It is the most regretful, that the SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee), PGPC ( Pakistan GUrdwara Parbandhak Committee) and DSGMC ( Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee) has completely omitted the noble persona of Rai Bular Bhatti in the entire narrative of commemorative observance of the 550th Birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
None of the delegation of all the above mentioned Sikh Gurdwara organizations cared to pay tribute at the Tomb of Rai Bular Bhatti ; the first Muslim disciple of Guru Nanak. It is pertinent to mention here that Rai Bular in a unique reverence to Guru Nanak’s spiritual grandeur donated half of his estate measuring 19000 Acre during those times in the name of Guru Nanak. It is also significant to state that ‘Baba Nanak’ is still the owner of this huge tract of land in the revenue record of Pakistan, although it is being cultivated on lease by so many farmers. The management control of the entire estate now vests with the Evacuee Trust Board of Pakistan, the land being a charitable endowment.
Rai Bular Bhatti was a Muslim Rajput noble of the Bhatti clan, who despite being a devout Muslim got inspired by the spiritual resonance of Guru Nanak and became his reverent follower. Rai Bular Bhatti was the second blessed person, after Bebe Nanki (The Sister of Guru Nanak) who made his afflatus revelations known that Guru Nanak is a special gift of the God, bestowed upon the mankind for its emancipation from all evils. Under no circumstances and with no stretch of eclipsed imagination the distinguished persona of Rai Bular could be omitted or forgotten from the pages of history of Guru Nanak Dev ji. And Rai Bular is very much integral to almost all the literary treatise of Guru Nanak available in the ancient scripture such as ‘Janam Sakhis’.
I wonder how the SGPC, PGPC and DSGMC, failed to remember Rai Bular while envisaging the entire format of commemorative itinerary for the ceremonial observance of 550th Birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. The history would paint the Sikh Community in a very poor light if as a special gesture of gratitude, we failed to pay the deservingly adorable tribute to Rai Bular Ji on this historic occasion at his burial vault (Tomb) , which is only three kilometer away from Nankana Sahib. As a matter of fact, the entire battery of Sikh leaders who were present at Nankana Sahib on 31st of July for the ceremonial departure of Nagar Kirtan on 1st August 2019, should have visited the descendants of Rai Bular and they should have been formally invited for the concluding commemorative function to be held at Sultanpur Lodhi in November this year.. All Sikh leaders at the helm of SGPC are responsible for this unpardonable lapse including those who by all perceivable imagination happened to be ‘The Guide Masters’ for the conduct of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. SGPC must apologize and rectify the ridiculous error at the earliest by paying befitting tribute to Rai Bular Ji and also sending a formal invitation to family members of Bhatti clan to visit Durbar Sahib, Amritsar and Sultanpur Lodhi in a manner that suits to the dignity of Rai Bular. SGPC or DSGMC should separately write to to the Ministry of External Affairs, for the facilitation of the Indian VISA to the descendants of Rai Bular.