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Journalism of Courage
Nearly 30 km outside the stark faceless newness of Islamabad is the historic old town of Hasanabdal. This is where the famous 300 old gurdwara — Gurdwara Panja Sahib— is located and in the courtyard of the gurdwara, where icy fountain waters gush into the surrounding pool, a rakhi mela is in full swing.
Special Branch officials stroll around. The SP of the area swings his stick. But Balwant Kaur and Kishore Kaur go running past in their colourful salwars to tie rakhis on Sandeep Kumar and Lakshmi Chand. Not very far away from the stiff military rulers and their official laws, in the heart of Pakistan, Sikhs and Hindus are celebrating Raksha Bandhan.
The only Sikh member of the Pakistan Parliament, Gyan Singh, who was elected from Swat, says: ‘‘Even Muslims come to the gurdwara. The government does not let them come on festivals but on other days they come here too.’’
The legend of Gurdwara Panja Sahib, situated under low hills, lies in the hand impression of Guru Nanak on a stone in the middle of the gushing fountain that feeds the gurdwara’s lake. When enemies sent down rocks from the mountains towards Nanak, he is supposed to have stopped the stones with his hand (panja).
And now, the visitors to this gurdwara include Punjabi-speaking Sikhs from Chandigarh, Pashto-speaking Hindus and Sikhs from NWFP, Hindus from Sind, Sikhs from Larkana Sahib, Hindus from Jacobabad and Lahore. All congregate here to celebrate Raksha Bandhan.
‘‘I love being here,’’ says Gurpreet Kaur from Chandigarh, who was married into a family here. ‘‘Yahan bahut sukoon hai (It is peaceful here),’’ she adds.
Rakhi is always a love-filled festival in Hasanabdal. ‘‘The courtyard swarms with crowds. A busy langar is being prepared and stalls of rakhis, garlands, costume jewellery and sweets are set against the orange and white painted gurdwara, which was restored in the 1920s.
‘‘Bole Sau Nihal!’’ shout groups of Sikh youth. It may be remembered that when Bhindranwale was issuing declarations about Khalistan, he had included Gurdwara Punja Sahib in the Sikh homeland, leading to much Pakistani outrage and demands from locals to stop Pakistani assistance to the militants at once.
‘‘Minorities in Pakistan do face some problems,’’ says Gyan Singh. ‘‘We are determined to oppose the Shariat Law in NWFP. However, the majority of Pakistanis are also suffering, including Muslims. The only people who are really happy in Pakistan are the rich landlords and rich soldiers, who are a minority,’’ he adds.
Gyan Singh and his family have been living here for last 300 years. According to him, the new generation prefers to cut their hair and not wear a turban. He says many family members live in Delhi but all the 50-55,000 Sikhs who live here consider Pakistan their home. ‘‘There is an affinity between Sikhs and Punjabis, although I am a Pashto-speaking Sikh and my caste is pathan,’’ he says.
Confusing! Yet the revellers at the rakhi mela don’t look confused. Kirtan and Gurbani are both being sung at this mela and the jathedars go out of their way to insist that Muslims are welcome here. ‘‘If Muslims want they can also tie rakhis, we would be delighted,’’ says Jasvinder Singh from Peshawar, whose family has been coming here for rakhi for the last decade.
Baisakhi festivals are also held. Hashmat Ram, who says he is a Hindu and a Muslim, says that for hundreds of Indians it is an important tradition to come to Gurdwara Panja Sahib for Raksha Bandhan.
Sitting under the mango trees, groups of Sikh and Hindu boys and girls say no religion is excluded at Panja Sahib. So who would they like to bring here to drink the cool waters, eat the delicious langar and wade through the lake to gaze at Guru Nanak’s hand? They give a unanimous response — ‘‘Sachin Tendulkar!’’
