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Gurdwara in Baghdad
Sir, - Apropos the Religion column (Nov. 30) on Guru Nanak, may I refer to what I saw and learnt from a small Gurdwara in Baghdad during my three-day visit to that city from August 31 as a part of the Indian goodwill delegation of MPs and others headed by the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.
After a visit to the President Saddam Hussain University, I desired to offer prayers at any place of worship or hallowed site in Iraq. On Sept. 2 I could fulfill my desire in a small gurdwara which has been there from 1943 commemorating the visit of Guru Nanak to Baghdad during his return journey from Mecca to India during the Islamic year 927-Hijri (C.1520 AD).
An inscription discovered in 1917 in a tomb at a place near the Baghdad-Samara railway station by Sikh soldiers not only testifies to Guru Nanak's visit to this place but also proves his efforts to convince all people about the truth and validity of his preaching of the oneness of the human race.Although the Turkish inscription was discovered in 1917 (during the World War I) it was in April 1943 (during the World War II) that the gurdwara was constructed at that site.
A. Subramanya Kumaran Nambiar,
Bangalore
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