Cultural bonds attract Sikh pilgrims to Peshawar

[Devil Soul]

Cultural bonds attract Sikh pilgrims to Peshawar
SADIA QASIM SHAH — UPDATED about 4 hours ago
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Sikh yatrees visit Peshawar Museum on Friday. —Photo by Shahbaz Butt
PESHAWAR: Sikh yatrees on their visit to the Peshawar Museum on Friday were teary eyed as they looked upon portraits that reminded them of their glorious past and historic connections with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“We consider this land as sacred as Saudi Arabia is for Muslims. I am very happy to be here,” said Navdeep, a pleasant young lady of Indian-origin from California during her first visit to Peshawar. She said that she had got a 15-day visa and wished she could come here again.

“I am not sure about countries but I know for sure that friendship of Muslims and Sikhs is very old one,” she said while answering a question regarding people-to-people contacts to build good relations between countries.

An elderly man Awtaar Singh Jawinda who has been living for the last 42 years in California said around 26 Sikh yatrees were in Pakistan on a 12-day visit. During this visit, they would be going to various temples (Gurdwara) and attending a religious festival too.

They would be observing and celebrating the birthday of Baba Guru Nanak on Nov 15.

“This is the second time that I have come to Pakistan. I am here for the second time because we received love from people here,” said Awtaar Singh, thanking the Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for hosting a reception and arranging the visit to the historic Peshawar Museum having rare portraits of Sikh rulers.

Mohammad Ali Sayed, manager TCKP, said that Sikh yatrees were visiting Pakistan to attend their religious festival. It was a good opportunity to invite them to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which the Sikh guests happily accepted.

“Such visits strengthen religious connections with other countries and also help in projecting the historic and cultural heritage of this province,” said Mr Sayed who received the yatrees along with senior officials, and presented them bouquets. Secretary tourism Tariq Khan and managing director Mushtaq Khan welcomed the visitors warmly.

“Under the religious tourism initiative, first monks from Sri Lanka and South Korea visited the Buddhist sites here in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and now Sikh yatrees are coming to Peshawar,” said Tariq Khan.

Director Archaeology and Museums of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cultural bonds attract Sikh pilgrims to Peshawar Dr Abdul Samad said that 90 per cent of the Sikh history, including monuments, temples and archaeological sites, was here in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sikhs have strong cultural and religious links with this area, he said.

The Sikh yatrees, including men and women, looked very impressed with the historic building of Peshawar Museum. They also looked happy at the warm reception and many who were visiting for the first time said they hoped they could easily get visa so they could come every year.

“My uncle has Muslim friends. We feel strong connection with this land. Many Sikh friends breathed their last while still wishing to come to visit our sacred places here in Pakistan,” said Awtaar Singh with tears in his eyes.

Rajesh Singh Tony, a resident of Peshawar, who was also present at the reception, felt happy that Sikh yatrees could come to Peshawar. “Such visits prove to the world that this is a peaceful place and tourists should come here,” he said.

Published in Dawn November 12th, 2016

 

[Hareeb]

Friendship of Muslims and Sikhs is very old one.

This friendship caused millions of Muslims to die in brutal massacres in 1947, especially in Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab region.

Nankana Sahib is as sacred for Sikhs as Ajmair Shareef for Muslims. They respect shrines but not everybody is in love.

 

[Muhammad Omar]

I though Golden Temple was their most sacred Place

 

[Flash_Ninja]

Friendship of Muslims and Sikhs is very old one.

This friendship caused millions of Muslims to die in brutal massacres in 1947, especially in Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab region.

Nankana Sahib is as sacred for Sikhs as Ajmair Shareef for Muslims. They respect shrines but not everybody is in love.

Hey Muslims in Rawalpindi also massacred Sikh people. The massacre in Kashmir was in response to this, so no side is innocent here.

All I can say is that in the towns and villages around my home in Pakistan contain many temples and Gurdwaras still maintained out of goodwill. The older generations usually have stories of how Muslims and Sikh peacefully lived together for many generations.

 

[Hareeb]

Hey Muslims in Rawalpindi also massacred Sikh people. The massacre in Kashmir was in response to this, so no side is innocent here.

All I can say is that in the towns and villages around my home in Pakistan contain many temples and Gurdwaras still maintained out of goodwill. The older generations usually have stories of how Muslims and Sikh peacefully lived together for many generations.

But under Muslim Rule. Muslims dont ask others to stop preaching their religion and destroy their religious history i.e. shrines or houses of worships like Sikhs did to Muslims. They destroyed and looted Muslims historical places especially Lahore fort and converted world biggest mosque of its time, Badshahi Mosque, Lahore into stable.

The massacre of Kashmir was due to Muslims asked Maharaja to integrate princely state of Kashmir with Pakistan because majority of population was Muslim, but Maharaja wanted to integrate with India, so in response his forces killed hundred of thousands of Kashmiri Muslims. Dont twist the history.

 

[Flash_Ninja]

But under Muslim Rule. Muslims dont ask others to stop preaching their religion and destroy their religious history i.e. shrines or houses of worships like Sikhs did to Muslims. They destroyed and looted Muslims historical places especially Lahore fort and converted world biggest mosque of its time, Badshahi Mosque, Lahore into stable.

