A concerted effort to project the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as the original inheritor of the Indus Valley Civilisation is currently underway, alongside another similar and equally calculated attempt to portray the nation as reconnecting with its historical roots. The broader objective of this campaign is to recast Pakistan as a civilisational state. Ironically, these efforts are directed at a country that was founded in rejection of that very civilisational identity and rooted instead in the idea of religious superiority and distinct identity from the other people of the region, particularly Hindus and Sikhs.

Nevertheless, the propaganda machinery on both sides of the border appears to be working to gloss over this reality and downplay the Islamic character inherent to Pakistan. They want to paint it as a secular and tolerant nation that celebrates and embraces its heritage, rather than one that brutally erased it in its pursuit of becoming a hardline ethnoreligious entity, which in many respects is the original Islamic State which predates the terrorist group that came into existence in Iraq and Syria.

The Gurdwara and the Screen: Analyzing Cultural Initiatives

The Islamo-leftist propaganda portal “The Wire” carried a story first published by “The Tribune” about “Gurdwara Patshahi Chhevin“, which is associated with Guru Hargobind. He is the 6th guru of Sikhism. It is situated in the Amar Sidhu hamlet on the Lahore-Kasur route and was reopened to devotees after restoration nearly 79 years following the partition. A historic gurdwara affiliated with Guru Hargobind has reopened to worshippers in Lahore after being closed for over 79 years following partition in 1947. Gurdwara Patshahi Chhevin is located in the historic village of Amar Sidhu on the Lahore-Kasur road. The location is one of the three historic gurdwaras in Lahore founded by Guru Hargobind. Prior to 1947, it was maintained by the local Sikh community under SGPC and included lodging in addition to langar services. Over time, the building deteriorated as much of the surrounding land was inhabited and the pond next to it was filled in.

The site is one of Guru Hargobind’s three ancient gurdwaras in Lahore, which also featured lodging alongside langar facilities and was looked after by the local Sikh community under the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) before 1947. It was initially made up of about 17 kanals of land. Davinder Singh Dhillon, editor of the Gurdwara Pedia portal, outlined that the site started off as a simple memorial. With the help of the Sikh community in Lahore, Bhai Mohan Singh Akali (Nihang) erected a magnificent gurdwara in 1923. The construction was greatly aided by renowned civil engineer Sir Ganga Ram, who created a variety of famous structures in undivided Punjab during the British Raj.

According to historical accounts, the ancient tharra, which marked the location of Guru Hargobind’s resting place, was eventually encircled by a permanent building constructed in the middle of a garden in 1923. The shrine included a massive dome, verandahs and marble floors with inscriptions in Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi memorialising the Sikh devotees who had helped build it. Nevertheless, this also encountered communal hostility from extremists similar to the fate of other non-Muslim places. The Sikhs fled to India as the shrine was abandoned and left to the mercy of radicals. It sustained significant damage during the 1947 violence and its condition continued to deteriorate as time progressed. The building decayed while a large portion of the surrounding area was occupied and the adjacent pond was filled in. According to reports, a private family took over the property for a number of years and even built a local pir’s grave inside its premises. It is clear that the intention was to proclaim the structure as a Muslim site.

Nevertheless, the headings conveniently concealed the unpleasant reality of Islamic fundamentalism, creating the impression that Pakistan is trying to revive its heritage. Furthermore, the conspiracy is not limited to gurdwaras but also extends to cinema, which is similarly being utilised to strengthen the anti-India agenda. Pakistan, which officially banned Adita Dhar’s blockbuster Dhurandar series for exposing its ugly face, wants to showcase Honey Trehan-directed Satluj, due to the film’s biased narrative against India, which completely fails to address the Khalistan movement and its numerous victims, particularly Hindus. The rogue nation has been a major contributor to this problem of separatism, which is also absent from the story.

The Discrepancy Between Policy and Reality

Notably, these superficial gestures to appeal to the Sikh community have been occurring as the border state of Punjab approaches assembly elections in the coming months. Thus, there appears to be a sinister motive behind these actions. It can easily be understood by the relentless persecution of Sikhs and their sacred spaces in the Islamic Republic, which recently tore down the 125-year-old Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sahib in Punjab province, exemplifying the attachment it holds for its historical legacy. The gurdwara traced its origins to the late 19th or early 20th century and was linked with one of the most significant reform initiatives in Sikh history, the Singh Sabha movement. The Indian government protested against the decision.

The complex, which had been mostly deserted since the partition, was handed over to Indian migrant refugees for residential use by the Pakistani government in 1960 with firm restrictions on any structural changes or demolition of the original construction. Despite many complaints over the past four years, Sikh organisations charged that land mafias destroyed the main dome to seize the plot. This is just one instance among many, as multiple gurdwaras, both well-known and small, much like temples, have been removed both physically and from the memories of the populace after 1947 in Pakistan. A nation that is devoted to its heritage certainly does not operate in this manner.

