Several invaders in the past 350 years attacked the Harimander Sahib complex, captured it and destroyed the holy place to stamp out political rebellion in that part of the Indian subcontinent. But the temple always rose from the ashes thanks to the Sikhs’ commitment to their religion, history. And culture as well as their politics. The place is the very embodiment of Sikhs’ personality. The Brahman rulers followed in the footsteps of hostile invaders to bulldoze the Harimander Sahib complex in 1984 but the Sikhs once again resisted the attack, laid down thousands of lives and upheld the: historical tradition to reconstruct the complex in as close to the original ‘position as possible. In addition, the Sikhs have had to contend with another attack on their ‘holy shrine, some jealous Hindus raised a replica of the Golden Temple at ‘another place at Amritsar called the Durgiana Mandir. The aim was to undermine the Harimander Sahib’s glory, but the effort practically flopped as no one took serious notice of the Durgiana Mandir. Then came the news that a group of Sikh Mahants are raising a replica of the Harimander Sahib ‘at Mastuana village in Sangrur district. The aim. Again. Is to provide a counter magnetic to the Harimander Sahib to minimize its importance as “a source of Sikh struggle. The aim is familiar though the conspirators are different. ‘There is no doubt that the glory of the Harimander Sahib will remain diminishable for all times to come simply because the place is hallowed by the touch of Sikh genus themselves. The Sikh martyrs’ blood has further consolidated the foundations of the complex. Where will the builders of Durgiana or Mastuana bring that unique Mortar from? Yet, the Sikhs all over the world will have to be vigilant about the conspiracies against the ‘Sikh Gurus, the Sikh religion, its culture and traditions and the history ‘woven round the gurus’ house at Amritsar.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 21, 1996
