Preserving our heritage in Pakistan
By
![Bhupinder]()
Bhupinder Singh Holland
)
Bhupinder Singh HollandAfter the painful separation of 1947, the Sikh nation added into its daily prayer, "O Lord grant us the free access (darshan), service (seva) , and maintenance (sambhal) of the Gurdwaras in Pakistan from which the panth (Sikh nation) has been separated". Sadely enough the ardas (prayes) still remains to be fulfilled.
Sikhs have an unflinching faith in the efficacy of prayer. On the face of it, the addition is clearly understood and as such does not call for ramificattion. However, the deeper meaning of this addition is directly related to the theory of natural place and natural rights which is followed by natural law and natural justice. No one would deny the dispersion of these historic religious places and their rightful custodians, as it is today, is not natural. Until the status quo is changed, they would be deemed as being administered contrary to the natural laws of custody.
Sacred shrines, perticularly those associated with the birth and heritage of different religions, such as Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, to mention a few, are managed by the faithful and their sanctity is maintained in accordance with the respective religious traditions. The Jewish State of Israel permits the shrines of Bethlehem and Mosque of Al Aqsa to be manged by Christians and Muslims. Likewise, the shrines of Roza Shrief in Sirhand and Jama Masjid in Delhi are managed by the Muslim clergy in accordance with Islamic liturgical tradition. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan upholds this glorious priniciple as commanded by the Holy Quran by allowing Christian churches to be run by the various denominations.
Sikhs have an unflinching faith in the efficacy of prayer. On the face of it, the addition is clearly understood and as such does not call for ramificattion. However, the deeper meaning of this addition is directly related to the theory of natural place and natural rights which is followed by natural law and natural justice. No one would deny the dispersion of these historic religious places and their rightful custodians, as it is today, is not natural. Until the status quo is changed, they would be deemed as being administered contrary to the natural laws of custody.
Sacred shrines, perticularly those associated with the birth and heritage of different religions, such as Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, to mention a few, are managed by the faithful and their sanctity is maintained in accordance with the respective religious traditions. The Jewish State of Israel permits the shrines of Bethlehem and Mosque of Al Aqsa to be manged by Christians and Muslims. Likewise, the shrines of Roza Shrief in Sirhand and Jama Masjid in Delhi are managed by the Muslim clergy in accordance with Islamic liturgical tradition. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan upholds this glorious priniciple as commanded by the Holy Quran by allowing Christian churches to be run by the various denominations.
The establishment of Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committe (PGPC), for ensuring the upkeep and santity of Gurdwaras in Pakistan and other facilities for the Sikh yatree (visitors), via a note from Prime Minister's office dated 06-02-1999 and later the declaration of 11 April 1999 at Dehra Sahib Lahore, is a good begining toward allowing Sikhs the maintenance of all Gurdwaras in Pakistan.
The well from which Guru Nanak used to draw water and irigate his fields.
Guru Nanak Sahib's relics at Kartarpur Sahib, Harpal Singh Bhullar, Spokesman, August 2003.
On 14 August 1947, while speaking on Radio Pakistan, the founder of Pakistan Quide Azim Sahib Mohmad Ali Jinah said to his countrymen,
"You are free now. You can pray in a Mandir, Gurdwara or Mosque, where how and when you want. [The] Government will not interfere in your religious affairs."
It is true that according to the teachings of Islam and the provisions of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, minorities have been given complete freedom in the practice of their religion, the control, and management and maintenance of its places of worship. For Sikhs many hurdles still exist before the community can have freedom to manage Gurdwaras in Pakistan.
The first meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan on Evacuee property of both countries took place in 1950. The decisions were not made public under the Nehru - Liakat Ali Act. The Home Minister of India Pandit Govind Walab Pant and Major General Sikandar Mirza from Pakistan held a meeting and decided to make an Evacuee Trust Property Board for both sides. To the surprise of Sikhs the property of Nankana Sahib, Siri Darbar Sahib (Kartarpur) and other holy Sikh shrines in Pakistan were declared as lawaris (lit. orphan) property. Perhaps people behind this unspeakable tragedy could not bear the thought of Sikhs and Muslims having a cordial relationship.This decision was against the 1947 speech by the Quide Azim, Sahib Mohmad Ali Jinah, and goes against the spirit of the founding father of Pakistan.
