Locate original sources before final judgment on Sikh history issues: KC Singh

Former diplomat KC Singh on Friday emphasised the need to locate original sources before making any definitive judgement on serious issues of Sikh history. Singh made these remarks while presiding over a lecture on ‘Zafarnama of Guru Gobind Singh’ by Harpreet Singh, Scholar of Sikhism and South Asian Religions Traditions at the Harvard University, US, at Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan here.

Welcoming Harpreet Singh, director of the Sadan, Mohinder Singh said while the scholar had consulted valuable manuscripts containing details of Zafarnama in Persian and Punjabi, there was still a need to locate the original letter of Guru Gobind Singh to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, popularly described as ‘Zafarnama- An Epistle of Victory’.

Mohinder Singh said while there is no doubt that the original letter in Persian written by Guru Gobind Singh himself was delivered to the Emperor through Bhai Daya Singh, one of the first five Sikhs baptized by Guru Sahib in 1699, researchers have failed to locate the original document in the official records of that period. Responding to the issue, the visiting scholar displayed valuable Guru Granth Sahib manuscripts on the screen, in which there was clear mention about the historic documents written by the Guru being delivered to the emperor.

Participating in the discussion, scholars from various colleges and universities of Delhi raised important issues of Sikh history, which are of concern to the youth who are trying to discover their roots.

Assembled scholars also paid tributes to Sardar Patwant Singh, distinguished historian, saviour of Sikh art and heritage, whose first birth centenary was also celebrated by the Sadan.