Gurmukh Dhanjal
Partition and the Disconnect of Sikhs from their Sacred Spaces
When overlaying a map of the Sikh empire in its final years with a map of the newly partitioned Indian subcontinent, close to 80% of what once was part of the Sikh empire now rests in modern day Pakistan. The forced exodus of 1947 left west Punjabi Sikhs entirely displaced and detached from their heritage.
This project investigates the layered consequences of the disconnection between the Sikh community and their architectural heritage as a direct result of partition. Over three chapters this project uses three sacred Sikh sites within Pakistan to examine three related themes. First the abandoned village Gurdwara, Chowa Sahib is used to uncover the forced migration and its implications on communal ritual. Next the Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh is used to uncover maintenance of similar sites post-partition. Finally, the long divorce from Nankana Sahib is used to explore identity within the Sikh community.
The existing and longstanding built environment and landscapes played a critical role in both responding to the ensuing refugee crisis and assisting in rebuilding the nations created through Partition. They operated simultaneously as refuge for migrants entering and as enduring material monuments of migrants leaving together with their generational histories within the regions they had left behind.
When overlaying a map of the Sikh empire in its final years with a map of the newly partitioned Indian subcontinent, close to 80% of what once was part of the Sikh empire now rests in modern day Pakistan. The forced exodus of 1947 left west Punjabi Sikhs entirely displaced and detached from their heritage.
This project investigates the layered consequences of the disconnection between the Sikh community and their architectural heritage as a direct result of partition. Over three chapters this project uses three sacred Sikh sites within Pakistan to examine three related themes. First the abandoned village Gurdwara, Chowa Sahib is used to uncover the forced migration and its implications on communal ritual. Next the Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh is used to uncover maintenance of similar sites post-partition. Finally, the long divorce from Nankana Sahib is used to explore identity within the Sikh community.
The existing and longstanding built environment and landscapes played a critical role in both responding to the ensuing refugee crisis and assisting in rebuilding the nations created through Partition. They operated simultaneously as refuge for migrants entering and as enduring material monuments of migrants leaving together with their generational histories within the regions they had left behind.