APR 19, 2005

The invitation to open the temple in Katasuraj, where Yudhishtira and his brothers are believed to have prayed once upon a time, was issued by Musharraf himself when the BJP president called on him over the weekend. The Pakistan President seemed determined to make up for the harsh words he said about Advani after the Agra Summit collapsed four years ago. But it’s not just Musharraf and Advani who are excited about the temple. Natwar Singh too is in a buzz over it. He’s asked his ministry to send a team to Pakistan to look over the temple and see what inputs are needed for its restoration.

The Luv temple, or rather its ruins, was unearthed recently in the Lahore Fort and the Punjab government in Pakistan has decided to rebuild it. The BJP chief is obviously much in demand for the president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, Shujat Hussain, was insistent that Advani come to Lahore to inaugurate the new structure. Wonder what the RSS has to say about all this, considering its chief, K.S. Sudarshan, has been carping about the Vajpayee government’s failure to build the Ram mandir at Ayodhya. (Deccan Chronicle)

'Le whore'
Apr 18: Lahore might be a 3500 year old city in Pakistan, but for residents in Toronto it is an inappropriate word that sounds like `Le Whore', the second word meaning prostitute.

They have objected to a street being named after Lahore for the same reason.

The name Lahore was proposed by Pakistani-Canadian councilor Khalid Usman last year for a new street in Markham, a Toronto suburb which is home to a large number of Pakistani immigrants. “I had difficulty understanding the complaint. This is a very multicultural society, especially Markham, especially that area,” Usman said. “We’re celebrating diversity here. This is a name that is a 3,500-year-old name of the second-largest city in Pakistan. It’s a very internationally known city. This isn’t something we came up with yesterday.”

But one objecting resident said, "I've grown frustrated by the name Lahore. It doesn't sound very appropriate to say. People find it humorous. With all due respect to the Pakistani community, we understand it to be an inappropriate word."

But Khalid Usman says the petition is uncalled for, arguing, “This is the process we went through. This is the name we selected. The proper process was followed. Now, if you want to change the registered name, a whole other process has to be followed. There would have to be community meetings and everything.” It is possible that another street in the area may be named Lahore.