A 125-year-old Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Pakistan's Punjab province was allegedly demolished by miscreants during the night of June 24 and 25 according to media reports and the historic gurdwara is located in Farooqabad near Gurdwara Sacha Sauda.
The incident has raised concern among Sikh representatives in Pakistan who have accused authorities of not taking action after demolition and they have also claimed that similar incidents have happened in the past and have demanded strict legal action against those responsible.
Bhupinder Singh who is a Sikh representative from Nankana Sahib in Pakistan shared a video message on social media about the incident and in the video he alleged that the 125-year-old Gurdwara Singh Sabha was demolished during intervening night of June 24 and 25 which was between 8th and 9th night of Muharram and he also accused authorities of ignoring the matter and appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif to take notice of the incident and ensure that proper legal action is taken against those involved.
According to the information shared by Sikh representatives, no action has been taken by the government so far and they said that they expect the authorities to investigate the matter and take strict steps against the people responsible for the alleged demolition.
Gurdwara Singh Sabha is considered an important historical site because of its connection with the Singh Sabha Movement and the movement played a major role in revival of Sikh religious and cultural identity. The Singh Sabha Movement began in Amritsar in 1873 and was formally established in Lahore in 1879 and over the years it became an important reform movement that worked to strengthen Sikh religious teachings, traditions and cultural identity.
Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Farooqabad is regarded as one of the important centres from where Singh Sabha Movement gained momentum and because of this historical importance its demolition of the gurdwara has drawn attention from members of Sikh community.
Several well-known Sikh scholars and leaders contributed to Singh Sabha Movement and these included Baba Khem Singh Bedi, Sardar Thakur Singh Sandhawalia, Giani Gian Singh, Prof Gurmukh Singh, Giani Ditt Singh and Prof Kahn Singh Nabha who made significant contributions to the movement and the alleged demolition of the historic gurdwara has led Sikh representatives in Pakistan to once again call for strict legal action and they have urged Punjab government in Pakistan to take immediate notice of the matter, investigate the incident and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.