Nanak once sang the song of love to bring together mankind. He was the pied piper of 15th century, with whom the masses associated. Till the early 20th century the followers of Nanak belonged to a wide array of sects, loosely termed as Nanakpanthis. Then some decided to define the boundaries of the faith, which over a century has resulted in the marginalization of the Nanakpanthis!
To understand the faith in its totality, today one needs to look into the thriving remnants of the Nanakpanthis across Pakistan, in the North-West Frontier, Sindh and Balochistan! I had an opportunity to intermingle with them and reflect in an unbiased manner, from where we started and where we have landed!
The Nanakpanthis of Mingora in Swat (Pakistan) are an affluent and well-educated community, who proudly call themselves as Sikhs. However, the irony is that even though they consider themselves as Sikhs, they are not accepted for marriage alliances by the Sikhs of the Khyber area, who are the adherents of the faith in its externalities (unshorn hair and turbans). Over lunch in Mingora Gurdwara, it pained me when Bansri Lal expressed in profound words that the wedge of partition has left them neither here nor there. Non-acceptability within the realms of the Sikh faith and also the social challenges of surviving as a small minority in the country!
Nanakpanthis, we are with you! We believe in your beliefs! We believe in mankind!
Remember when we point a finger at someone, three in the hand point back at us!
Photographed in Jan 2017, during the research for the book “THE QUEST CONTINUES: LOST HERITAGE The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan”
