Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said Guru Nanak Dev does not belong only to Sikhs, but he belongs to the world and the entire human race.
He was speaking at a event of 'Sikh heritage of Nepal' here where he lauded former Nepal ambassador Manjeev Puri for bringing out a book linking the Sikh heritage to Nepal.
"The importance of both the Sikhs and the Gurkhas in our Army is well known but I don't think many have focussed on the implication of bringing the two together. It has been fascinating to learn the origins of the connection and that even now Nepalese soldiers going overseas are known as 'Lahures', a reference to the Court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore.
"Ambassador Puri has drawn our attention to another remnant of history, the flight of Rani Jindan to Nepal resulting in a small group of Sikhs who remained in Nepal but kept up their faith over more than a century in trying circumstances.
"I am aware of other such examples of 'lost' Sikh communities, most notably one in the North East of India. I think these 'lost' communities are also another subject fit for academic research, apart from extending to these communities the benefits of economic development," he said.
Singh said India-Nepal ties are about the richest links between nations anywhere in the world and it can be said that the two countries are bound by nature, God and the strongest possible links among the people.
The former prime minister said he was happy that today one has heard of yet another facet of these rich civilisational ties, this time covering the Sikh heritage of Nepal.
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He said Guru Nanak Dev travelled extensively, even beyond the limits of India, in all four directions.
"He went westwards beyond Indian borders to Mecca and Medina. He went as far east as Bangladesh and Assam and as far south as Sri Lanka. Today, we learnt that possibly during his 3rd Udasi, which famously covered Tibet, he had also visited Nepal. The connection with Nepal is thus rich and very auspicious for the Sikhs," he said.
"While Ambassador Puri has drawn our attention to the shrines dedicated to Guru Nanak in Nepal, it would be good if there was academic research undertaken by scholars to verify and document these incredible links of Sikhism and Guru Nanak with Nepal," the former prime minister said.
He also recalled that Sikhs are known throughout India, and now even in other parts of the world, as champions of the transport business. "I am, therefore, happy, though not surprised, that they pioneered the commercialisation of the road links, as they developed, between India and Nepal."