Sikh Gurdwara at Leith in Edinburgh
Guru
Nanak Gurdwara at Leith, a coast town on the outskirts of Edinburgh, the
capital city of Scotland of the UK, is in the news for wrong reasons of arson
attack a couple of days before by some unknown elements which are still to be
identified. Some mad caps do these
“deliberate” acts of “hate crime”. A similar act of arson took place in 1989
too. Edinburgh is a historical city with multicultural heritage. Scots are
tolerant people. The First Minister of Scotland, Nicole Sturgeon condemned the
attack and termed it as “appalling “and rightly so. I can say this after my
association with
Scotland, its leadership and also with Guru Nanak Gurdwara at
Leith and its management as the Consul General of India based in Edinburgh in
the mid 2010s. I am confident that the administration will handle the matter
with care and concern. The Sikh community in and around, though not big, is
resilient enough to withstand the onslaught by some anti-social elements. The
local government of Scottish National Party (SNP) and the national government
in London simply cannot allow to hurt the religious sentiments of not only of
the Sikhs, a prominent and prosperous community in Scotland, but also to
disturb the social and spiritual harmony of the society at large.
Sikh
community in the UK is well settled and is vibrant. They have done well in
Scotland too. It was a pleasure to interact with the community in capacity as
the Consul General of India in Edinburgh.
Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Leith is a historical landmark in Edinburgh
housed in church of 1843 vintage. The Sikh community purchased the church and
converted into a Gurdwara in 1976. I visited Guru Nanak Gurdwara a couple of
times to pay obeisance and join in the celebrations. It will not be out of
place to mention that Sikh community in and around Edinburgh is not very big,
about 500, as compared to community in around Glasgow. A special feature is
that the Sikh devotees at Leith Gurdwara belong to a somewhat distinct segment
or sub-sect of the community which are still traditional in their day to day
life. The veil (Ghunghat) by the ladies, traditional dress sense, marriage or
death ceremonies as per the old norms are still observed even after three
generation of their migration to the UK. I don’t know how far it was correct
but I was told that even alcoholic beverages were served on special days as
‘Parsad’ in the Gurdwaras. With my interaction with the community, I found them
living in a foreign land of their choice but still having strong bonds of
belonging with their native place India and its culture and tradition. It was
gratifying to see that they were the true followers of Sikh tenants “Kirat Kar
Te Band Sak” without any visible trace of fundamentalism.
I
cherish my memories of interacting and socializing with the Sikh community in
Scotland.