Preserving Sikh art and architecture:
The link between the people of Pakistan and the Sikhs is such that it is difficult to conceive of any permanent friction between the two communities. These links are four-fold: historical, geo-political, ideological and cultural. They are all fundamental and in no way superficial or perishable.
Historically, the greater Punjab, the region between Jamuna and Jamrud which is the green patch between middle India and inner Asia, has been the meeting ground of ideas originating from many different regions such as Indus valley, Gangetic plain, Kashmir, Afganistan, Iran, Graeco-Baetrian and Turkish middle Asia. These influences have given birth to a prophetic religion, Sikhism, the only revealed religion originating outside the Hebrew-Judaic traditions of Christianity and Islam. Besides, these have fashioned a permanent national personality on the basis of which the Sikh Commonwealth of the Lahore Durbar dreamt of and tried to create and insert into history a new nation, the "Punjabi Nation".
The geo-political linkage between the two peoples of this fertile region are too obvious to require a further definition. There is ample confirmation in world history to suggest that geography is more powerful than politics, and more often than not politics is forced to the painful realization that it must accomodate to such truth.
The ideological links between these two peoples may be discerned in the ideology and insights out of which the prophetic religion of Sikhism has arisen. A close study of the scriptural contents of Guru Granth Sahib and the holy Quran makes it clear that out of the three distinct elements : 1) dissertations on the nature of God and man's relation to Him; 2) social organization and ethics; and 3) the Judaic mythology, the first method has been deemed in the texts of the Guru Granth Sahib, as worthy of serious attention and has been assented to in substance. Sikhism has never held Islam as a polarity to itself and postulates a universal religious consiousness.
A common language between the major portion of the people of Pakistan and the Sikhs, and above all, the ethnic links between the two, are factors of such high significance and dynamism that they are capable of transcending all contingent suspicions and elements of division.
In the Sikh doctrine, the janamasthan Nankana Sahib, is invested with a holy status unparalleled in the spirtual history of the great world religions. Bethlehem of Christianity, Jerusalem of Judaism, Mecca of Islam, and Varanasi of Hinduism are holy cities. All are primary centers of worship to these great religions. The birth place of Guru Nanak, janamasthan, in Sikh religious perception, is a sacred terrestrial focus, manifested and not created by the birth of Guru Nanak at its geo-physical point.
This academic point has been made to highlight the intensity and urgency of the current Sikh desire and demand for restoration of unrestricted access to and effective association of the Sikhs with the maintenance and management of janamasthan, and their consequential demand for proper management to preserve the sanctity of all historical Sikh Gurdwaras located in Pakistan.
Despite limited diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan, the man who tried to fulfil the prayer of the Sikh nation succeeded in getting a visa to visit Pakistan from Sahibzada Yakub Khan, the ambassador of Pakistan in the U.S in 1975. Since then and uptil now, Sardar Ganga Singh Dhillon, a prominent Sikh leader, is working on this project and has left no stone untouched. On January 3, 1979 he met a man of deep wisdom and great foresight.
President Zia ul Haq understood the relationship of human soul and its religious heritage. He established the pattern that allowed the worldwide Sikh community to visit our holy shrines and introduced sweeping changes to preserve the sanctity of Gurdwaras in Pakistan. There were some who failed to see the benefit of his policy.
President Haq realized that religious truth is at the heart of human existence and that Pakistan could only gain by lifting restritions on Sikhs who desired to visit Gurdwaras in Pakistan. This decision has helped in creating better understanding between Sikhs and Muslims. Chaudhary Hazoor Ilahee, father of Chaudhary Sujat Hussain, the leader of Muslim League Quide Azim, was the champion of this achievment.
A seven member international Sikh delegation was received with warm welcome in Pakistan for the first time by the Nankana Sahib Foundation with Sardar Ganga Singh Dhillon as president on October 7, 1979. Sardar Ganga Singh Dhillon has pursued the case of Gurdwaras in Pakistan with all the governments and met each President and Prime Minister of Pakistan for this matter until Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee was formed in April 1999.
An application was submitted by Nankana Sahib Foundation to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 12 January 1997 to form PGPC, but it was rejected on 1 August 1997. It was stated that such a committee would be against the constitution of Pakistan with a suggestion that Sikhs settled in Nankana Sahib should be displaced to other parts of Pakistan for security reasons. Again on the request of Nawaz Sharif, a second application was submitted and it was approved on 6 Febuary 1999. Lt. General, Javed Nasir, who was the president of Evacuee Trust Property Board, played an important role.
