Daily Times

Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak, enjoyed the esteem and repute of a great worship place of the Sikh community long before the Partition of India – the end of the British colonial rule. Indeed life there reached its pinnacle with glory through the preaching and teachings of Baba Guru Nanak – a true believer of Oneness of God. With time and tide, this area was ruled over for long by the Raj Rai Bhatti clan followed by the Kharals.
So, particularly with its religious background, Nankana Sahib remained as the most important religious site for the Sikh religion. The city previously known as Talwandi was founded by Rai Bhoi, a wealthy landlord. Rai Bhoi’s grandson Rai Bular Bhatti renamed the town as Nankana Sahib in honour of the great Guru. ‘Sahib’ is an Arabic-origin epithet of respect.

Even though Nankana had attained the status of a Tehsil long before the Partition in 1947, no significant or perceptible development work could be done for the betterment of the dwellers until the regime of General Pervez Musharraf, who took over the reins of the country in 1999. That was a time when this area was put on the path of progress.

Thanks to Brigadier (retired) Ijaz Shah, the most trustworthy and respected aide of General (retired) Pervez Musharraf, who pioneered and initiated the development works. No doubt, Brigadier (retired) Ijaz Shah (at present the Interior Minister) worked wonders for the uplift of the area. No wonder, the blueprint for the development was prepared by none other than Brigadier Shah’s late brothers Pir Hassan Ahmad (affectionately known as Pappu Shah) and Advocate Pir Tariq Shah. Both of them had a craze to develop Nankana Sahib. All they had yearned and longed for was an end to unemployment, fast pace of industrial progress, healthcare facilities, equal opportunities of education for all, proper road network, establishment of colonies, provision of residential land for lawyers, apartments for the poor, building of new blocks in hospitals, shelter homes and passenger lounges, installation of filtration plants for clean water, provision of gas etc.

Obviously, none of these sublime goals could be achieved without the active support and strenuous efforts of the Shah family whose members were looked up to with great reverence.
In the Musharraf regime, the map provided by Pir Pappu Shah and Advocate Tariq Shah for the development of Nankana focused on declaring Nankana as a district so that it ensured the necessary facilities and amenities for the residents. The name of Pir Pappu Shah needs no introduction as far as the tradition of mela (fair) is alive in that he was not just a great horse-rider himself, but he was also fond of organising horse-dancing events. Not to speak of that, it was indeed the late Pir Pappu Shah who played a dynamic role in strengthening the local bodies system at Nankana. He supported the development work initiated by the Tehsil and District Nazims as a strategist. Then, the people of Nankana Sahib witnessed the most satisfactory law and order with complete peace. It was also during that period that roads linking tehsils to districts were carpeted, ensuring smooth and speedy traffic.

On the other hand, it was again Pir Pappu Shah who was the driving-force behind the establishment of a university. Apart from that, the setting up of a trauma centre in the area on the Motorway side was also among numerous other projects envisioned by him.

Above all, the in-time provision of medicines for patients at Nankana District Hospital, despite paucity of funds, was made possible just due to the sincere efforts of Pir Pappu Shah. Side by side with the mention of Pir Pappu Shah, the name of Advocate Pir Tariq Shah will also be written in golden words in the local history.

The writer is a senior journalist. Currently, he is associated with a leading national newspaper.