Instead of only ruing, sulking and complaining about it, the Panjab Digitial Library, which has so far digitized millions of pages, takes on the herculean task of digitizing 35000 pages in one day on 8 June 2019 to commemorate the day of destruction of the Sikh Reference Library within the precincts of Darbar Sahib on 8 June 1984.

ON 8 June 1984, 35 years ago, Panjabis lost a library to fire, theft and vandalism. Hundreds of manuscripts belonging to Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims were lost. The pain of that loss lingers.

“The Panjab Digital Library which has since 2003 digitized over 20 million pages will digitize 35,000 pages in one single day and commit to more steep targets of preserving and protecting invaluable heritage and legacy,” said Panjab Digital Library founder-director Davinder Pal Singh.

After killing the Sikh fighters and the innocent within the precincts of Darbar Sahib Amritsar by the night of 6 June, the Indian armed forces descended on destroying, vandalizing and looting the Sikh Reference Library housed in the complex of the Sikh holy of the holiest shrines.

On 7-8 June 1984, they attacked the Sikh Reference Library. A large section of the library was bombed and burnt; a substantial number of artefacts, manuscripts and rare handwritten Granths of the Sikhs and other holy books of other religions were collected in gunny bags and taken away by the Indian army. Till today, no one knows the fate of these items from the Sikh Reference Library. The SGPC and other Sikh bodies -religious and political, have been crying hoarse but there has no official response of either acknowledgement or return of the same.

“With the grace of Guru Nanak Sahib, the target of digitizing 35,000 pages in a day will be achieved today. The target for the coming months and years are further steep. Let us focus on the work needed, even if nobody is listening and nobody is bothered.”

Davinder Pal Singh, Founder-Director, Panjab Digitial Library

Panjabis, Indians and even South Asians have scant regard for heritage and legacy -architecture or literature or oral history. The Panjabis, particularly the Sikhs have been guilty of destroying their own heritage without a thought and with little or no remorse.

In 2003, the Panjab Digital Library decided to change this. Panjab Digital Library (PDL) is digitizing the precious heritage of Panjab since 2003. Starting with a singular human resource, with one computer and a camera and a measly monthly budget of Rupees Ten thousand, Panjab Digital Library envisaged on a mission to instil a change in thinking and action on heritage preservation in the Panjab and the neighbourhood.

The mission is still on.  There is a glimmer of hope. Not only scholars, the government, the universities, students, activists and even the layperson has started taking cudgels on grounds of preserving the legacy of the past. The recent incident of public outrage on the issue of Darshani Deori at Tarn Taran Sahib is a case in the point.

To commemorate the event of losing a library and at the same time committing to continue work in this area, on 8 June 2019, the Panjab Digital Library will digitize 35,00 pages in one single day.  For the record, the Panjab Digital Library has digitized over 20 million pages of rare heritage in the past 16 years, at the pace of 35000 pages a day.

“The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.”  Forewarning, as these thoughts are, remind us that the people who sustain and invigorate their memory, live to lead and be remembered. Lamenting about lost heritage does not help a cause. We need to develop a more appreciative attitude towards our rich heritage and work zealously to conserve what remains of it,” said the PDL press release.

Adding a finality to their mission and reiterating their commitment, the sheet anchor of this invaluable project, Davinder Pal Singh said, “With the grace of Guru Nanak Sahib, the target of digitizing 35,000 pages in a day will be achieved today. The target for the coming months and years are further steep. Let us focus on the work needed, even if nobody is listening and nobody is bothered.”

PHOTOS COURTESY: PANJAB DIGITAL LIBRARY