It is natural that there is strong outrage among the Sikh community.
The demolition of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha building in the Pakistani city of Farrukhabad has naturally sparked strong protests among the Sikh community. The extensive vandalism of the building took place on the intervening night of June 24-25. Pakistani authorities claim that the 'miscreants' demolished only the dome of the gurdwara, but videos circulating on social media show the 125-year-old building reduced to rubble. The local administration says that the land mafia is behind the attack. That is why the demolition process has been stopped and the building has been sealed. Representatives of Pakistani Sikhs have demanded a high-level inquiry into the entire matter and the culprits should be arrested soon.
Allegations have also surfaced on social media that some municipal officials in Farrukhabad allowed the demolition of the gurdwara in exchange for an alleged bribe of Rs 1 crore. Contrary to such allegations, the municipal officials claim that the gurdwara building was already dilapidated due to lack of maintenance. This makes the damage more visible. However, it is being admitted that the attempt to demolish the building was illegal. Despite such admission, the lack of any arrests clearly indicates a lack of integrity.
The original name of Farrukhabad was Chuharkana. This place is famous in Sikh history for Gurdwara Sacha Sauda. Whenever groups of Indian Sikh pilgrims go to Pakistan to visit Nankana Sahib or Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Hassan Abdal, Gurdwara Sacha Sauda is also a part of their pilgrimage. The distance between Gurdwara Sacha Sauda and Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Farrukhabad is only 3.1 km.
That is why the government claims that this Gurudwara is not being maintained do not seem correct. Chuhankana was founded by Sardar Chuhar Singh, a courtier of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Its name was changed to Farooqabad in 1983 during the rule of General Zia-ul-Haq. The Pakistani Hindu-Sikh communities had strongly opposed this name change then, but they did not submit to General Zia's dictatorship. Now the widespread destruction of the Gurdwara building gives the impression of a conspiracy to heal the wounds of 1983.
Pakistani rulers have always claimed to be benefactors of the Sikh community. But the attack on another Gurudwara within 10 days of the looting and killing of an elderly couple in Gurdwara Babu Mohalla in Mardan, a city in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, raises question marks before the above claims. The government of Pakistani Punjab has been admitting that the Sikh community coming from Canada, America, Australia, Britain and the UAE to visit historical and other Gurudwaras has been contributing significantly to its efforts to promote religious tourism and earn foreign currency.
It is also believed that if Pakistan's relations with India improve, religious tourism could get a further boost. Despite such thinking, the lack of due attention to the maintenance and security of Sikh religious places by the Pakistani Auqaf Board gives the impression of duplicity. The absence of arrests further deepens this duplicity.
