THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Sikh community’s long-cherished dream of having a civilian gurudwara in the Kerala capital will move a definite step closer to reality with the foundation stone-laying ceremony on Sunday. Set to come up on 25 cents of land the state government had allotted at Shastri Nagar in Karamana, this will be Kerala’s second civilian gurudwara, after the one in Kochi.
The city has a place in the hearts of the Sikh community as Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, had visited Thiruvananthapuram in the early 16th century.
“It is said that Nanak came to the city from Thiruvattar and went to Varkala as part of his all-India pilgrimage,” historian M G Sashi Bhushan told TNIE. “This is indicated in the biography of Guru Nanak, written by Guru Gopal Singh, as a footnote.”
While Thiruvananthapuram has a gurudwara, it is located inside the army cantonment at Pangode. Hence, ordinary people have been facing restrictions -- for security reasons -- in visiting and praying at the gurudwara there.
Thiruvananthapuram has 20 Sikh families, besides many visiting the state capital for various purposes.
“We now rely on the gurudwara at the army cantonment for prayer and on auspicious occasions,” said Amarjit Singh, one of the founding members of the Gurudwara Guru Nanak Darbar, under the guidance of which the gurudwara is to be constructed.
“Though we are few in numbers, the military cantonment area has restrictions on people from outside visiting the gurudwara. They have security issues and protocols, and we find it difficult. Thanks to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who took the initiative to allot the land, we will now have the first civilian gurudwara of the capital district,” he said.
The community members also face difficulty in getting marriage certificates as the cantonment gurudwara does not issue it. To issue such certificates, a civil gurudwara is a must for the community, Amarjit pointed out.
“Now, we have to wait four to five months, or more, to get a date at the Pangode gurudwara for a wedding ceremony. Even when a family member dies, we have no place to offer last rite prayers. We have to depend on the army cantonment gurudwara. It usually allows us to pray on Sundays,” he said.
Besides the resident families, many people from the community visit the city. These families now worship the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book, at their homes.
The new gurudwara is planned to be completed with the help of donations. “The gurudwara will be constructed in the old Kerala heritage style. We have been welcomed very harmoniously by the people of Thiruvananthapuram over the years. We also received help from former Governor Arif Muhammed Khan who forwarded our request to the state government after we met him,” Amarjit said.
Kerala has around 350 members of the Sikh community. The community has very much been part of the state’s cultural sphere for long.
During the 2018 flood, a group of Sikh volunteers based in the United Kingdom had come forward to help the flood-affected.