TAXILA: Around 1,500 Indian Sikh pilgrims arrived at the Gurdwara Punja Sahib Hassanabdal to offer religious rituals in connection with the Baisakhi festival that started on Thursday.

Every year on the full moon in April, millions of Sikhs commemorate the centuries-old tradition. Baisakhi, also known as the harvest festival, celebrates the long journey from the foundation of the Sikh faith by the first Sikh Guru to the foundation of the Khalsa (the righteous Sikh brotherhood) by the 10th Guru.

For the first time, the paramilitary Rangers along with heavily guarded police, anti-terrorist units and commandos have been deployed around the temple to provide foolproof security to the pilgrims.

All roads leading to the temple were sealed and only authorised persons and pilgrims allowed to pass through the roads after proper verification and checking.

The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) in collaboration with the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has made arrangements for boarding and lodging of the pilgrims at the Gurdwara.

Yatrees’ group leader Sardar Balvinder Singh thanked the government, ETPB and the people of Pakistan for the arrangements.

He urged the governments of Pakistan and India to remove visa restrictions on senior citizens and relax some immigration laws to facilitate ordinary citizens of both the countries. He said Pakistan was like a second home to all the Sikh community members. He said relations between Sikh and Muslims would improve in days to come.

Talking to the media, ETPB deputy secretary (shrines) Imran Gondal said special security, stay and food arrangements had been made for the Sikh yatrees. He said the security of gurdwaras in Pakistan had been entrusted to the Rangers.

He said the Indian Sikh pilgrims would visit Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahab on April 15 and Sucha Sauda, Farooqabad the following day. They will reach Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore on April 18 and Kartarpur in Narowal on April 19. The Indian pilgrims will return to Lahore on the same day and attend a seminar there on April 20.

Talking to this reporter at Punja Sahib, most of the yatrees appeared excited about visiting Pakistan and said they had enjoyed their visit to the country more than what they had been expecting before coming here.

Soon after their arrival, children were seen running barefoot on the premises of the over 100-year-old Gurdwara while their elders listened to the lyrical recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib (the holy scripture of the Sikhs).

The recitation from the Guru Granth Sahib was followed by praise and thanks to the Guru for his blessings and then Kirtan, the recitation of religious songs.

The symbol of the Khalsa, which was inscribed on an orange flag known as the Alam, was also replaced. In the end, Langar (free food) was distributed among the devotees. Later, the followers performed ‘Keerthan’ for their purification and redressal of their problems. Keerthan is followed by ‘Ardaas’ (Dua).

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2017