After waiting for 70 years, Karanveer Singh, a pilgrim from Hoshiarpur in India, was finally allowed to visit Pakistan this fortnight. Mixed feelings of nostalgia and reverence overtook him as he paid homage to Maharaja Ranjit Singh on his 176th death anniversary on June 27. In the midst of rituals and preparations, he yearned to meet someone from Toba Tek Singh, his childhood town before the Partition.
Karanveer was among 400 pilgrims or yatris from India who were given visas to travel to Pakistan to commemorate the occasion this year at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hassanabdal, a site of immense importance to members of the Sikh community.
Embedded on a rock in the gurdwara is the sacred hand print of Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
The punja (hand print) of Baba Guru Nanak.
Pilgrims flock around the punja.
Thousands of yatris arrive from across the world to visit enter the grey sandstone building on religious festivals.
As part of the Sikh rituals, families bathe in what followers of the religion regard as holy water. The water surrounds the gurdwara which is perched on an elevated platform where fresh spring water gushes out from behind a rock and flows into a large pool.
In the backdrop of the beautiful three-storied architecture of the gurdwara, 80-year-old Karanveer narrated the story of his departure from Pakistan.
Karanveer said he harbours no ill feeling towards Pakistan and added that in fact, for him, his life in Pakistan remains a core memory of his childhood that has stayed with him. Only 12 years old at Partition, Karanveer still had strong memories of the time when Muslims and Hindus lived together in harmony. He says that although the conflict created a divide between different religious communities at the time, such clashes were not seen in Toba Tek Singh.
Karanveer Singh (right) with other pilgrims.
“One evening, my mother told us that we were going to Hoshiarpur in the morning with other Sikh families to replace the Muslim families that were leaving India,” Karanveer reminisced about the night before his journey to India.
Much to his dismay, Karanveer’s visa allowed him only 10 days to spend in Pakistan. Although that time could have been enough for him to observe Maharaja Ranjeet Singh’s death anniversary as well as a visit his childhood home, he could not do so due to the conditions listed on his visa.
Karanveer said he hoped to to take a trip to his village and relive some of his childhood memories before he died.
“It looks difficult because the visa restrictions from the Pakistani government only allow us to visit Lahore, Nankana Sahib and Hassanabdal during our stay,” he said.
Karanveer recalled that his house was near a gurdwara and that the displacement to India was difficult for him as a child.
“I was not interested in leaving my town for Hoshiarpur because we were very happy in our village," he said. "But elders from Sikh and Hindu families had decided to leave after the Partition to avoid possible clashes. The decision to leave was made as there had been reports that members of the Sikh, Hindu and Muslim communities were going after each other.”
A woman reads from the Guru Granth Sahib.
Like Karanveer, there are numerous devotees who are visiting Pakistan for the first time and were eager to visit the birthplaces of their parents. One such pilgrim was 60-year-old Dilmir Singh Bajwa.
“My parents were born and raised in Jhelum," Bajwa said. "They shared many stories with me and my siblings from their hometown before they passed away. Before my father died, he longed to visit Jhelum but could not get a visa to travel to Pakistan. However, he asked my siblings and I to visit Pakistan at least once in our lives if we managed to get the chance.”
Having first applied for a visa in April to partake in the Baisakhi festival which was refused, Bajwa was happy he was granted one later to commemorate Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death anniversary.
He said that thousands of Indians wishing to visit religious sites located in Pakistan are unable to do so because obtaining a visa is not easy.
Similar sentiments are echoed by Sohni Ghuman, 74, a resident of Ambala district in Indian Punjab, who like Karanveer was born in Pakistan and wanted to visit her birthplace in Gujranwala.
“I try to remember my childhood days, but it is difficult," she said. "I was just six years old at the time of Partition."
She added: "If there are any issues that stand in the way, both countries should resolve these through dialogue.”
Sikh pilgrims bathing in the holy water at Punja Sahib.
Some 5,000 Sikh pilgrims visit Pakistan each year for religious events. Among these, the event that most Sikhs aim to partake in is the Baisakhi festival, which brings together a religious festival, a harvest festival as well as the Sikhs’ New Year.
Other events include the birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak and the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who united Punjab as a Sikh empire in the 19th century after the death of Aurangzeb.
The yatris coming to Pakistan are looked after by the Evacuee Trust Property Board.
Board Chairman Siddiqul Farooq says the board also takes help from the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to make arrangements for the pilgrims’ boarding and lodging.
Although several of them said that they were satisfied with their handling by the Pakistani government, their discontent over travel difficulties and visa conditions persists.
