Pakistani Sufi Organization Handed Over 110-Year-Old Sikh Manuscripts To Gurdwara

Islamabad : A Sufi organization in Pakistan has handed over a 110-year-old rare Sikh manuscript of the Guru Granth Sahib to a gurdwara in Sialkot, Punjab province. The Sufi organization took this step to strengthen Muslim-Sikh brotherhood after preserving this manuscript for 90 years. An Sufi family had preserved the ancient Sikh form in Gujarat village of Punjab province. It has now been handed over to the administration of Gurdwara Baba Di Beri at Sialkot. According to a media report, the manuscripts were kept at a Pir’s house in Pakistan for 90 years.

Mitra Sanjha Punjab, a local Sufi organization, has returned this manuscript. Two manuscripts of the Guru Granth Sahib were long kept with the family of Pir Syed Munir Naqshbandi, a respected Sufi elder in the village of Gujarat (Pakistan). Iftikhar Varraich Kakarvi, the head of the Sufi organization, gave this information to the Pakistani newspaper Express Tribune.

Iftikhar Varraich Kalravi, the head of the Sufi organization, said that two manuscripts of the Guru Granth Sahib were long preserved at the house of Syed Munir Naqshbandi, a Sufi pir of Gujarat. The Naqshbandi, advocating mutual harmony, had protected some Sikh families at home and some of their religious texts, trying to avoid ethnic violence before Partition, and protected them from desecration. There were two manuscripts of Guru Granth Sahib among them.

Kalravi told that after the death of a Sufi elder in 1950, his children had kept them safe and had been with the family since then. After keeping the manuscripts safe for over 90 years with Pir’s family, we have now decided that these manuscripts should be handed over to Gurdwara Baba Di Beri. It is a shining example of Muslim-Sikh friendship and will help strengthen our relationship.