Lahore Sikhs Denied Right To Observe Shaheedi Divas Of Bhai Taru Singh Ji

[Mehtab Singh]

http://www.samachar....hrqJHjcbhc.html

Sikh community in Lahore prevented from celebrating festival

Islamabad The Sikh community in the eastern city of Lahore has been barred from organising a religious celebration at a disputed gurdwara after a religious group persuaded authorities that celebrating the Muslim holy day of 'Shab-e-Barat' is more important than the Sikh festival.

The musical equipment of the Sikhs was thrown out and their entry to the gurdwara barred due to the efforts of the Dawat-e-Islami, a Barelvi proselytising group, The Express Tribune newspaper reported today.

Police were deployed outside the gurdwara to prevent Sikhs from conducting a religious ceremony until after the end of Shab-e-Barat, which falls tomorrow.

The Sikh community wanted to commemorate an eighteenth-century saint at the gurdwara on Friday.

Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh at Naulakha Bazaar in Lahore was built to honour the memory of a Sikh saint who was executed in 1745 on the orders of the Mughal governor of Punjab, Zakaria Khan.

Every July, Sikhs have held religious ceremonies to commemorate his sacrifice.

Though the gudwara was taken over by the Evacuee Trust Property Board after Partition, Sikhs were allowed to continue using it with relatively few restrictions.

Four years ago, the Dawat-e-Islami claimed the gurdwara was located on the site of the grave of a 15th century Muslim saint, Pir Shah Kaku.

The group claimed Kaku was the grandson of Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar, an "implausible claim" since Ganjshakar died in 1280 while it claims that Kaku died almost 200 years later, in 1477, the daily reported.

The Sikh community had approached ETPB, which allowed both communities to observe their religious rituals according to their own beliefs at the gurdwara.

The Dawat-e-Islami used it every Thursday for prayer services while Sikhs used it once a year for the anniversary of Taru Singh's martyrdom.

This year, when Sikh men went in to set up their musical instruments on July 13, they were thrown out by men from Dawat-e-Islami and prevented from re-entering the shrine.

Members of the Sikh community, many of whom fear to be identified, said the leader of the group of men, Sohail Butt, claimed that the gurdwara was now a mosque and Sikhs would not be allowed to bring in their musical instruments any longer.

Butt admitted he had prevented Sikhs from performing their ritual, claiming that the gurdwara was inside the courtyard of the mosque.

"Shab-e-Barat is more important than the Sikh ritual," Butt said, adding the ETPB had accepted his group's stance.

Officials from ETPB admit that they have asked the Sikh community to postpone their celebrations until after Shab-e-Barat.

ETPB Deputy Administrator Faraz Abbas, who deals with Sikh affairs across Pakistan, admitted that Sikhs had been denied entry into the gurdwara.

Gurunanak Mission president Sardar Bishon Singh said the ETPB's decision to bar Sikhs from entering their shrine was against the constitution.

He said that he approached the ETPB but was told to wait until after Shab-e-Barat.

"How can we postpone the rituals of our faith," he asked, adding that the government was not paying attention to their cause.

Singh appealed to Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to take suo moto action over the violation of rights of minorities in Pakistan.

[SarabjeetS]

yeah , because it reminds them that a sardar refused to convert to their religion and chose death over Islam ! It boggles their mind how can a person of other faith have such a firm stand !

[HSD1]

Dont worry, if you live in the UK or USA your taxes will be used to prop up the shambolic government of Pakistan who in turn will ignore things like this. Rather than Afghanistan, America should have attacked Pakistan.

[gotti]

As a Pakistani, I would like to clarify that this incident was an isolated one. This group is primarily an intra-faith missionary group.

They have been taking over mosques from other Muslim sects so this was not done because Pakistani Muslims hate Sikhs.

They are mainstream to a certain extent but they do not hold power and it is not state policy to suppress the Sikhs, as it is in India.

It is a common misconception among Sikhs that Muslims want to proselytize Sikhs and convert them.

Nothing can be further from the truth. Our founders had regarded Sikhs as neither Hindu or Muslim.