Sardar Ganga Singh Dhillon has met the current President General Parvez Musharaf three times. I was also present at the meeting in Islamabad on August 17, 2000. A thirteen member Sikh delegation from U.S.A, Canada, England, Holland, Germany, and Malaysia was invited under the leadership of Sardar Ganga Singh Dhillon to visit and discuss the issue of Sikh Gurdwaras, and the delegation also took part in the celebrations of the 54th Independance day of Pakistan for the first time in history.
Keeping in view the representations of Sikh Yatrees and International Sikh Organisation especially Nankana Sahib Foundation, for ensuring the upkeep, management and sanctity of the Gurdwaras as well as providing facilities to the Sikh Yatrees from all over the world, the Government of Pakistan has constituted a Committee, namely, the Pakistan Gurdwaras Parbandhic Committee ( PGPC ).
These proposals have not been implemented fully yet but the work is in progress. The Sikh nation is working in getting involved in remedial measures for the maintenance, preservation of Gurdwaras, and ensuring their sanctity according to Sikh traditions. A lot needs to be accomplished and we hope that with the help of the people of Pakistan this wish of the Sikhs will get fulfilled.
These propositions, in principle, and their sincere implementation without undue delay is likely to be a major historical development in South Asia. It will greatly add to the glory and image of Pakistan in the eyes of the world. It will foster friendship between the Sikh nation and the people of Pakistan through the goodwill of PGPC.
The first meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan on Evacuee property of both countries took place in 1950. The decisions were not made public under the Nehru - Liakat Ali Act. The Home Minister of India Pandit Govind Walab Pant and Major General Sikandar Mirza from Pakistan held a meeting and decided to make an Evacuee Trust Property Board for both sides. To the surprise of Sikhs the property of Nankana Sahib, Siri Darbar Sahib (Kartarpur) and other holy Sikh shrines in Pakistan were declared as lawaris (lit. orphan) property. Perhaps people behind this unspeakable tragedy could not bear the thought of Sikhs and Muslims having a cordial relationship.This decision was against the 1947 speech by the Quide Azim, Sahib Mohmad Ali Jinah, and goes against the spirit of the founding father of Pakistan.
Preserving Sikh art and architecture:
The link between the people of Pakistan and the Sikhs is such that it is difficult to conceive of any permanent friction between the two communities. These links are four-fold: historical, geo-political, ideological and cultural. They are all fundamental and in no way superficial or perishable.
Historically, the greater Punjab, the region between Jamuna and Jamrud which is the green patch between middle India and inner Asia, has been the meeting ground of ideas originating from many different regions such as Indus valley, Gangetic plain, Kashmir, Afganistan, Iran, Graeco-Baetrian and Turkish middle Asia. These influences have given birth to a prophetic religion, Sikhism, the only revealed religion originating outside the Hebrew-Judaic traditions of Christianity and Islam. Besides, these have fashioned a permanent national personality on the basis of which the Sikh Commonwealth of the Lahore Durbar dreamt of and tried to create and insert into history a new nation, the "Punjabi Nation".
The geo-political linkage between the two peoples of this fertile region are too obvious to require a further definition. There is ample confirmation in world history to suggest that geography is more powerful than politics, and more often than not politics is forced to the painful realization that it must accomodate to such truth.
The ideological links between these two peoples may be discerned in the ideology and insights out of which the prophetic religion of Sikhism has arisen. A close study of the scriptural contents of Guru Granth Sahib and the holy Quran makes it clear that out of the three distinct elements : 1) dissertations on the nature of God and man's relation to Him; 2) social organization and ethics; and 3) the Judaic mythology, the first method has been deemed in the texts of the Guru Granth Sahib, as worthy of serious attention and has been assented to in substance. Sikhism has never held Islam as a polarity to itself and postulates a universal religious consiousness.
A common language between the major portion of the people of Pakistan and the Sikhs, and above all, the ethnic links between the two, are factors of such high significance and dynamism that they are capable of transcending all contingent suspicions and elements of division.
