The Himachal Pradesh government has urged the Centre to allow more sikhs from Himachal to visit Pakistan for the annual ‘Barsi Shere Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh ji’ pilgrimage.
A jatha of 500 sikh sehejdhari pilgrims from all over the country visits various gurudwaras in Pakistan each year for a ten day pilgrimage which starts on June 21 this time.
A spokesman of the state government said since Himachal was allotted a quota of three pilgrims the applications would have to be considered on the first come first serve basis.
The hill state has a sizeable population of sikhs living here for generations.
In a 20 year career published widely. He has worked for the BBC, AFP, The Statesman, IANS and the Business Standard . Known for his hard hitting writing and occasional off-beat stories. He lives in Shimla.
