Hyderabad: Lifting Sikhligars out of poverty

Sikhligars were once famous 'lohars' (ironsmiths / blacksmiths) who specialised in the craft of making and polishing weapons. They were called 'Sikligar' by Guru Gobind Singh as they turned Lohgarh, the Iron fort at Anandpur Sahib, into the Sikh armoury. They are now very poor, living on the fringes of city

Hyderabad: There are two clichés about the Sikh community: First, you will never find a Sikh begging, and that there are just a handful of poor Sikhs. The first one is true. You will not find a Sikh stretch his arms for alms but there are quite a few poor Sikhs – around 6,000 families to be precise who are below the poverty line in the city and neighbouring districts who have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Moved by their plight, the Telangana Sikh Society (TSS) has reached out to the needy who are spread across the state and is arranging groceries and even taking care of their medical needs.

The Sikh community in Hyderabad is by and large doing well with men and women excelling in various fields and quite a few Sikh families have well established businesses, but the Sikhligar Sikhs who live on the fringes of the city, eke out a living by undertaking welding, fabrication and making utensils with iron sheets.

Sikhligar Sikhs, as opposed to their other Sikh brothers, are lean and more often than not look jagged working with metal, and live in huts on the city's periphery. They were lohars (blacksmiths/ironsmiths) believed to have fashioned iron. The term 'Sikligar' was bestowed upon this community by Guru Gobind Singhafter turningLohgarh, the iron fort at Anandpur Sahib, into a Sikh armoury. They were in great demand for manufacturing spears, swords, shields and arrows in the olden days, but the march of time reduced them to hammering iron sheets and welding.

Tejdeep Kaur Menon, TSS president and former DG, Telangana Special Protection Force, says, "Sikhlidar Sikhs were the worst affected. Thanks to the donations from the 44 gurudwaras and others in Telangana, we have managed to reach out to the needy during tough times." She further adds, "TSS helped many ailing from chronic diseases, thanks to the CM Relief Fund, since 2018 329.Medical interventions helped the poorest of the poor."

Darshan Singh, 53, a sevadar (volunteer) who worked from 10 am to the wee hours of the following day transporting groceries, said, "A group of four sevadars would stock up rice, wheat flour, oil, pulses, sugar, lentils, milk, chillies and even soap, hop onto vehicles and reach hamlets and settlements where Sikhligars lived." He adds, "Seeing their plight was heart-wrenching as kids and parents survived on just a meal a day. By the time we returned home it would be midnight and we would be ready the next morning. It was hard but fulfilling."

The sevadars reached out to families in Khairatabad, Rasoolpura, Balanagar, Erragadda, Yellamabanda, Fox Sagar, Ramachandrapuram, Isnapur and also to families in Jogipet, Nirmal, Bhadrachalam, Bhongir, Ghatkesar, Nagar Kurnool, and Vikarabad. Tejdeep Kaur says, "We spent more than Rs 50 lakh for groceries and reached out to the needy twice and in certain cases thrice during the lockdown. There were certain places we could not personally visit, we deposited money in their account. The priority is now to find employment for my boys."

Hostel for Sikhlidars coming up

A residential hostel with a capacity of 300 is coming up at Gurunanak High School at Kishanbagh. The school run by Sikh Education Society presently caters to over 500 students, not just from the Sikh community but also from other communities. The Sikh Education Society in association with Telangana Sikh Society decided to build a residential hostel for the Sikhlidar Sikhs and the needy.

Sajjan Singh, correspondent & secretary, Gurunanak High School, Kishanbagh says, "The Sikhlidar Sikhs have been caught in a time warp. If we can educate their children and arm them with skills, their fortunes would change. It is heartening to note that earlier this year in a meeting held in the month of March, Rs 50 lakh was collected on the spot for the construction of the building." Members of the Sikh Education Society say that once the dust settles down and the pandemic ends, construction activity would start. The project cost is Rs 4 crore.