Sikhs Living In Pakistan

[Guest Jahan]

One quick correction, the region was named after the five tributary rivers of the Indus although the Indus and Yamuna are still apart of the Punjab. Geographically Punjab is the land bounded by Indus on the west and Yamuna in the east.

The name Punjab is older than Mughal period. Probably a post-Islamic Persian word but its hard to say for sure. I believe Baba Farid who lived in the 13th century had used the word 'Punjab' in his compositions. Will have to double-check that.

Although while saying that Babur did recognise Punjab as a distinct region and had considered that as Central Asian territory which rightfully belonged to him as it had once been under the control of Timur-i-Lang (an ancestor of his) who i believe had merged Punjab with Persia during his reign.

Originally, Babur had only planned to "recapture" Punjab and then head back to Kabul and later on to liberate Samarkand/Fergana from his rivals. Although seeing how weak and broken the people of Hindustan (modern day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkand) were he later went on to found the Mughal Empire in the sub-continent instead of his native home...

[Deep Singh]

thanks! we learn everyday don't we..

[insaaf singh]

There are Sikhs in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and now once again in Central Asia. Most of the Sikhs in this part of the world are Khatri, Arora, and Lobana merchants who had migrated from Punjab and settled in these areas. These Sikhs often worked as moneylenders, shopkeepers, transporters of cotton, and bankers in these parts. Since around the the 1500 South Asian businessmen have been going to NWFP, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Iran, Azerbijan, and even Russia to make fortunes. These merchants were usually Sindhis (from hyderabad and shikarpur) Punjabis (from Multan), Pashtuns, and Marwaris. These merchants belonged to the Baniya, Arora, Khatri, Lohana, Powar, and other trading castes. They brought cotton, silk, and some handicraft goods from India in return for gold, silver, fruits, and other goods. Gradually they became acquainted with these regions and in some cases they settled down and set up businesses. The Sindhis were non-Khalsa Sikhs while the Khatris and the Aroras were Khalsa Sikhs. They remained in Central Asia and left before the Russian revolution. Now after the fall of the USSR, many Sikhs from Iran and Afghanistan, and some from India have gone to Central Asia again. The Sikhs in Afghanistan and Iran are generally of Punjabi descent though there may have been some converts and intermarriages from Islam into Sikhism as well. I read somewhere that the Sikhs of Afghanistan do not give their daughters to Hindus in marriage but will accept Hindu daughters in marriage. The Sikhs of Afghanistan have played an extremely important role in the country's economy and are amongst its leading merchant class. Some of the Pakistani Sikhs belong to a community that di

d not leave the NWFP during partition because the local Pashtuns granted them status of a protected community. The Pakistani Sikh community has grown because many Sikhs from Afghanistan have migrated to Pakistan and some Pakistani Hindus have converted to Sikhism because Sikhs have a much better status than Hindus do in Pakistan. It would be hard to guess the exact number of Sikhs in these regions. I have heard estimates in Pakistan to be between 10,000 to 60,000. In Afghanistan from 2,500 to 40,000. In Iran from 2,000 to 10,000. And in Central Asia there are several hundred Sikhs in a community that will grow. These numbers do not include Nanakpanthi Sindhis or Punjabi Hindus.

[DhadiMania]

during the rule o the Afghan king, Muhammed Zahir Shah (1933-1973) he treated sikhs very well, as well as hindus he made gurdwaras and at the time there were more than 2,000 sikh families in kabul at his time. however, when his nephew sent him to exile in god knows where, the USSR invaded the place, and cicil war erupted then the taliban came. Taliban undid much of Zahir Shah's work and pulled down mandirs and gurdwaras, in their place was made a mosque. taliban made sikhs and hindus walk around in a yellow star (like hitler did on the jews, so they were attacked by taliban laws). sikhs had to dress up in burquas (under the muslim law), hence many people went over to the boarder in pakistan, iran etc. there are now 2,000 sikh families in afghanistan now (i think).

Sikhs were being driven out of their homes and lived in remaining gurdwaras. i remember there is one in mazar-e-sharif (gurdwara singh sabha) where hindus and sikhs live together. but most families have gone to pakistan or iran.

i am not sure what Hamid Karzai (president of afghanistan) is now doing for sikhs. but sikhs wanted a government that would represent them as well.

Zahir Shah returned from exile in 2002 and people wanted him to be king and restore order as well as make afghanistan a happy nation. he said no, because in his words "what can an 86 year old do now?"

ah yes, Zahir Shah was visiting rome, it was there when he was told he was ousted, he lived there ever since, until 2002. he became a symbol of national unity for the mujahaddein when the russians invaded afghanistan.

he now lives in the posh area of kabul.

[Chind]

Really Intresting stuff being posted up! please keep it going.......

