Churrio Jabal Durga Mata Temple

File:Durga Mata Temple (asad aman).jpg

The name Churrio (Choryo){{cite web|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/130210/contractor-blasting-through-tharparkar-temple-in-search-of-granite/|title=Contractor blasting through Tharparkar temple in search of granite - The Express Tribune|date=9 March 2011|publisher=}} is a word from Sindhi language, derived from a word (چوڙي), to be pronounced as (Choo-rree), which means 'a bangle'; thus the word Churrio—an adjective in Sindhi language—means "belonging to/related to bangles",Jam-e-Sindhi-Lughat/Sindhi-Language-Authority/2004 because in the vicinity of the hill there are a number of small villages that have historically remained attached to the profession of manufacturing bangles for women. These locally manufactured bangles are then transported out of the villages to the nearby towns like Nangarparkar up to Mithi in the west and Umerkot in the north. Accordingly, culturally, the women of the area dress in heavily embroidered clothes with bangles adorning their wrists.{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1134291|title=Hindus celebrate Navratri and Durga Puja festival|last=Agencies|date=25 September 2014|publisher=}}

File:Churio jabal temple.jpg

Durga Mata temple, on Churrio Jabal hill in Chorrio village is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Durga,{{cite web|url=http://defence.pk/threads/pvt-companys-excavation-threatens-ancient-hindu-temple-in-pak.98384/|title=Pvt company''s excavation threatens ancient Hindu temple in Pak|publisher=}} who is attributed as destroyer of evil, triumph of good over evil, the mother of universe, and power behind the creation, preservation, and destruction of the world.{{cite web|url=http://hinduism.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/navaratri.htm|title=Navaratri: The 9 Divine Nights|publisher=|access-date=2016-07-19|archive-date=2009-01-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122133328/http://hinduism.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/navaratri.htm|url-status=dead}} Thousands of pilgrims, not only from Pakistan, especially the provinces of Sindh, Baluchistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but also from Nepal, India and other countries visit Churrio Hill for their religious festivals.{{cite web|url=http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2011/03/19/city/karachi/in-search-of-granite-path-to-durgas-temple-blown-up-with-dynamite/|title=In search of granite, path to Durga's temple blown up with dynamite|publisher=}} The temple is a part of Hindu religious and cultural heritage in Sindh, Pakistan.{{cite web|url=https://iaoj.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/durga-mata-temple-nagarparkar-sindh/|title=Threat to Durga Mata Temple, Nangarparkar, Sindh|date=23 March 2011|publisher=}} On Shivratri 200,000 pilgrims visit the temples. Hindus cremate the dead and ashes are preserved till Shivratri for immersion in the into holy water. Richer Pakistani Hindus go to India to immerse the ashes in Ganges and the rest visit Nagarparkar to immerse the ashes. However the area has been leased by the government for the mining by dynamite blasting of the hills on which the temples are located. This is posing a threat to the temples. Pilgrims held a protest against the destruction of this area by the miners.[https://tribune.com.pk/story/130210/contractor-blasting-through-tharparkar-temple-in-search-of-granite/ Contractor blasting through Tharparkar temple in search of granite ], The Express Tribune, 10 Mar 2011.

The Churrio Hill on which the temple exist is formed of granite.{{cite web|url=http://www.indus.edu.pk/journals/2-Demographic,%20Social%20and%20Economic%20Changes%20in%20Tharparkar.PDF|title=Demographic, Social & Economic Changes in Tharparkar|publisher=|access-date=2016-07-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110601085619/http://www.indus.edu.pk/journals/2-Demographic,%20Social%20and%20Economic%20Changes%20in%20Tharparkar.PDF|archive-date=2011-06-01|url-status=dead}} Compared to the neighbouring areas of Rajasthan in India, where the granite is grey, the granite colour formation in Churrio is multicoloured and hence expensive.http://arifhasan.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/AH-007_comp-assessment-droughtandfamine.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}

Mining is posing serious danger to the Hindu temples of the area. The Hindu community protested against the mining.{{Cite web|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/130210/contractor-blasting-through-tharparkar-temple-in-search-of-granite/?amp=1|title = Contractor blasting through Tharparkar temple in search of granite|date = 9 March 2011}} Despite opposition by local Hindus, the digging work is going ahead. Instead of trying to put a stop to the digging activity, the Sindh government has issued a lease to a contractor to carry out the work.{{Cite web|url=https://unpo.org/article/12413|title=UNPO: Sindh: Shrinking Space of Tolerance}}

File:Churrio Jabal (Churrio Hill).jpg|Churrio Jabal (Churrio Hill)

File:Durga Mata Temple 2 (asad aman).jpg|Way leading to Churrio Jabal temple

File:Durga Mata Temple 4.jpg|Churrio Durga temple is under threat from the dynamite mining

• Panj Tirath
• Ramapir Temple Tando Allahyar
• Umarkot Shiv Mandir

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{{Hindu temples in Pakistan}}

Category:Hills of Pakistan

Category:Hindu temples in Sindh

Category:Durga temples

Category:Tharparkar District