Srinagar: At Gurdwara Singh Sabha Amira Kadal in Srinagar, a group of tourists huddle together in a room, clutching their luggage. Their anxious whispers fill the room as they figure out ways to leave Kashmir in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. “How soon can we get a Sumo to Jammu?” asked one worried tourist.
For now, the gurdwara next to Lal Chowk’s iconic Ghantaghar has become their safe haven. The Sikh community has opened its doors, providing shelter to stranded tourists looking to go back home. By doing so, they hope to spread a message of unity, compassion, and coexistence.
Gurdwaras in Srinagar, Baramulla, Gulmarg, and several other towns are offering free shelter and langar to anyone in need, especially those who feel unsafe in hotels or public spaces.
“We Kashmiri Sikhs have also faced violence before, but we never left Kashmir. We know that common Kashmiris were not behind these attacks,” said Trilok Singh, manager of Amira Kadal gurdwara.
This gesture has come as a relief for Sunil Kumar, a tourist from Haryana.
“I was staying at a hotel nearby with my family, but didn’t feel safe. So we decided to shift to the gurdwara. They gave us langar and reassured us that we are safe among local Kashmiri Muslims — that they have nothing to do with this violence,” he said.
The terror attack has shattered his ideal of Kashmir, but he’s determined to return when it’s safer.
“ People here helped us. Today we visited Dal Lake and felt at ease. This may not be the ideal time, but we will come back.”
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Memories of Chattisinghpora
The gurdwaras across the Kashmir Valley are working in close coordination with prabandhak committees from different districts, pooling their resources to provide shelter and assistance. They are in constant touch with each other, mobilising vehicles—such as Sumos—to offer rides for tourists and others who need to travel to Jammu, ensuring safe passage and support through a united community effort.
“We’ve seen this before — in Chattisinghpora, where 35 Sikhs were killed in 2000, and Mehjoor Nagar in 2001, where six Sikhs lost their lives in a shooting. But we chose to stay. We are still living here safely, because the majority community here is not involved in these inhumane acts,” said Jaspal Singh, president of the Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee Srinagar.
The memory of both attacks still haunts the community. In March 2000, the night before US President Bill Clinton visited India, a group of armed militants stormed into Chattisinghpora, a small village in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, lined up and gunned down 35 Sikh men and boys. The following year, in February, gunmen opened fire, killing in a drive-by shooting at Mehjoor Nagar, a residential locality in Srinagar. Six Sikh men were killed and five were injured.
Survivors of the Chattisinghpora attack said the gunmen had first gathered the villagers, falsely identifying themselves as Army personnel, before opening fire.
“These are inhuman acts. People who commit them belong to no religion — they are animals. We should not divide; we should unite and fight against this. That’s the message we want to give,” said Jaspal Singh.
Their message of peace and unity is cutting through the panic and uncertainty. Like Sunil Kumar, a group of women tourists from Gujarat are no longer wary of local residents.
“We were scared initially, but people here welcomed us. They told us these acts weren’t committed by Kashmiris. That comforted us. It made us feel safe not just in the gurdwara but also in Kashmir,” said one of the women.
The author graduated from Batch 1, ThePrint School of Journalism.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)