Against all odds, Karanveer remains hopeful. “Some day India and Pakistan may adopt a policy of visa-free travel for their citizens," he said. "Maybe then my grandson will get a chance to see my town, my Toba Tek Singh”.
This article first appeared on Dawn.com.
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Karanveer was among 400 pilgrims or yatris from India who were given visas to travel to Pakistan to commemorate the occasion this year at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hassanabdal, a site of immense importance to members of the Sikh community.
Embedded on a rock in the gurdwara is the sacred hand print of Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
The punja (hand print) of Baba Guru Nanak.
Pilgrims flock around the punja.
Thousands of yatris arrive from across the world to visit enter the grey sandstone building on religious festivals.
As part of the Sikh rituals, families bathe in what followers of the religion regard as holy water. The water surrounds the gurdwara which is perched on an elevated platform where fresh spring water gushes out from behind a rock and flows into a large pool.
In the backdrop of the beautiful three-storied architecture of the gurdwara, 80-year-old Karanveer narrated the story of his departure from Pakistan.
Karanveer said he harbours no ill feeling towards Pakistan and added that in fact, for him, his life in Pakistan remains a core memory of his childhood that has stayed with him. Only 12 years old at Partition, Karanveer still had strong memories of the time when Muslims and Hindus lived together in harmony. He says that although the conflict created a divide between different religious communities at the time, such clashes were not seen in Toba Tek Singh.
Karanveer Singh (right) with other pilgrims.
“One evening, my mother told us that we were going to Hoshiarpur in the morning with other Sikh families to replace the Muslim families that were leaving India,” Karanveer reminisced about the night before his journey to India.
Much to his dismay, Karanveer’s visa allowed him only 10 days to spend in Pakistan. Although that time could have been enough for him to observe Maharaja Ranjeet Singh’s death anniversary as well as a visit his childhood home, he could not do so due to the conditions listed on his visa.
Karanveer said he hoped to to take a trip to his village and relive some of his childhood memories before he died.
“It looks difficult because the visa restrictions from the Pakistani government only allow us to visit Lahore, Nankana Sahib and Hassanabdal during our stay,” he said.
Karanveer recalled that his house was near a gurdwara and that the displacement to India was difficult for him as a child.
“I was not interested in leaving my town for Hoshiarpur because we were very happy in our village," he said. "But elders from Sikh and Hindu families had decided to leave after the Partition to avoid possible clashes. The decision to leave was made as there had been reports that members of the Sikh, Hindu and Muslim communities were going after each other.”
A woman reads from the Guru Granth Sahib.
Like Karanveer, there are numerous devotees who are visiting Pakistan for the first time and were eager to visit the birthplaces of their parents. One such pilgrim was 60-year-old Dilmir Singh Bajwa.
“My parents were born and raised in Jhelum," Bajwa said. "They shared many stories with me and my siblings from their hometown before they passed away. Before my father died, he longed to visit Jhelum but could not get a visa to travel to Pakistan. However, he asked my siblings and I to visit Pakistan at least once in our lives if we managed to get the chance.”
Having first applied for a visa in April to partake in the Baisakhi festival which was refused, Bajwa was happy he was granted one later to commemorate Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death anniversary.
He said that thousands of Indians wishing to visit religious sites located in Pakistan are unable to do so because obtaining a visa is not easy.
Similar sentiments are echoed by Sohni Ghuman, 74, a resident of Ambala district in Indian Punjab, who like Karanveer was born in Pakistan and wanted to visit her birthplace in Gujranwala.
“I try to remember my childhood days, but it is difficult," she said. "I was just six years old at the time of Partition."
She added: "If there are any issues that stand in the way, both countries should resolve these through dialogue.”
Sikh pilgrims bathing in the holy water at Punja Sahib.
Some 5,000 Sikh pilgrims visit Pakistan each year for religious events. Among these, the event that most Sikhs aim to partake in is the Baisakhi festival, which brings together a religious festival, a harvest festival as well as the Sikhs’ New Year.
Other events include the birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak and the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who united Punjab as a Sikh empire in the 19th century after the death of Aurangzeb.
The yatris coming to Pakistan are looked after by the Evacuee Trust Property Board.
Board Chairman Siddiqul Farooq says the board also takes help from the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to make arrangements for the pilgrims’ boarding and lodging.
Although several of them said that they were satisfied with their handling by the Pakistani government, their discontent over travel difficulties and visa conditions persists.
Against all odds, Karanveer remains hopeful. “Some day India and Pakistan may adopt a policy of visa-free travel for their citizens," he said. "Maybe then my grandson will get a chance to see my town, my Toba Tek Singh”.
This article first appeared on Dawn.com.