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Garma
Garam More |
Faith & Religion |
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Sikh Period: 1762-1849 A.D. .
Charat Singh died in 1774 and was succeeded by his son, Mahan Singh, who in turn fathered the most brilliant leader in the history of the Punjab: Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It was this short statured man, addicted to strong drink, unlettered; blind in one eye who united the Punjab under one flag. His rule stretched from the banks of the Jamuna to the Khyber and from Kashmir to Multan.
Sikhs are the followers of Baba Guru Nanak Sahib. He was the son of Mehta Kalu Chand and Tripta Devi, both of them Khatris by caste. He was born at Nankana Sahib in 1464. Sikhism was born as a direct reaction against rigid, cruel and inhuman practices of Brahamanism and its rigid caste system. But another important factor which influenced the mind of the people who contributed to the growth of Sikhism, was the impact of Islam which had spread from Arabia to Iraq, Turkistan, Persia and Afghanistan and came in to contact with Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism. The Sikh religion is in fact a product of the Sufi and Bhakti school of thought. Guru Nanak was greatly influenced by Kabir and Shaikh Ibrahim Farid (1450 - 1535) a descendent of the famous Sufi saint Shaikh Fariduddin Shakarganj of Pak Pattan whose works were incorporated in the Garanth Sahib. Guru Nanak studied books of Hindu and Muslims religions and it was only after deep study of both the religions that he evolved his own school of thought. The basic principles of the Sikhism are much closer to Islam than to Hinduism. A study of the life, events of the Gurus and the large numbers of the monuments sacred to them will, however, reveal how deeply all the Sikh Gurus in general and Guru Nanak, Ajen Dev and Har Gobind Singh in particular are associated with Pakistan.
The legacy of our predecessors at the time of our independence, on August 14, 1947, came to us as a treasure which may be called as Pakistan’s national heritage. So rich and diversified is this heritage that Pakistani nation can be proud of its glorious past, be Islamic, Post Islamic or pre-Islamic period as far back as pre-historic times. No other country of the world can produce the treasure of by gone days as can be found in Pakistan. It is now incumbent upon us to treasure our national heritage and save it from further deterioration and theft. The establishment of NFCH is much appreciated and a great interest is shown by the general public hence since its establishment in 1994 hundreds of proposals were received from different agencies and individuals for the conservation, preservation and publication of the Pakistan’s national heritage. It is hoped that with the continued patronage of the government, the Philanthropists and the Business Community to the NFCH we shall be able to achieve the aforesaid goal.
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