Pashtun Sikhs during partition

[amardeep]

Gurfateh

Here is an interesting article.

 

In pictures: A gurdwara opens after seven decades in Peshawar as city's Sikhs struggle for survival

Descendants of Hari Singh Nalwa, because of whom today's Pakistan has Peshawar, strive to carve out a space for themselves in the city.

 

...

...

..

Over the past few years, Sikhs from Peshawar and the adjoining areas have moved to Punjab – Nankana Sahib, Hassan Abdal and Lahore. An overwhelming majority of the Sikhs in Pakistan are Pashtuns.

During Partition, while Punjab saw the worst of the massacres resulting in the exodus of Hindus and Sikhs, the situation was much better in the areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa owing to the influence of Badshah Khan and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan.

Founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar Tehreek, Badshah Khan allied with the Indian National Congress and was opposed to the partitioning of British India. Instead of religious identity, his movement was premised on Pashtun nationalism and was widely popular. Because of his opposition to the creation of Pakistan, he was portrayed as a traitor and was incarcerated for several years after 1947.

When his son Wali Khan uttered the lines mentioned earlier, they were portrayed as further proof of the family’s disloyalty. Because of their emphasis on Pashtun nationalism, which also incorporated Pashtun Hindus and Sikhs, the religious minorities of this area were protected at the time of Partition.

http://scroll.in/article/806478/in-pictures-a-gurdwara-opens-after-seven-decades-in-peshawar-as-citys-sikhs-struggle-for-survival