In the Sikh doctrine, the janamasthan Nankana Sahib, is invested with a holy status unparalleled in the spirtual history of the great world religions. Bethlehem of Christianity, Jerusalem of Judaism, Mecca of Islam, and Varanasi of Hinduism are holy cities. All are primary centers of worship to these great religions. The birth place of Guru Nanak, janamasthan, in Sikh religious perception, is a sacred terrestrial focus, manifested and not created by the birth of Guru Nanak at its geo-physical point.
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Despite limited diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan, the man who tried to fulfil the prayer of the Sikh nation succeeded in getting a visa to visit Pakistan from Sahibzada Yakub Khan, the ambassador of Pakistan in the U.S in 1975. Since then and uptil now, Sardar Ganga Singh Dhillon, a prominent Sikh leader, is working on this project and has left no stone untouched. On January 3, 1979 he met a man of deep wisdom and great foresight.
President Zia ul Haq understood the relationship of human soul and its religious heritage. He established the pattern that allowed the worldwide Sikh community to visit our holy shrines and introduced sweeping changes to preserve the sanctity of Gurdwaras in Pakistan. There were some who failed to see the benefit of his policy.
President Haq realized that religious truth is at the heart of human existence and that Pakistan could only gain by lifting restritions on Sikhs who desired to visit Gurdwaras in Pakistan. This decision has helped in creating better understanding between Sikhs and Muslims. Chaudhary Hazoor Ilahee, father of Chaudhary Sujat Hussain, the leader of Muslim League Quide Azim, was the champion of this achievment.
A seven member international Sikh delegation was received with warm welcome in Pakistan for the first time by the Nankana Sahib Foundation with Sardar Ganga Singh Dhillon as president on October 7, 1979. Sardar Ganga Singh Dhillon has pursued the case of Gurdwaras in Pakistan with all the governments and met each President and Prime Minister of Pakistan for this matter until Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee was formed in April 1999.
An application was submitted by Nankana Sahib Foundation to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 12 January 1997 to form PGPC, but it was rejected on 1 August 1997. It was stated that such a committee would be against the constitution of Pakistan with a suggestion that Sikhs settled in Nankana Sahib should be displaced to other parts of Pakistan for security reasons. Again on the request of Nawaz Sharif, a second application was submitted and it was approved on 6 Febuary 1999. Lt. General, Javed Nasir, who was the president of Evacuee Trust Property Board, played an important role.
Sardar Ganga Singh Dhillon has met the current President General Parvez Musharaf three times. I was also present at the meeting in Islamabad on August 17, 2000. A thirteen member Sikh delegation from U.S.A, Canada, England, Holland, Germany, and Malaysia was invited under the leadership of Sardar Ganga Singh Dhillon to visit and discuss the issue of Sikh Gurdwaras, and the delegation also took part in the celebrations of the 54th Independance day of Pakistan for the first time in history.
Keeping in view the representations of Sikh Yatrees and International Sikh Organisation especially Nankana Sahib Foundation, for ensuring the upkeep, management and sanctity of the Gurdwaras as well as providing facilities to the Sikh Yatrees from all over the world, the Government of Pakistan has constituted a Committee, namely, the Pakistan Gurdwaras Parbandhic Committee ( PGPC ).
These proposals have not been implemented fully yet but the work is in progress. The Sikh nation is working in getting involved in remedial measures for the maintenance, preservation of Gurdwaras, and ensuring their sanctity according to Sikh traditions. A lot needs to be accomplished and we hope that with the help of the people of Pakistan this wish of the Sikhs will get fulfilled.
These propositions, in principle, and their sincere implementation without undue delay is likely to be a major historical development in South Asia. It will greatly add to the glory and image of Pakistan in the eyes of the world. It will foster friendship between the Sikh nation and the people of Pakistan through the goodwill of PGPC.
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 This time, I had the opportunity of visiting this school, where Gurmukhi is being taught. The school headmaster Mr. Azgar Bhatti cordially took us to his office. The school has five Sikh and seven Muslim male teachers and seven Muslim lady teachers. At Nankana Sahib, there are eight Government schools and fourteen private schools among which Guru Nanak Model School occupies top position. About 142 Sikh students study here and the number of Muslim students is 410, of which 120 are poor and enjoy full fee concession. This school was set up in April 1999. While Sikh students recited Sukhmani Sahib, Japji Sahib and Rehras Sahib, Muslim students recited verses from holy Qu’ran. |