They asked Sikhs to opt with Pakistan and offered them an autonomous region where Sikh laws as in the time of Ranjit Singh could be established.

Pakistan is the only country in the world that has made the Sikh marriage certificate, a distinct document and part of law.

[Paneer Monster]

As a Pakistani, I would like to clarify that this incident was an isolated one. This group is primarily an intra-faith missionary group.

They have been taking over mosques from other Muslim sects so this was not done because Pakistani Muslims hate Sikhs.

They are mainstream to a certain extent but they do not hold power and it is not state policy to suppress the Sikhs, as it is in India.

It is a common misconception among Sikhs that Muslims want to proselytize Sikhs and convert them.

Nothing can be further from the truth. Our founders had regarded Sikhs as neither Hindu or Muslim.

They asked Sikhs to opt with Pakistan and offered them an autonomous region where Sikh laws as in the time of Ranjit Singh could be established.

Pakistan is the only country in the world that has made the Sikh marriage certificate, a distinct document and part of law.

you say its an isolated incident and that these people have no power to suppress the sikhs,....

these same people were favored by local pakistani government, who deployed officers with guns outside the Gurdwara Sahib to prevent Sikhs from entering. If anything the Sikhs should have have been given guns to protect their right to worship. I understand you want to promote harmony between the two communities but this shouldnt be done by playing down an issue which the majority of Sikhs feel is significant.

On the subject of places of worship and partition, my mums family in jalandhar, punjab (india) live about 300 metres away from a small masjid. this masjid has been abandoned since the time of partition. there is one muslim family in our pind but also they dont use the masjid. My mums family clean the masjid every friday even though it is not in use. this is not something i would voluntarily do, keep in mind my relitives are not muslims.

[ThunderousDominator]

The ban on religious procession at Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh at Naulakha Bazaar in Lahore,Pakistan has been REMOVED.

This was conveyed by Nankana Sahib Sikh yaatri jatha head Swaran Singh and Chairman PrItam Singh Bhatia.

Akhand path has also started which is being attended by a large number of Sikhs and Bhog will be held on 20 July,2011.Suhail Bhatt and his group who were laying claim to the land on which the Gurdwara is built will be given land somewhere else.

SIKHS SHOULD ALWAYS BE VIGILANT AGAINST SUCH REPORTS & PEOPLE WHO TRY TO CREATE DIVISIONS AMONGST SIKHS & MUSLIMS.

[gotti]

you say its an isolated incident and that these people have no power to suppress the sikhs,....

these same people were favored by local pakistani government, who deployed officers with guns outside the Gurdwara Sahib to prevent Sikhs from entering. If anything the Sikhs should have have been given guns to protect their right to worship. I understand you want to promote harmony between the two communities but this shouldnt be done by playing down an issue which the majority of Sikhs feel is significant.

On the subject of places of worship and partition, my mums family in jalandhar, punjab (india) live about 300 metres away from a small masjid. this masjid has been abandoned since the time of partition. there is one muslim family in our pind but also they dont use the masjid. My mums family clean the masjid every friday even though it is not in use. this is not something i would voluntarily do, keep in mind my relitives are not muslims.

I really appreciate what you said about the Masjid.

I said it was an isolated incident because Muslims and Sikhs visit the same shrines but these facts are never highlighted unlike this incident.

As the post before me states, the situation is settled in favor of the Sikhs but this will also be ignored, completely.

I had read a report that same day in which an army official got involved to defuse any troubles. Why wasn't it mentioned here?

Also, the faith that Sikhs have in Pakistan's judiciary by asking the Chief Justice for help, considering him "just" won't be appreciated either. I wonder why?

Until you tell me otherwise, I will be forced to think that you believe Pakistanis and Muslims are guilty until proven innocent, which is extremely unfair.

I don't believe Sikhs or anyone should be given guns at all because there is an overflow of guns within the Pakistani populace and any more would be terrible.

Sikhs achieved their goal democratically without the use of any violence. If they let sanity prevail, you should do the same.

