300-year-old Guru Granth Sahib manuscript, stolen by British from erstwhile Sikh Empire, arrives in Scotland. All details here
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "300-year-old Guru Granth Sahib manuscript, stolen by British from erstwhile Sikh Empire, arrives in Scotland. All details here")
Ancient Guru Granth Sahib manuscript once owned by Maharaja Kharak Singh unveiled in Scotland Photograph: (X/IndiaInScotland)
A 300-year-old handwritten manuscript of the Guru Granth Sahib, believed to have once belonged to Maharaja Kharak Singh, has been brought to Scotland and will be displayed for devotees at the Central Gurdwara Glasgow.
A handwritten manuscript of the revered Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scripture, has been brought to Scotland and will soon be open to devotees to pay their respects. The manuscript, as per the Consulate General of India in Scotland, is 300 years old and once belonged to Maharaja Kharak Singh of Punjab.
Where can devotees pay their respects to this ancient manuscript?
Devotees can pay their respects to the 300-year-old copy of Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj at the Central Gurdwara in Glasgow.
How the ancient manuscript was discovered
The three-century-old handwritten Guru Granth Sahib manuscript, as per the consulate, was discovered in the university archives in 2020. The sacred manuscript has undergone extensive restoration and preservation before devotees could do "darshan" (pay their respects).
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In a statement on X, the Consulate noted that its team was pleased to join Gurudwara representatives from Edinburgh and Glasgow in bringing the manuscript to Scotland. "A meaningful step in preserving and celebrating our shared heritage," added the statement.
The manuscript, which is believed to date back to the 1700s, once belonged to the second ruler of the Sikh Empire, Maharaja Kharak Singh. According to researchers, the manuscript is believed to have been taken from Maharaja Kharak Singh's archives when the British captured the Dullewalla fort in Punjab in 1848.
Afterwards, the manuscript was handed over to the University of Edinburgh by Sir John Spencer Login, who also brought the Kohinoor diamond from the Sikh Empire to Queen Victoria during colonial rule.
In 2020, Sikh researchers looking for artefacts through the university's website found entries mentioning the rare holy manuscript. Following its discovery, the manuscript underwent extensive preservation and restoration. Last year, in November, the Sikh community in Edinburgh held a special ceremony where Sikh devotees from across Scotland gathered to view the holy document.
A 'mind-blowing experience'
Trishna Singh, managing director of community organisation Sikh Sanjog, told PTI news agency that her first encounter with the 300-year-old copy of the holy scripture was a "mind-blowing experience."
“I was so amazed, but there was part of me that was upset,” said Trisha. "I thought of my grandparents and my parents who'd lived in Glasgow, Scotland, since the late 1930s and never knew that there was this wonderful, amazing piece of our history sitting here in the university," she told PTI.
