Remnants of Sikh History in Pakistan Traced in a Book

 

Heritage is a common property, deemed valuable, when you need to go back to your roots.

Singapore-based banker Amardeep Singh, who turned author with his first book, ‘The Lost Heritage — Sikh Legacy in Pakistan’, began his travels through Pakistan with the same idea — to experience and visually document the lost heritage of Sikhs in Punjab on the other side of the border.

Launching his book at Bhai Veer Singh Niwas Sthaan, Amardeep Singh made a presentation on how the book is a labour of love, rather than a literary and visual compilation. ““Eighty per cent of our legacy has been left behind in Pakistan, and needs to be documented. There are places, we have never visited or heard about yet have a deep connection with,” said the author, who calls himself a mad man in love in the context of the book.

The book documents the functional and vestigial places of heritage across 36 cities in West Punjab, North-West Frontier and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Amardeep travelled for one-and-half years through the villages and cities to capture rare moments that most do not know about. “My family belonged to Muzaffrabad, where my father was born, and Abottabad was my mother’s place of birth. And I wanted to go there and find out my roots. Through my journey, I connected with people and explored more. Like the Dumel Bridge where the Jhelum meets Neelum river, where almost 300 Sikhs were shot at point-blank range. Or the Mangat gurdwara in Mandi Bahahuddin that is an architectural marvel and an example of secularism at its best. I didn’t go to write a book, but to study that legacy,” he said.

He said his visits to the Prahladpuri temple in Multan, Baba Farid’s shrine in Pakpattan, Baba Bullhe Shah in Kasur and Sain Mian Mir’s dargah in Lahore made him understand the secular aspects of the Sikh community of that time.

With exquisite visual narratives of the Nakkai havelis, with their beautiful frescos, the remnants of the biggest salt mines near Jhelum to Sikh gurdwaras and an erstwhile Khalsa institution now functioning as an Islamia school, battlegrounds, residential and commercial buildings built between 15th century to early 20th century, the book has heritage captured in a 504-page book, with 507 photos, 14 maps and over 50,000 words.

Singh maintains that most of these places are in ruin, dying slowly in the absence of restoration or conservation work. “The Pakistan government is doing its bit to preserve some the buildings, but a lot needs to be done. Like the Mansehra gurdwara that now functions as an MC library. Some places have been plastered with marble slabs and drawings in the name of restoration, just like in India. But they need more professional and a planned restoration,” he added.

But he says that it’s a ‘complicated task’ given the status of political relations between the two countries. Chief guest of the occasion, Parneet Sachdev, IRS, Principal Director of Income Tax (Investigations) Punjab & JK, unveiled the book at the function.

The programme was organized by Dilbir Foundation (DF) as a special event of their Dialogues in Legacy Conservation project. The foundation was working in association with the Lahore Conservation Society for restoration of significant historical sites.

Gunbir Singh, president, Dilbir Foundation, said, “Amardeep’s work is indeed a celebration of the majesty of the Sikh era, much as it is a lament against man’s roughshod tread. It is nevertheless a document which is a keepsake for all touched by our legacy,” he added.