[SarabjeetS]

I really appreciate what you said about the Masjid.

I said it was an isolated incident because Muslims and Sikhs visit the same shrines but these facts are never highlighted unlike this incident.

As the post before me states, the situation is settled in favor of the Sikhs but this will also be ignored, completely.

I had read a report that same day in which an army official got involved to defuse any troubles. Why wasn't it mentioned here?

Also, the faith that Sikhs have in Pakistan's judiciary by asking the Chief Justice for help, considering him "just" won't be appreciated either. I wonder why?

Until you tell me otherwise, I will be forced to think that you believe Pakistanis and Muslims are guilty until proven innocent, which is extremely unfair.

I don't believe Sikhs or anyone should be given guns at all because there is an overflow of guns within the Pakistani populace and any more would be terrible.

Sikhs achieved their goal democratically without the use of any violence. If they let sanity prevail, you should do the same.

Actually even though I am a sikh , I really appreciate Islam for its community driven feeling .. I have a muslim friend and even though he's educated , his religion comes first to him . I am sure there are pretty much muslims like that , more than sikhs ! I wonder why is it so ?

Is it becoz Quran tells muslims will go to hell if they don't follow Islam seriously , whereas for sikhs , they are reincarnated over and over again ?

[gotti]

Actually even though I am a sikh , I really appreciate Islam for its community driven feeling .. I have a muslim friend and even though he's educated , his religion comes first to him . I am sure there are pretty much muslims like that , more than sikhs ! I wonder why is it so ?

Is it becoz Quran tells muslims will go to hell if they don't follow Islam seriously , whereas for sikhs , they are reincarnated over and over again ?

If you're saying Muslims are more religious than Sikhs, then I disagree. Sikhs are far more religious.

They follow their dress codes (esp. turban) in any nation, even if there is only one Sikh in the entire community.

Muslims would never do anything overtly religious if they were in that same position, in my opinion.

A Sikh friend told me that reincarnation doesn't mean you are given more tries as in a video game.

You still follow your faith and take it seriously; there are consequences, etc. You can correct me if I am wrong, as I am not a scholar of either faith.

So, I don't think Sikhs and Muslims are in conflict when it comes to religion. They both take it seriously and respect the others' faith.

A Muslim wouldn't eat jhatka and a Sikh wouldn't eat halal but they won't stop the other from doing so on the same dining table.

[Paneer Monster]

I really appreciate what you said about the Masjid.

I said it was an isolated incident because Muslims and Sikhs visit the same shrines but these facts are never highlighted unlike this incident.

As the post before me states, the situation is settled in favor of the Sikhs but this will also be ignored, completely.

I had read a report that same day in which an army official got involved to defuse any troubles. Why wasn't it mentioned here?

Also, the faith that Sikhs have in Pakistan's judiciary by asking the Chief Justice for help, considering him "just" won't be appreciated either. I wonder why?

Until you tell me otherwise, I will be forced to think that you believe Pakistanis and Muslims are guilty until proven innocent, which is extremely unfair.

I don't believe Sikhs or anyone should be given guns at all because there is an overflow of guns within the Pakistani populace and any more would be terrible.

Sikhs achieved their goal democratically without the use of any violence. If they let sanity prevail, you should do the same.

situation is settled?! says who? the Sikhs?... the situation can not be settled so quickly if the thugs initially had support from local police to kick a Sikh congregation out of THIEIR own place of worship. Why was the thugs initially given support?... it might be settled... but only to your satisfaction, and others who think like you.

Sikhs dont have a choice but to have faith in pakistans judicary.

To be honest, i dont care what you think of me... but.. for the record it would be stupid foir someone to believe that i hold every muslim and every pakistani responsible for the sufferings iinflicted on SOME Sikhs by SOME pakistani muslims whether in the UK, USA, Pakistan our anywhere else where these incidents take place.

..... and....for your info, sane people can use guns!

I am not saying that this is a sikh vs muslim issue..... but i am saying Sikhs will wonder why the thugs were favored by the local government resulting in Sikhs being forcibly removed from the Gurdwara Sahib.