PESHAWAR: The members of Sikh community from entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa gathered on Sunday evening to officially celebrate the birthday of Baba Guru Nanak with religious fervour.

“Whether it was politico-religious or nationalist government, none celebrated it like this time. We are celebrating it for the first time under government patronage,” claimed Soran Singh, the special assistant to chief minister. He said that few days ago Hindu religious festival Diwali was also celebrated at government level by holding special gathering like that one.

The Sikh families, who had come from parts of province and tribal areas, were given accommodation in a Sikh temple or Gurdawara Joga Singh in Peshawar City. They gathered in the evening in Auqaf Hall to take part in special prayers and festivities of Baba Guru Nanak’s birthday, organised with the support of provincial culture department.

CM’s special assistant says they will also observe Christmas and Kalash festivals officially

“If Eid is celebrated at government level with a lot of fervour, we would celebrate Christmas and even Kalash religious festivals officially so that minorities wouldn’t feel less important,” said Soran Singh, representing both the provincial government and minority community.

Although the actual birthday of Baba Guru Nanak was celebrated on Nov 16 yet Mr Singh said that it was for the first time that provincial government was celebrating it.

The gathering would be celebrating the birthday of their religious leader Baba Guru Nanak by sharing and reminding themselves about his teachings. Baba Guru Nanak propagated the oneness of God, humanity and peace.

Baba Guru Nanak believed and propagated a society free of class discrimination, said Mr Singh. He also narrated how Baba Guru Nanak preached against discrimination. Once his father gave him money to purchase things for the shop (business) but he ended up spending all the money on feeding the poor and hungry from a “Langar” (an outlet giving food free of charge).

Baba Guru Nanak, called it Sacha Soda (true returns), earning goodwill and love in return for helping the needy. A Sacha Soda Gurdwara -- a reminder of the kind deed of Baba Guru Nanak -- is still run and it feeds poor and hungry free of charge all day long throughout the year. Almost every Sikh temple has a “Lunger” giving food to anyone, who is hungry.

The birthday of Baba Guru Nanak, reminding of such lessons of peace and doing good to humanity free of any bias, is also a reminder how Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been located in a region having a rich history of inter-faith harmony. The world may be seeing this region seeped in religious extremism but celebrations like Diwali and Baba Guru Nanak’s birthday send a message that it is still trying to keep the tradition of religious harmony alive.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2015