The massacre of Kashmir was due to Muslims asked Maharaja to integrate princely state of Kashmir with Pakistan because majority of population was Muslim, but Maharaja wanted to integrate with India, so in response his forces killed hundred of thousands of Kashmiri Muslims. Dont twist the history.

Muslims cant exactly be proud of what we did with their houses of worship. Yes for the most part people lived peacefully, but in some cases Sikhs were persecuted by Muslim rulers, not necessarily because of religion but mainly for political reasons. The reason for Sikhs martial culture, is primarily because of persecution by some Muslim rulers.

and yes, it was wrong for them to convert Badshahi Masjid into a barracks, but the British did the same thing under their rule, and I don't hold Christians or English people accountable. Also, Sikhs under their empire were very tolerant of Muslims, and didn't make any attempts to forcefully convert or discriminate, in fact many Muslims served as advisors and administrators, as well as proudly serving in their Armies.

Kashmir was left relatively peaceful after partition, however those escaping the massacres mainly in Rawalpindi fled to nearby Kashmir and out of anger/upset attacked the people living there. it wasn't in response to the Maharaja or India/Pakistan as that did not become relevant until a later stage when the ruler tried to illegally ascend to India.

again it was wrong for them to so, but they aren't the only party to blame here.

 

[Hareeb]

Muslims cant exactly be proud of what we did with their houses of worship. Yes for the most part people lived peacefully, but in some cases Sikhs were persecuted by Muslim rulers, not necessarily because of religion but mainly for political reasons. The reason for Sikhs martial culture, is primarily because of persecution by some Muslim rulers.

and yes, it was wrong for them to convert Badshahi Masjid into a barracks, but the British did the same thing under their rule, and I don't hold Christians or English people accountable. Also, Sikhs under their empire were very tolerant of Muslims, and didn't make any attempts to forcefully convert or discriminate, in fact many Muslims served as advisors and administrators, as well as proudly serving in their Armies.

Kashmir was left relatively peaceful after partition, however those escaping the massacres mainly in Rawalpindi fled to nearby Kashmir and out of anger/upset attacked the people living there. it wasn't in response to the Maharaja or India/Pakistan as that did not become relevant until a later stage when the ruler tried to illegally ascend to India.

again it was wrong for them to so, but they aren't the only party to blame here.

Uh! What happened in Rawalpindi, it was a reaction of what happened to Muslims in Kashmir and Punjab. Remember what is reputed to be the worst train massacre, 300 innocent Muslims were killed, and 1000+ wounded when a train was attacked by Sikhs for three hours at Amirstar Station. If Sikhs were more brutal, they'd be the same.
I noticed you never let an idea interrupt the flow of your conversation. Better twist the histroy in the sense that makes you happy.

 

[Flash_Ninja]

Uh! What happened in Rawalpindi, it was a reaction of what happened to Muslims in Kashmir and Punjab. Remember what is reputed to be the worst train massacre, 300 innocent Muslims were killed, and 1000+ wounded when a train was attacked by Sikhs for three hours at Amirstar Station. If Sikhs were more brutal, they'd be the same.
I noticed you never let an idea interrupt the flow of your conversation. Better twist the histroy in the sense that makes you happy.

No, what happened in Rawalpindi was due to a breakdown in law & order, and an sudden spike in religious unrest by both Muslim, and Hindu/Sikh the population. Heres a quote from a detailed look into Kashmirs partition violence:

"In such a climate of fear and uncertainty, by April 1947, non-Muslims from the violence in the Rawalpindi division were arriving in other parts of the Punjab and the Kashmir region, expecting to return after the violence ceased. With in a week of the killings, ‘a large flock’ of the Hindus and Sikhs from Rawalpindi division started migrating to neighbouring Kashmir region.14 The embittered Sikh and Hindu refugees’ tales of violence raised animosities wherever they settled. They planned revenge and produced and circulated wildly inflammatory pamphlets and brochures. Their horrified tales of the Muslim perpetration circulated widespread and served as an occasion to launch a reign of terror on the Jammu Muslim population. Shortly flight and violence went hand in hand. Violence Jammu was increasingly locked into an all-India pattern, as killings in one part of the country were justified as retribution for violence in another part. Jammu’s Muslims were to pay a heavy price in September-October 1947 for the early disturbances in the West Punjab."

Stop accusing me of 'twisting history', you need to understand that some issues aren't black and white, and that there are many different viewpoints to every event.

 

[Maler]

Uh! What happened in Rawalpindi, it was a reaction of what happened to Muslims in Kashmir and Punjab. Remember what is reputed to be the worst train massacre, 300 innocent Muslims were killed, and 1000+ wounded when a train was attacked by Sikhs for three hours at Amirstar Station. If Sikhs were more brutal, they'd be the same.
I noticed you never let an idea interrupt the flow of your conversation. Better twist the histroy in the sense that makes you happy.

Try to read history from neutral sources, not from 'Pakistan Studies' books. It might help to remove the 'blanket' of religious hatred covering your brain!!!!!

 

[Hareeb]

Try to read history from neutral sources, not from 'Pakistan Studies' books. It might help to remove the 'blanket' of religious hatred covering your brain!!!!!

Dont get me wrong. I have christians and sikhs in my friends circle ( i brotherly love them) and parsi as my classmate. But again this doesnt change the facts.

 

[Max]

there is no need to tell lies like Muslims and Sikhs are old friends, we are hospitable people.