Sikhs are a relatively young community with a faith that has been besieged with repeated violence at the hands of various rulers who have controlled parts of the land known as the Indian sub-continent. There are numerous days and events in the young Sikh history worthy of being commemorated on a yearly basis to remind the new Sikh generations of the sacrifices of their ancestors.

Once such event occurred 343 years ago on February 5th, 1762 known as the Vudda Ghallughara (the great holocaust). Thousands of Sikhs, estimates range from eleven to thirteen thousand, mostly women and children died at the hands of the forces led by the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali - at a time when our numbers were a fraction of what they are today. Vudda Ghallughara is perhaps the most extensive and violent singular attack on the collective Sikh community.

This day, like years past, will come and go, while many of the young Sikhs growing up across the globe will not have the opportunity to learn about this tragic event besides many other violent insults hurled at the Sikh masses throughout the last 400 years.

The learning one hopes for is not just of the plain simple facts relating to this event. Anyone can find references in books and web sites detailing basic facts about Vudda Ghallughara and many other pivotal events in Sikh history. The learning needs to be more of a day of remembrance, a day of sharing, a day of dedication to the spirit of thousands from generations ago, whose courage and compassion can be a source of inspiration for many living today.

Although the ultimate inspiration and realization has to come from actions in the present moment, be it one's own actions or observed actions of others, diverse communities spanning history and geography have maintained a connection with their past generations to seek direction in good and bad times.

Today, the global Sikh community finds itself treading through difficult and challenging times with varied threats to the Sikh way of life from within and outside the community. A lot of the current threats are a result of a distancing of the Sikh consciousness from the Sikh path. Many doubts have crept in about the practices one considers to be the defining features of the Sikh path. Modernity and tradition seem to be at loggerheads.

Such conflicts are not inherently negative. It is the dis-ease of conflict within one's own being and external conflicts that serve as catalysts for change, at times positive and at times negative. It is precisely because of the ever so burgeoning presence of conflicts - be it social, political and spiritual conflicts - that our collective history might serve as a guiding light.

History will not serve as a magic potion, but it will present us with a sense of acquaintance with past conflicts and a means to confront our own conflicts no matter how different they might seem at first glance. Many of the challenges we face today are similar to the challenges faced by many Sikh generations of the past. Some of these challenges are spiritual in nature, some social in nature, some political in nature and many a blend of these collective challenges.

Thus, let us begin to take steps to explore our pages of history to get a sense of the challenges faced by our ancestors. The Vudda Ghallughara is an apt choice to begin such an endeavor given the enormity of the violent blow on the Sikh community. Despite this violent blow, Sikhs forged ahead to flourish as a religious community, prepared all the more to face the challenges of the future. We are a node on this thread of the future. We will emerge stronger by attempting to understand the spirit that enabled thousands of children, women and men to face death without relinquishing one's heartfelt faith. An attempt at this understanding requires us to make a concerted commitment to commemorate days like the Vudda Ghallughara.

Let February 5th, 2003 be the beginning of this re-connection with our past as we forge into the future.