Following the secession of Pakistan from India over 70 years ago and the bitter acrimony between the countries that continues to to this day, adherents of the Sikh faith and the people of Punjab of all faiths and on either side of the line in the paddy fields bore the brunt of the bloodbath that ensued. By the time the dust had settled, millions of bodies had been buried and millions cremated. There is not a Sikh alive whose life has not been altered by those tumultuous times. In the etching out the borders, several important Sikh shrines fell in Pakistan, notably the birthplace of the founder of the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak.
Last week, the Sikh diaspora the world over, celebrated his 550th birthday.
But now is not the time for a history and politics lesson. Something else has happened. Something wonderful.
Just as we in the West mark Armstice Day (or Remembrance Day) once a year to honour those brave souls who fought in the Great War, us Sikhs pray for something every day. Yes every single day, sometimes several times a day:
There is a small section in the Sikh daily ardas (The Sikh equivalent of the Lord's prayer) where AFTER you have prayed for all humanity, for strength, for fortitude and for wisdom, where you are meant to insert your own personalised prayer. In this section, nearly 4 generations of Sikhs have, in addition to their own personal requests or gratitude, asked for one thing unanimously: unhindered access to and the exalted privilege of the upkeep and service of Nankana Sahib and other historic sites of deep significance to the Sikh faith.
So much so, that as the whole prayer is repeatedly droned over and over again, day in day out, that specific part almost fades into background noise, devoid of any impact or indeed, meaning.
We are today looking at the distinct possibility that those lines could be eliminated from the daily ardas completely for there would be no need for them.
Now I'm no influencer, but I did slip Pakistan skipper, Imran Khan the benefit of the doubt, following his overtures on the release of Indian POWs earlier this year, desperately hoping deep inside he'd have the courage to keep on following through with doing what is necessary. The last week has shown that he does.
A part of me remains cynical though, and I'd be stupid to let my emotions cloud the ground realities which he lives in and operates under and the ugliness of hatred and bigotry that is Indo-Pak relations, the evil forces dressed in saffron and green, and the Hindu-Muslim realpolitik.
Modi ji, ab aapki chaal.
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