TAXILA: For 80-year-old Sardar Boota Singh — a Sikh pilgrim from Ludhiana, India — visiting his ancestral home in Faisalabad and collecting a fistful of soil from his birthplace to be mixed with his ashes is the final wish he has.

“It is my last wish that I kneel to kiss the place of my birth and collect a fistful of soil from my ancestral house to be scattered with my ashes,” says the graceful-looking devotee, overwhelmed with emotion and tears running down his wrinkled face.

His parents had to migrate to India in 1947, leaving everything behind.

He is visiting Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasanabdal on a pilgrimage to attend the annual Baisakhi festival, which is traditionally observed on the first day of the month of Vaishakha in the Hindu solar calendar, marking the harvest of rabi crops.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Singh said that he was just two years old when he, along with his parents and grandparents, migrated from Chak 99 GB Nehang Badala in Lyallpur district (now Faisalabad).

“My father told me that our family had a haveli there and all the families lived in a compound located near a gurdwara.”

Mr Singh said that the relations between the local Sikh and Muslim communities were so cordial that his close family friends from the same village are still in contact through telephone and social media.

He revealed that one of their old family friends, Fazal Muhammad, came to Ludhiana a few years ago to see his old friends.

“This is my seventh time coming to Pakistan on a pilgrimage, as my thirst to see my ‘first homeland’ has not yet been fulfilled. I want to offer prayers at the land of Guru Nanak and visit my birthplace.”

Pilgrims have to acquire a non-objection certificate to visit areas other than those mentioned by the host country.

Mr Boota’s childhood friend, Phangan Singh (80), said that both grew up in the same compound and that their friendship has spanned many decades.

He said their “hearts beat together”, and both came to Pakistan on a pilgrimage to pay homage to Guru Nanak and perform religious rituals at various gurdwaras located across the country.

He added that visa restrictions, rules, and conditions — especially Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) — are major obstacles for scores of Sikhs who want to visit their birthplaces in various cities of Pakistan.

According to Mr Singh, there are many senior citizens in Indian Punjab whose forefathers migrated from Pakistan — especially from Sheikhupura, Lahore, Jhelum, Chakwal, Gujranwala, and Sahiwal — and they and their family members wish to see their old birthplaces.

He urged Pakistani authorities, especially the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) and the religious tourism department, to plan special pilgrimage packages for such senior citizens and their families so they can visit their respective ancestral places.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2025