Moreover, even the Kartarpur Corridor had encountered furious objections from within the country. Late Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the founder of radical Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, expressed that the Islamic nation was not founded to create Sikh universities or to provide a corridor for them, and those who love this minority community should move to Amritsar.

Documenting the Status of Historical Shrines

"After partition, these smaller historical shrines associated with the Sikh Gurus were collectively lost from the Sikh community’s memory," author Tarunjit Singh Butalia wrote for The Tribune. He is based in the United States and had to set out on a journey to find these places of worship.

"The documentation of pre-1947 Gurmukhi books identified about 250 Sikh historical shrines across Pakistan associated with the Sikh Gurus. The vast majority of them are in small villages, forgotten by the Sikh community worldwide. Having travelled extensively to these villages, only a few gurdwaras remain. Some have been converted into schools or tombs. A vast majority of them are either in ruins or completely demolished," he highlighted."Interestingly, the ones that have now disappeared seem to live on in the memory of the Babas (elders) of the village because most of them slowly disappeared after the Indo-Pak war of 1965, the year of my birth," Butalia remarked as he was confronted with the shocking facts.

According to the data, there are only 5 working gurdwaras out of 38 Sikh landmarks in the Lahore area. "One site is well-maintained but not functional as a gurdwara. 10 buildings are in average condition but occupied by refugees, 8 sites are in ruins, and 14 sites have completely disappeared and typically been replaced by newer buildings," he added.

Many gurdwaras have succumbed to neglect, endured encroachments and changes in land use or have been completely destroyed, irrespective of their historical or religious value. Of course, when non-Muslims have no place in Pakistan, how can their places of worship be permitted to exist? Unsurprisingly, the sculptures dedicated to prominent Sikh figures have also been targeted. A 9-foot bronze statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire whose reign stretched from Afghanistan to the outskirts of Delhi, had been defaced on three occasions. It is located in Lahore Fort and was first attacked in 2019 shortly after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. A man named Zaheer then broke the statue’s arm in 2020 as he was influenced by Khadim Hussain Rizvi’s sermons, while the artwork was completely vandalised in 2021, sparing only the horse.

Assessing the Underlying Motivations

Pakistan has not only utterly failed to safeguard Sikh heritage from external threats and gradual degradation but also consistently neglected it for decades. Therefore, it is natural for suspicions to arise when the country suddenly seeks to prioritise these sites and intends to restore them. Pakistan even aims to transform Guru Nanak Dev’s birthplace, Nankana Sahib, into a major global religious tourism destination. However, the underlying aim is not a newfound appreciation for Sikhs but rather a ploy to exploit the community to target India and potentially incite unrest in Punjab.

Pakistan’s history of provoking violence and armed conflict in India, specifically in Kashmir and Punjab, as an effective foreign policy tool is well recorded. Therefore, this could be yet another move to exacerbate tensions and interfere in India’s internal affairs by posing as a benefactor of Sikhs while casting the latter in a negative light. What other rationale could there be for a nation known for its oppression of minorities and driving them to the brink of extinction to engage in such antics? If Pakistan were truly sincere, this would be reflected in its academia, entertainment, literature and other facets which seldom acknowledge Sikhs and their historical relevance and are instead filled with contempt for non-Muslims and glorification of jihad.

The breeding ground for groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed cannot celebrate Maharaja Ranjit Singh unless it is for some nefarious purpose. Freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, who hailed from Banga village in the Lyallpur district (now Faisalabad), have been denied their rightful recognition in Pakistan, which has never acknowledged anyone or anything that is not connected with savage Islamic marauders or jihadis.

Ground Realities and Strategic Frameworks

The alarming plight of Sikhs, akin to that of Hindus, is self-evident as the community regularly encounters severe injustices. Women, including minors, are especially vulnerable, facing abductions, forced conversions and marriages at the hands of Islamists while the legal system either remains a passive observer or supports the offenders. The daughter of a priest at Gurudwara Nankana Sahib had to suffer a similar situation after she was kidnapped at gunpoint in 2019, after which her family had to repeatedly beg for assistance. However, the authorities did not help them, pushing them to threaten self-immolation in front of the Punjab Governor’s residence if she was not released.

How is it that the Islamic Republic, known for its horrendous treatment of the Sikh population, has unexpectedly decided to honour its past, which is tied to the minority community that is regarded as second-class citizens in a nation dominated by Islamists? A campaign to restore the pre-partition names of historical monuments and sites in Lahore was launched, which was later abandoned after resistance from extremists. While there is no change of heart, a different strategy with multiple extensions has apparently been adopted to advance the anti-India agenda. Pakistan desires to be perceived as a secular and civilisational force to cleanse its extremist image globally as it simultaneously tries to harm India’s reputation and stoke domestic tensions with these latest tactics.