Sikh worship held in Lahore college gurdwara

Lahore: After nearly 80 years, Sikh prayers were held at a historic gurdwara in Aitchison College at Lahore in Pakistan, college officials said Friday.

Since 1947, the Aitchison Gurdwara had been closed due to lack of Sikh students but maintained by the college.

“On Wednesday, a historic and emotional Sikh prayer was held at the gurdwara on the campus of Aitchison College on Mall Road in Lahore,” said Dr Tarunjit Singh Butalia, an honorary envoy of Aitchison College.

“The special Sikh worship at the gurdwara was held as a part of the 140th anniversary of the college, which was attended by some 100 people,” Dr Butalia told PTI.

“It was a nostalgic moment for me to worship at the same place that my father, grandfather, and great grandfather prayed every evening before partition while they were students at Aitchison College,” he said and added he helped the college organise this event for the 140th anniversary celebrations.

Aitchison College Principal Turab Hussain said, “The prayer service at the gurdwara after 1947 at Aitchison College was a spiritual moment to kick off the 140th anniversary celebrations.

We look forward to many more such occasions. We hope this promotes more communal harmony, mutual understanding, and respect.”

The foundation stone of Aitchison College was laid on November 3, 1886 as an institution to provide education to the royals and chief families of undivided Punjab.

The Aitchison Gurdwara was designed by Ram Singh, the famous Sikh architect of the then Mayo School of Arts (now National College of Arts) Lahore.

The foundation stone was laid in 1910 by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala - he himself had studied at the college from 1904 to 1908.