Did the sixth Sikh Guru leave behind a few weapons on the outskirts of Kailey village near Ludhiana during his halt on his ‘dharam parchar’ tours of the region in 1621? The recovery of some sharp-edged weapons and a ‘chur’ during digging in the vicinity of the village gurudwara, built in memory of Guru Har Gobind, has raised this question among Sikh intellectuals.
The area’s residents, led by Darshan Singh, chairman of the Budha Gurmat Parchar Trust, have urged members of the gurudwara management committee to get the articles recovered and examined by experts of the archeology department and exhibit them for ‘sangat’, if found to belong to the Guru.
A large number of enthusiasts from the area visited Gurudwara 'Chhevin Patshai' in the village to have a look at the weapons and a ‘chur’ (a large ‘chullah’) that were recovered during digging for expansion of the gurudwara on Thursday.
Kuldeep Singh, the head ‘granthi’, had announced the villagers recovered some weapons and a ‘chur’ during digging yesterday. “Believing Guru Har Gobind and his disciples had made a halt here in a temporary abode during one of his journeys, it is thought the weapons belonged to the Guru”, he added.
Kuldeep said the articles would be kept in a palanquin after getting them examined by archeological experts.
According to some history books the Guru had visited this area in the course of his ‘dharam parchar’ tours sometime in 1621. Though Kailey village does not find any mention, a nearby village, Sidhar, is among the localities where the Guru organized mass meetings for preaching the ‘meeri peeri’ concept.
Har Gobind is said to be the first Sikh Guru to advocate the necessity of military training and martial arts among his disciples.