“Saidpur Village”, Where religions meets harmony.
Saidpur village located in the foots of Margalla Hills, near the Damn-e-Koh point in Capital Islamabad, this village was founded in Mughal era but it has a vast, ancient, cultural and religious heritage of bygone era. It is a great religious tourist spot for all Hindus with an old temple, for Sikhs with an ancient Gurduwara, for Buddhist with Buddha caves and for Muslims with Shah Allah Ditta Caves a saint who was belonged to Mughal empire.
Raja Man Singh, turned this place later into a Hindu temple surrounded by, built the place where Hind worships in 1580 , this temple surrounded by ponds of fresh water, the temples named as Rama Mandir dedicated to Hindu’s Rama, they believed Rama and his family lived in this area for 14 years. According to history till 1893, festival of Hindus were celebrated each year at a pond named “Ram kund”. Their faith is that the Ram and his family sipped water from here once. Later Hindus added a Dharamshala in it. Because the Hindus pilgrims from all over the world came for worship in this temple and stayed there. From 190 to 2006 this temple used as a girls school later it converted into a religious tourist spot. After partition Hindus of this area moved to India and bring their idols with them.
Saidpur Village also has a Sikh Temple Gurdwara, the Gurdwara was adjacent to the Hindu temple. It constructed by the Sikhs in late 20th century, its not confirm but almost in 1930 the Sikh temple was completed and served as an institution which works for spreading the teaching of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion. This Gurdwara is now only a tourist spot, after partition of 1947 the gurdwara is not open for rest of the public.
Saidpur village is a symbol of interfaith harmony as well because it has a church and a shrine of Muslims. The shrine named as the shrine of Zinda peer. This area comes under the CDA. If CDA works on it, this place will attract many tourist from all over the world from four religions Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity and Islam. It will turn into a great harmony village, the CDA should work on it.