Assamese Sikhs: Living In Remote Assam From Over 200 Years

[harmanpreet singh]

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

I have been frequently visiting Assam and meeting these Assamese Sikhs. My article on Assamese Sikhs in Sikh Philosophy Net (here) has got some details. I have met Assamese Sikhs in good positions and also those in very poor state. Through SGPC and other agencies we have been trying to get some aid. The great Sikh soldier General Chetan Singh (locally known General Chaitniya Singh) whose statue is planned to be placed in the main bazaar of Gwahati was really a revered one in Assamese History. A case was earlier projected to the Punjab Government for assisting in the project but it did not materialise. I have been in regular touch with Assamese IAS officer who is handling the project. We hope this project get through soon and Genral Chetan Singh is considered as a great war hero of Assam. There are number of other streets in Tezpur and Kohima on the names of Sikhs. Once Kartar Tea estate was one of the main tea estates but due to change of river Brahmputra it was eaten away by the floods. I had also requested for Guru Nanak chair in Gwahati and Dibrugarh Universities, since Guru Nanak has visited Assam extensively along with Assam's most revered saint Srimanta Sankar Deb and also met the Ahom King at Nazira where a Gurdwara in the memory of Guru Nanak is planned. This will also help the local Sikhs in a big way.