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Sikh children not being taught
Gurmukhi
WSN Network
 LAHORE: Around
25 Sikh children studying in various schools of the city are not
being taught their religious language, Gurmukhi, Sikh families have
complained.
Pakistan's
leading newspaper Daily Times quoted government statistics to say of
the three schools in Pakistan where Gurmukhi is being taught, one is
situated in Nankana Sahib and two are in Peshawar. The Evacuee Trust
Property Board (ETPB) and the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandak
Committee (PSGPC) have established the school at Nankana where Sikh
children are taught Gurmukhi as a separate subject from their holy
book, Guru Granth Sahib.
Schools in
Peshawar
also teach Gurmukhi and Guru Granth to Sikh children.
Sikh residents
said Punjabi with Gurmukhi script was their religious language. “If
our children are not taught Gurmukhi, they will not be able to read
our sacred scriptures. Muslim students are taught Arabic in schools
to help them read the holy Quran. Our children should also be taught
Gurmukhi, so they can read the Guru Granth Sahib. Private schools
cannot afford a separate teacher for Gurmukhi. The government should
establish a separate institution for Sikh children in the city.”
The word
Gurmukhi is commonly translated as “from the mouth of the Guru”.
However, the term used for the Punjabi script has somewhat different
connotations. The opinion given by traditional scholars is that as
the Sikh holy writings, before they were scribed, were uttered by
the Gurus, they came to be known as Gurmukhi.
PSGPC former
president Sardar Bishon Singh said he would visit the ETPB chairman
with a Sikh delegation in this regard. He said, “Once the ETPB
establishes a separate institution, Sikhs will hire Sikh
educationists to teach Gurmukhi.” An ETPB official said the ETPB had
not received any demand from the Sikh community so far.
28 January 2009
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