Project Enlightenment

Written by Shri Khuswant Singh

Historical Treasure

I met Surjeet Singh Kandhari in Oslo ( Norway ) about 10 years ago when I was there on a weeklong lecture tour. After visiting a few universities and towns in snow-bound north, I returned to Oslo for a couple of days before proceeding on my journey homewards. Kandhari was away on a business trip but his Norwegian wife invited me over to spend a day in her home, which was in a village over a hundred miles away from the capital. It was a big house full of books and Indian artifacts Surjeet was in Karachi in the 1970s,when someone told him that a dealer in antique books had many ancient manuscripts looted from Hindu and Sikh families when they migrated to India in 1947. Kandhari went to the house of the antique dealer and found a huge pile of hand-written Granths. He had to square Pakistani Custom officials before being allowed to take them out of the country. Back in Norway, he had the Granths examined by oriental scholars. They are two handwritten copies of Adi Granth Sahib, sacred scripture of theSikhs, and a copy of Bhagavata Purana. The most valuable of his collection is Shri Guru Dasam Granth Sahib Ji, compiled by last Sikh Guru GobindSingh ji. The original was lost in floods 1705.A compilation was made again by the, Gurus closest disciple and scribe, Bhai Mani Singh Ji, between 1724-1726. Shri Guru Dasam Granth Sahib Ji is to be considered as Guru Gobind Singh Ji own. Kandhari has deposited Shri Guru Dasam Granth Sahib Ji in the vaults of The Bank of Norway for safe custody. The Tribune 22 September 2001 Shri Guru Dasam Granth will be offered to The Golden Temple in 2009-10. Chosen ones of Project Enlightenment are invited as special guests at this holy event.