invited only half of those couples to the ceremony.” He said that this is a cultural activity of the Hindu community.
According to the news of ‘The News International’, Vankwani said, “This event also sends a message to the world that our minority communities are completely free to organize their social events according to their religion.”
According to the news of ‘Dawn’ newspaper, 72 Hindu couples tied the knot during the mass marriage ceremony. Most of the couples came from different parts of Sindh and were accompanied by their parents.
Laxman, who is married to Mehak, said, “I work in a mobile phone company in Korangi. Had the responsibility of marriage remained with me, I would have had to wait many more years to save and get married.”
According to the 2017 census of Pakistan, 44 lakh Hindus live in the country, which is 2.14 percent of the total population. Pakistan Hindu Parishad claims that there are around 8 million Hindus in the country.
