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BEWILDERED

It has been seven decades since the Sikh community departed from the lands that became Pakistan in 1947. While the footprints of the rich legacy now stand nearly erased, I have remained bewildered at the sight of many flagpoles on which, the Nishan Sahib, a flag hoisted at every gurdwara would once unfurl.

On the grounds of the Bedi haveli in Kallar Syedan, once stood a gurdwara which now stands replaced with a modern building of a primary school. The flagpole on the school ground, on which the Pakistani flag is now hoisted on national days, caught my attention as its top had a familiar double edge sword. As I zoomed my camera lens, I was surprised that it indeed was a Khanda, one of the insignia of the Sikh faith. Khanda, the two sharp sides of the double edged sword are a symbolic force that motivate us to face the daily internal and external struggles. This flagpole on which the Nishan Sahib once unfurled, is the lone standing memory of the gurdwara that once existed on these grounds.

As I stood staring at the upright flagpole, visions oscillated between the Nishan Sahib and the Pakistani flag, leaving me wondering about the strange play of destiny that the pole has served the religious and political aspirations of two distinct periods in history!

Photographed in Oct 2014, during the research for the book “LOST HERITAGE The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan”

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