Author Hardeep Singh

AMRITSAR: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Monday sent invitations to four descendants of Rai Bular, who was contemporary of Guru Nanak and His ardent devotee, living in Pakistan-administered Punjab to visit India-administered Punjab to attend the Parkash Gurpurb (birth anniversary) celebrations of the founder of the Sikhi.

In the invitation letter sent to four families including Rai Muhammad Salim Bhatti, a descendant of Rai Bular, the SGPC said that the Prakash Gurpurb will be celebrated on November 15, 2024 in Amritsar, Sultanpur Lodhi, Dera Baba Nanak, Batala, besides places Delhi and Nanakmatta (Uttarakhand), so the family should come to India between November 1 to 30, 2024 to participate in the celebrations. The SGPC has also assured to arrange all the accommodation and travel expenses of these families upon their arrival in India.

However, the question arises ‘will Indian grant them visa’. So far, they applied for visa for many times, but their requests were rejected every time. 

In this regard, SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami said that the government should issue visas to the descendants of Rai Bular and allow them to visit India so that they can come here and participate in the Prakash Gurpurb celebrations and also see the painting of Rai Bular Ji installed at Central Sikh Museum in Harmandar Sahib as a memorial. 

He said that Rai Bular family has a mutually respectful relationship with the Sikhs because Rai Bular’s place in history is important. The SGPC President said despite the fact that the SGPC had given invitation letters to this family several times and wrote to the government, they were not given Indian visas and now the government should seriously consider this time. 

He said that earlier in the year 2022, when Rai Bular’s painting was installed in the Central Sikh Museum, then also the SGPC had sent an invitation to the family to visit India on that occasion, but they could not come as Indian visas were not granted to them. The SGPC President expressed hope that this time the government will respect the sentiments of Sikhs by issuing visas to the descendants of Rai Bular to visit India.

It may be mentioned that Mehta Kalyan Das, the father of Sri Guru Nanak Dev, worked for Rai Bular Ji. Rai Bular Ji was an ardent devotee of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji, who recognized the divine light in Guru at an early age. Rai Bular Ji gave thousands of acres of his property in the name of Sri Guru Nanak Dev, which is currently in the name of Gurdwara Sri Nankana Sahib.

It may be mentioned that Mehta Kalyan Das, the father of Sri Guru Nanak, worked for Rai Bular Ji. Rai Bular Ji was an ardent devotee of Sri Guru Nanak Sahib, who recognized the divine light in Guru at an early age. Rai Bular Ji gave thousands of acres of his property in the name of Sri Guru Nanak Sahib, which is currently in the name of Gurdwara Sri Nankana Sahib.