The Sikh Connection

Though Bidar is not a very heard of place at the national level, in the state though it is known for being the most backward districts for various reasons. Historically this place has been a part of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region administered by the Nizams till its Independence through Police action on 17th September 1948, along with its other sister districts of Gulbarga, Raichur and Koppal. Modern systems of administration were introduced here very late unlike the other districts of the state which belonged to either the Madras or the Bombay Presidencies of the Raj. Even post independence, developmental projects never came to this region in the same proportion as the other parts of the state. Weak political heads never bothered beyond getting elected to the legislature. Being the farthest place from the state capital did prevent good administrators from getting posted here. Even if posted they didnt hang around this place long enough to make a difference. An ideal cocktail for what Bidar District is today.

Over the years the image of the district has taken shape of a far off, backward, dry and a hot place where only the damned get posted to be punished. A posting to Bidar sometimes invokes a feeling of sympathy for those who seem to have got there for no fault. Surprisingly though the tag of being a dry and hot place are far from true. Bidar has a rainfall that is on an average scale with the rest of the state though lacking in any irrigation project worth the mention. The city of Bidar is one of the coolest places of North Eastern Karnataka for bieng geographically located on a plateau. But unfortunately it still carries this tag of being the 'Kaalapaani' of Karnataka's administrative setup.

Of all the things that people have heard about Bidar, I guess the Sikh connection of this city is the least known. Bidar has one of Karnataka's largest Gurudwaras and a sizeable Sikh population may be a matter of surprise to many. Historically it is said that the first Sikh Guru, Shri Guru Nakak visited Bidar during his tour of the southern part of the country. The city was then reeling under a drought and Guru Nanak is supposed to have moved a rock on the ground, to give the people of this city a natural fresh water spring, which to this day is flowing round the year. The Shrine thus built here, came to be known as the Guru Nanak Jhira. It is the only Gurudwara with a fresh water spring in the country. Its a very important place of Sikh pilgrimage and thousands of Sikhs from all over the world visit this place everyday.

I am again continuing this post after a gap of nearly six months. The intention with which I started this post was to write about a very important Sikh festival that was hosted at the Bidar Gurudwara in the month of October. It was the Guru-Ta-Gaddi, the 300th anniversary of the Guru Granth Saheb. Though the actual festival was held at Nanded in Maharashtra, Bidar being just a 4 hr drive from there, attracted all the pilgrims from Nanded. It was a massive gathering for nearly one week, nearly a lakh every day and for the police it was a challenge to manage the crowds.

Now after six months so much has changed, I got my transfer from Bidar to Dakshina Kannada (Mangalore ) on the 2nd of March. Before I start off with the Mangalore edition of our lives I'll just sum up the last phase of our Bidar story in the next blog.