Concern Over Takeover of 18th Century Gurdwara in Lahore

August 23, 2007

Author: Special Correspondent

Source: The Hindu

http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/23/stories/2007082354820800.htm

JAIPUR: Rajasthan State Minorities’ Commission Chairman Jasbir Singh has expressed concern over reports that the 18th Century Bhai Taro Singh Jee Gurdwara at Naulakha Bazaar in Lahore has been taken over by a group of Muslims, and demanded that the Centre intervene immediately for restoration of the shrine to Sikhs in Pakistan.

Mr. Singh, who was approached by a large number of Sikhs from across the State expressing anguish over the development, noted that Muslims painted the gurdwara’s minarets green and replaced its religious symbols with Islamic motifs and slogans. “The reports of forcible possession of the historic gurdwara have hurt the religious sentiments of Sikh community in Rajasthan,” said Mr. Singh in a letter to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.