People
Atonement, A Personal Journey:
Muhammad Khurshid Khan, Pakistan's Deputy Attorney General
by RAKHI CHAKRABARTY
New Delhi, India
A man in a maroon kurta sits hunched on the floor on Sunday afternoon, polishing the shoes of devotees at a room in Delhi's Gurdwara Rakabganj.
Well-dressed men and women doing such seva is a
common sight in gurdwaras, except that this man is Pakistan's Deputy Attorney General, Muhammad Khurshid Khan, who had requested he be allowed to perform seva at the gurdwara.
Khan, 62, is an eminent lawyer and a devout Muslim from Pakistan's Peshawar
province. He is in Delhi for a judicial conference. "I have been more
keen on visiting various places of worship here to promote harmony
between India and Pakistan," says Khan.
Khan's relationship with gurdwaras began in 2010 to "heal the wounds of minorities in
Pakistan by becoming their sevadar". For him, it
was a "penance" for crimes committed by the Taliban.
In February that year, the Taliban
had kidnapped three Sikhs from Peshawar and demanded a $235,000 ransom.
Pakistan army rescued two of them, but the third, Jaspal Singh, was
beheaded by the captors. After the killing, Khan performed service at a
gurdwara in Peshawar.
"I seek harmony among all religions," says Khan, citing Pakistan's pluralistic heritage.
"I am a Muslim, not a terrorist; I am a Khan, not a terrorist; I am
from Pakistan, but not a terrorist." This is Pakistani deputy attorney
general Muhammad Khurshid Khan's humble submission as he visits
gurdwaras across New Delhi and performs seva.
The Taliban, he says, has plundered Pakistan's pluralistic heritage.
"But I want to tell the world it's unfair to tarnish a whole community
for the sins of a few," says the Pakhtoon who ran for Pakistan's National Assembly twice.
In Delhi for a conference, Khan, accompanied by Surinder Singh, a Delhi
based businessman whose father was a comrade of Subhas Chandra Bose,
has polished shoes at Gurdwara Sisganj as well.
Khan said that he turned to other faiths
after the Taliban beheaded a Sikh, Jaspal Singh, in Peshawar in February
2010. "When I visited the house of Jaspal, I was filled with remorse."
The killing weighed on his conscience. He was perturbed that violence in
the name of Islam brought a bad name not only to Muslims and Pakistan
but also to his people, the Pakhtoons.
The next day, he went to
Gurudwara Bhai Joga Singh in Peshawar and sat on the steps. He could
hear the chants wafting out of the shrine. "I felt peace," he says.
The lawyer started reading about Guru Nanak and approached a member of
the gurdwara management committee to allow him the opportunity for seva.
After discussions, the gurdwara management committee allowed to perform
seva.
"For two months, I went to the gurdwara daily before the
maghrib azaan (call to prayer at sunset) and polished shoes of
devotees. "Sevadari is ibaadat (worship)," he says.
On his way back to Pakistan, he will visit the Golden
Temple at Amritsar for the 'Jora Ghar Seva (polishing shoes of
devotees). He had written to PM Manmohan Singh last year to allow him a chance to perform seva at Amritsar. "I am yet to get a reply," he said.
"I live in a rigid society. But the
ulema have never criticized me. The Hadees says anything good must be
spread all around," said Khan. His gesture has been appreciated by
Muslims and minorities in Pakistan.
[Courtesy: Times of India. Edited for sikhchic.com]
March 26, 2012
Conversation about this article
1: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), March 26, 2012, 12:43 PM.
A great personal gesture from the Deputy Attorney General of Pakistan! If only his fellow Pakistanis understood its significance and meaning, and appreciated it.
2: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), March 26, 2012, 1:52 PM.
It is great to hear about this generous human being who has placed his conscience before his ego. The world needs many more like him. However, I would disagree that the Taliban is solely responsible for robbing Pakistan of its pluralistic society. That happened the day they decided they needed a country which was "pure" and separate from other faiths.
3: Kulwant Singh (U.S.A.), March 26, 2012, 4:45 PM.
Khan doesn't need Manmohan Singh's permission to do seva at the Golden Temple.
4: Hardeep Kaur (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), March 27, 2012, 6:49 PM.
This is beautiful! Muhammad Khurshid Khan understands that love conquers all.
5: Harish Kakkar (Mumbai, India), August 03, 2012, 11:43 AM.
I salute from the core of my heart that even today such noble human beings exist amongst us. I am 72, born in Peshawar. My grandfather, Lala Jawalasahai Kakkar, was municipal commisoner of Peshawar city and a judge.