Renowned Sikh writer T. Sher Singh, community activist Gurmeet Kaur and others recently met with Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar of Punjab, Pakistan under the aegis of the American Sikh Council and shared their concern over the destruction of the Sikh heritage due to new construction over the fields and forests at Kartarpur Sahib, associated with Guru Nanak Sahib.

US-based community activists, under the tutelage of the American Sikh Council, presented its concerns to the Pakistan government regarding construction activities in and around Kartarpur Sahib.

 

T. Sher Singh told the visiting dignitary that the onus of preserving the Sikh heritage in Pakistan was on the Pakistan government. He said that this heritage is an asset to Pakistan and by being foresighted “they may make Sikhs who already love this land, their friends forever.”

Community activist Gurmeet Kaur discussed the currently proposed plans to cater to the growing numbers of expected visitors and how an attempt to make their stay easy is likely to destroy the 500-years old heritage by doing irreversible damage to the sacred fields of Baba Nanak where he farmed for 18 long years.

“Constructing on this acreage destroys the sanctity, the spirit of the sacred site and any chances of archeological revival of the lost heritage associated with Baba Nanak,” she stated.

She narrated the ASC efforts to reach out to the Pakistan government including Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and the Pakistan High Commission for the last four months, without any results.

She mentioned that this campaign has a backing of over 17,000 petitioners worldwide, the ASC representing 74 gurdwaras in the USA, the Global Sikh Council (GSC), the Supreme Sikh Council of Australia, other organizations and individuals including the Pakistan PTI MPA Momina Waheed.

At the meet with the visiting Pakistan Governor, the Principal of the Khalsa Community School Ripsodak Singh said, “We are asking that Kartarpur be set up as an ecological heritage village of Baba Nanak and all new construction be done at least a kilometer away from current Gurdwara, outside of Baba Ji’s fields and align with the Guru period architecture and not be in the form of modern, unsightly hotels and shopping malls that destroy the spirit of the space.”

Gurmeet Kaur stated that they had chronicles stated 200+ other Sikh heritage sites that may be disturbed in the name of religious tourism.  She said it was ironic that the Pakistan government is banking on the Diaspora Sikhs to be part of the religious tourism circuit but has chosen not to respond to them.

She showed evidence of two historic Gurdwaras in Nankana Sahib that were recently demolished to the ground in the name of beautification and expansion and raised concerns that several others would go through the same fate if they were not protected as national heritage sites.

Harpreet Kaur, an educator and an activist made everyone emotional, pointing to her two year old son and declaring that she would love to bring him to Kartarpur only to touch and feel the soil of Baba Ji if his fields were preserved and the nature which he revers in Gurbani was honoured and not to touch their forehead to the marble slabs that covered our real heritage.

Harpreet Singh, Principal of the Khalsa Montessori School brought a folder full of letters of heartfelt appeals by children from his school to share with the Governor in which they had pleaded the Prime Minister to save the heritage fields of Baba Nanak for future generations.

Pakistan Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar acknowledged the concerns of the Sikh delegation but apprised them that he was a new administrator over the development work at Kartarpur and that he would take up the matter with his government and Prime Minister Imran Khan.