For more than two decades, Sardar Jitendar Singh and his family have followed a unique tradition that draws from the principles of their faith - they run ‘Iftar Langar’ that provides food for poor Muslims during the Ramazan month.
Langar is a communal meal offered to visitors to any Gurdwara where all people are treated equally and offered the same food as part of the Sikh community tradition since the times of Guru Nanak. People also offer langar in their private capacity.
Singh, a pharmacist, moved to Lahore along with his family from Peshawar where Sikh families started feeling vulnerable because of rising terror incidents in which some Sikhs lost their lives in targeted attacks in recent years.
In Peshawar, Singh, 38, had his pharmacy shop and also practised as a Hakeem (herbal practitioner) before he shifted to Lahore last year. He opened his clinic and started practising here.
Since 2000, Singh’s family has been involved in philanthropic work in Peshawar. “I had to leave my ancestral province (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) because of security concerns. However, I did not leave the practice of helping the destitute, especially widows and orphans, in Lahore too,” Singh told PTI on Tuesday.
This Ramzan, he has arranged ‘Iftar Langar’ for Muslims in the Burki area, barely half an hour away from Lahore’s city centre.
“Besides that, we also offer monthly support money, wheel-chair, sewing machines and free ration for the needy,” Singh said and added that some affluent people from his community are also contributing by way of money and material donations.
He is of the view that he is doing charity work for the sake of humanity. “Every Sikh has to dedicate one-tenth of his or her income for charity as per the sayings of Baba Guru Nanak. Sewing machines help widows to earn livelihood, while vendor carts are given to the needy to make their living,” Singh said. Free ration is provided to the poorest of the poor and on Eid day, Singh also distributes Eidi (Eid money) to poor children of the locality. Singh was born in the Boner district of the Malakand division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province but sometime in the 20th century, his family moved to Peshawar for business and later to Lahore.
When asked about the people’s response to his and his community’s charitable work, Singh just said: “At times some people are surprised to see Sikhs helping Muslims.”
