Following the 1947 Partition, the Sikh community, who had to migrate from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), were deprived of access to their gurdwaras for decades. The situation changed after the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, when Bangladesh gained independence. A delegation from the Takht Sri Harimandir Ji Patna Sahib (TSHPS) , assisted by Indian Army officers, including Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora, visited Bangladesh to assess the condition of the historical gurdwaras left behind in 1947. They identified seven gurdwaras, including Gurdwara Nanak Shahi and Sangat Tola in Dhaka, and others in Chittagong, Sylhet, and Mymensingh. Many of these gurdwaras had been demolished or repurposed by the then Pakistan govt., and others were deteriorating due to neglect. Bangladesh has a rich Sikh history, with Guru Nanak and Guru Tegh Bahadur having visited the region. After the war and independence, Bangladesh’s leaders joined in a special congregation to restore the decorum of Gurdwara Nanak Shahi. Despite this, only five of the original gurdwaras remain functional, with the Sikh population dwindling to around 23,000. In Dec 2023, SGPC expressed interest in sending Sikh jathas to Bangladesh. The then govt. spoke about the possibility of allowing annual Sikh pilgrimages to historic gurdwaras. During the current political upheaval, and rumors and fears of attacks on non-Muslim sites, no attacks on the country’s five operational historical gurdwaras have been reported.
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