:TH: :TH:

[>Bikramjit Singh<]

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

I don't know if there are Sikhs in Sri Lanka but Bangladesh ( Bengal ) has a long association with Sikhism. Guru Nanak as well as Guru Tegh Bahadur visited Bengal. The Sikhs who lived in Bengal were mainly Khatri traders from Punjab. During the 17th century large numbers of these traders settled in UP, Bihar as well as Bengal. These Sikhs set up Sangats in their towns and many Hukamnamas of Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh is addressed to these Sikhs.

Here is a pic of the most important Gurdwara in Bangladesh

Gurdwara Nanak Shahi the main Sikh gurdwara in Bangladesh, is situated on the campus of the university of dhaka near the arts faculty building. At one time it was known as 'Sujatpur Sikh Sangat', as it was situated in what was then Sujatpur mouza. It is believed to have been built on the initiative of a Sikh priest, Almast, sent by the sixth Sikh guru, Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), during the reign of Emperor jahangir. Some others believe it was built by the ninth Sikh guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-75), and that from here communication was maintained with other Sikh gurdwaras in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

In the past it had an entrance from the north, a ditch and burial ground on the south, and a pond on the west with concrete steps to the water. Apart from the main temple there were a number of rooms for accommodating devotees. In all, there were nine rooms. On the north-east of the main temple there was an office and on the east the granthi (pr

iest) had his residence.

From 1915 to 1947, Sri Chandrajyoti served as the granthi. After 1947 the gurdwara was neglected and almost abandoned. After the liberation of Bangladesh, however, it was repaired and revived. There is a management board, which includes local as well as foreign members, to run the affairs of the gurdwara.

The gurdwara is open to all, irrespective of race, religion, caste or sex. The place of prayer is known as 'darbar sahib' and has entrances on all sides, unlike other places of worship. At the northern end of the prayer hall a copy of the holy book of the Sikhs, the granth shahib, is kept on a wooden platform. A pair of wooden sandals, believed to belong to Guru Teg Bahadur Singh, has been preserved in a glass box just under the Granth Sahib.

The daily religious rites at the gurdwara include reading from the Granth Sahib and recital of prayers. Every Friday a weekly assembly is held from 11 am to 1 pm. The chief granthi reads from the Granth Sahib. kirtan and prayers continue for over two hours. The prayer service ends with the distribution of food. There are also arrangements to distribute food in the morning. Sikhs regard this as a way of enhancing understanding among people.

There are also about eight or nine smaller gurdwaras in different parts of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Gurdwara Management Committee runs the affairs of these gurdwaras with financial support from the devotees, foreign visitors, donors and grants from the Bangladesh government

[insaaf singh]

Please see Other Sikhs volume 1 by H. Banerjee. It discusses some of the indigenous Sikh communities in Bengal and Eastern India.

[Chind]

It's great to see how far our Gurus streched.....

Any mroe intresting place where singhs have been sited and if they traditions are different ?

I'm going to Dubai in a coupl eof weeks, does anyone know if there is a Gurudwara there?

[stopsingh]

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

Here are some pics of Pakistani Sikhs

Afghani Sikhs outside Sacha Sauda Gurdwara

Pakistani Sikh greets his Indian Sikh relative at Wagha border

Two Pakistani Sikhs in west punjab gurdwara

GurFateh

Bikramjit Singh

The Sikhs in fornt of Sacha Sauda are Pakistani Sikhs. I have met a few of those pictured and they live around Nanakana Sahib.

[stopsingh]

HAs anyone ever come across any Sikhs living in Pakistan?

I've heard that they don't get treated to well there and that also they are just converts from Islam ?

Has anyone ever met these brother or sisters from Pakistan ? I've met plenty of Afghanisthani Singhs however!

Went to Pakistan in April 2004. From what I was told there are 600 Sikhs living around Nankana Sahib and more in Peshawar.

From what I saw and learnt the Sikh from pakistan were Pathans who converted. They speak Pushto between themselves. One good thing I found was that unlike in India all the Sikhs keep their hair and wera patka or turbans. Even small children wear patka.

They do intermarry and do jhatka for meat.

During Basakhi and Gurpurbs many Sindhis also travel to visit the Sikh Gurdwara. They have Gutke written in Urdu.

A bit off topic but :

I am surpised that no one has invited any of the childrens Kirtan jathe over from Pakistan to tour in Europe or America. I had the pleasure of listening to the children performing kirtan at Nankana Sahib on a few occasions and they were very good.

From the western hemisphere it is mostly British Jathe who travel to Pakistan, from what sevadar told me at Nanakana Sahib it is very rare for them to get visitors form the US or Canada.

The accomodation at Nankana Sahib is very good

. I urge you all to visit. As they say you are not a true Punjabi until you see Lahore.

Peshawar has a Gurdwara named Bhai Joga singh. It looks very small from the outside but is large inside. The Singh there do a superb langar with nan breads etc. Peshawar looks a rough city. As soon as you enter you notice AK47 rifles hanging in shop windows for sale etc. I ws also told of a case where some tribal muslims had kidnapped a Sikh girl and refused to return her.