219. A Temple Without a Name: Traces of the Past in Vijh

It is not uncommon to see a spire of a Hindu temple protruding from behind shops or the shoddy construction of haphazardly built houses in Pakistan. Now, after the passage of 78 years, in most cases this is just what remains of once sprawling temples. That too is due to some legal niceties which prohibit the destruction of abandoned religious places following the turmoil of 1947. But the occupants have more freedom of action in altering or rebuilding the other buildings or rooms in the temple complex. And usually such temples are inaccessible, because the chaotic construction in most cases blocks the passage. So visits to such small abandoned temples are usually not very interesting or rewarding. But there is one exception: a temple in Vijh, District Sargodha.

Location:

This temple is located in a village called Vijh in the district of Sargodha, old Shahpur. Vijh is situated approximately 20 kms to the west of Sargodha. It is a big village, bounded by a canal and surrounded by rich farmlands, settled under the Jhelum Canal Colony project. The village itself seems to be an old settlement. The temple is located at 32° 3’56.09″N, 72°25’29.15″, in the southern part of the village, close to its old bazar. ٰ I visited this temple on March 24, 2026, it was a pleasant day.

History & Current Condition:

The name of this temple is not known to me. The thing that attracted me to this temple was a photo or a small video, which I saw on social media, of one or two plaques in this temple. That piqued my curiosity, and I planned this visit to find more details like its history, etc. I indeed found about a dozen plaques, more than I had hoped for. But strangely, although the plaques mention the names of the donors, no dates are given on them. That was a big disappointment. So I have no idea when this temple was built.

The current condition of the temple is not good. Except for the spire—the most important part of a temple, where the statues of gods are kept—all other structures have changed. Even the spire is not in good condition and is encroached upon from several sides. Luckily, the finial of the spire survives and looks very beautiful.

Current Occupants:

Currently, two brothers, Muhammad Asif and Kashif, along with their families, live in these houses. They got this property on lease from the Auqaf Department. They received me warmly and, without hesitation, allowed me to enter their home and take pictures. Their family migrated from Ambala in 1947 and settled here. They have acquired this property on lease from the Auqaf Department.

Mr. Asif told me that their family belonged to District Ambala. He told me the name of his ancestral village as Parhiala, but I could not locate any place with this name. His father’s name was Ali Jan and his grandfather’s Imam Din. They still speak their Haryanvi language, though with me they spoke fluently in Punjabi. I feel really grateful for their cooperation and hospitality.

Plaques:

Plaques on old historic buildings are of special interest to me. They provide the most authentic information about the history and the builders, which is otherwise very difficult to find. In this temple, I found almost 12 plaques, which provide information about the builders and donors. However, they lack one very important detail—that is, the date. No plaque gives any date; thus, we cannot determine the time of its construction. Three of these plaques are written in Urdu, two in Hindi, while seven are in both Urdu and Hindi.

Important note: In the Urdu inscription, two names are given at the lower corners of the plaque. On the right, it appears to read Matab Ram Chandna, and on the left, Chamba Ram Chandna. These do not seem to be common Hindu names, so I cannot confirm their accuracy.

As noted above, although no dates are given on the plaques, they are not entirely useless. They provide a lot of information about the people who participated in the construction of this temple. They also give us an insight into that multi-religious society that almost vanished with the departure of Hindus and Sikhs from this part of Punjab.

Tariq Amir

April 19, 2026.
Islamabad