Nankana Sahib, the spiritual center of Sikhism. Photo: Jeev/Wikipedia
The Sikh community, spread around the globe, has always had the highest association with the place of their spiritual origin in Pakistan’s Nankana Sahib district in Punjab province.
This week a new book highlighting the cultural footprint of Sikhism in Pakistan drew attention in Chicago, where Pakistani Consul General Faisal Niaz Tirmizi attended its launch ceremony.
Written by Amardeep Singh, a national of Singapore, the book “The Quest Continues Lost Heritages – The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan” also underlines the fact that peaceful co-existence enriches lives.
This is the author’s second book about Sikh Legacy in Pakistan after he wrote “Lost Heritage – The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan”, which was launched in June 2016 in Chicago.
Amardeep Singh abandoned a promising banking career to pursue his dream of researching the Sikh heritage in Pakistan, and visited several holy/historic sites across the South Asian country, bordering India, which houses the largest Sikh population in the Punjab on the other side of the border.
Pakistani Consul General Tirmizi paid tributes to the author for his hard work in tracing the legacy of the what was once the Sikh Empire in areas that are part of today’s Pakistan.
The diplomat expressed appreciation for Amardeep Singh’s efforts toward building bridges of friendship between Sikhs across the world and Pakistan through his books.
The consul general also proposed the establishment of a mechanism through which Chicago’s Sikh Community could adopt one Gurdwara in Pakistan as a role model to be followed by the Sikh communities in other parts of the world.
Such an initiative, he said, will help make strong linkages between Pakistan and the Sikh community.
Tirmizi also told the gathering about Pakistan’s efforts to preserve the Sikh heritage and to facilitate the Yatrees visiting Pakistan. He spoke about Sikhism and its origin in Pakistan with a large number of holy sites for its followers being there.
“The Sikh legacy in Pakistan is not only for the Sikhs, but was also for all citizens of Pakistan.”
