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Shah Kaku's urs in Sikh gurdwara irks ETPB |
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Written by Abdul Manan, dailytimes.com.pk
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Thursday, 14 February 2008 |
 The '531st urs' (death anniversary) of Pir Shah Kaku is being held on Thursday (today) at 'his shrine' – which lies inside a Sikh gurdwara in Naulakha Bazaar – for the first time despite a ban by the government on holding the event.
A self-appointed caretaker of the shrine is giving final touches to the saint's urs, and according to him, hundreds of devotees of Pir Shah Kaku across the country are expected to attend it. The situation has become irksome to the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) authorities, who say the permission of holding an urs was never granted.
Reportedly, the saint, who died 531 years ago, appeared in a dream of the gurdwara's security guard, Yasin, seven months ago (on July 8, 2007). Yasin claimed that the saint told him about his (the saint's) grave being inside the gurdwara. Yasin 'found' the grave, piled more sand on it and decorated it.
Sohail Butt, the new caretaker of the 'grave', which is now called a shrine, said the saint's believer were going to celebrate the urs for the first time at the shrine.
He claimed that earlier, people had been holding the saint's urs at their homes. He said he had confirmed the authenticity of the saint from 24 books. However, he did not name any book.
He claimed that Shah Kaku was the grandson of Baba Farid Ganj Shakar, the mentor of Mian Mir. "The temple once had madrassas of Shah Kaku and Mian Mir along with Dara Shikoh, who used to attend our mentor's company," Sohail added.
He said langar (charity food) would be served to the devotees. When asked about the sitting arrangements for the devotees, he said a mehfil (function) would be held outside the temple while women would sit inside the temple. He said he had submitted an application to the Naulakha police for provision of security, inside and outside the shrine.
Naulakha Police Station House Officer Raees Ahmad Khan said he had received directions from the superintendent of police (security) to protect the ceremony. On the other side, locals have varying views on the urs.
They said the grave was in fact that of Mir Munnon, the former governor of Lahore. They refused to accept it as the grave of Pir Shah Kaku. They said 'hooligans' just wanted to take possession of the precious land of the temple.
ETPB Shrine Additional Secretary Khurram Saddique said the board did not allow the caretaker of the shrine to hold any urs inside the temple. He said it was to maintain interfaith harmony, as there had been a tussle between local 'hooligans' and the Sikh community on the issue. He said the shrine and the gurdwara of Bhai Taro Singh Gee were situated at the same place.
According to the history of the temple, mentioned in Gurdawaray Gurudham, a printed report on the Sikh temples in Pakistan, Bhai Taru Singh's temple was situated in the Naulakha Bazaar. He used to help the needy. He was allegedly threatened and harassed by the ruler of that time because of his human service. He died in 1745. The followers of the Sikh community built a shrine and a gurdwara at the place, which was taken over by the ETPB later on.
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