TAXILA: The Sikh religious festival of Baisakhi concluded at Gurdwara Punja Sahib in Hassanabdal on Sunday.

The rituals closed with the concluding ceremony of Bhog Akhand Paath Sahib.

Evacuee Trust Property Board Chairman Tahir Ehsan, Secretary Tariq Wazir, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Pardhan Sardar Tara Singh, local Sikh leaders and others attended the ceremony.

More than 2,000 Indian and 8,000 Pakistani Sikh pilgrims attended the three-day 320th Baisakhi festival.

The festival is celebrated throughout the world but Sikh pilgrims flock to Pakistan to visit the birthplace of the founder of Sikhism, Baba Guru Nanak.

Hassanabdal is also religiously significant for Sikhs because it was where their last Guru, Guru Govind Singh Maharaj, settled.

After Bhog, the followers perform ‘Keerthan’ for their purification and redressal of their problems.

Keerthan is followed by ‘Ardaas’ (Dua) where the followers seek divine forgiveness for their sins. At the end, the religious feast ‘Parsad’, a sugar made sweet dish, was distributed among the participants.

Much jubilation and enthusiasm was seen on the concluding day as the Gurdwara was packed with Hindu and Sikh pilgrims wearing colourful dresses.

Men with yellow turbans and women with colourful dresses were seen roaming inside and outside the gurdwara.

In Sikhism, it is one of the most significant holidays in the calendar, commemorating the establishment of the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib in 1699, by the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

After the ceremony, Sikh and Hindu pilgrims living in various parts of the country, including the tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar, Swat, Tando Adam, Larkana, Sukkur, Badin, Umar Kot, Karachi and Lahore left for their respective places.

In the evening, the Indian Sikh pilgrims, while chanting hymns from Gurbani and ‘Satnam-waheguru’ left for Nankana Sahib to perform their rituals there for three days.

The Indian Sikh pilgrims will arrive at Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib, on April 15.

They will also visit Gurdwara Sacha Sauda in Farooqabad on April 17.

On April 18, the pilgrims will visit Gurdwara Dehra Sahib Sri Guru Arjan Dev, Lahore, and on April 19, they will visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur and Gurdwara Rori Sahib, Aimenabad.

The pilgrims will visit Lahore on April 20 and return to India on April 21.

Addressing as chief guest at the Bhog ceremony, Adviser to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said the PTI government was utilising all its resources for the betterment of the minorities and their religious places.

He said minorities in Pakistan had full liberty to follow their religions and perform their religious obligations.

He said boarding and lodging facilities at all main gurdwaras had improved with construction of new blocks and lungar halls.

He said the founder of Sikh religion, Baba Guru Nanak, preached values of tolerance, amity, brotherhood and well-being of the entire humanity.

Mr Aslam said a ‘Baba Nanak Nature Reserve’ was being established at Nankana Sahib.

The reserve will spread over 2,500 acres retrieved from illegal occupants.

He said these steps suggested that the government was serious to provide maximum facilities to minorities in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Parliamentary Secretary for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Aftab Jahangir said: “We want to give a message that every citizen in Pakistan has equal rights.”

He invited the Sikh community belonging to all parts of the world to invest in Pakistan and explore tourist attractions in the country.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2019