Introduction

"Only by connecting with the past, can we gain strength to navigate through the future." Amardeep Singh.

In 1947, the long-lasting British rule of India came to an end amid a growing sectarian conflict of the subcontinent. A geopolitical line was drawn based on religious grounds between the newly founded Muslim state of Pakistan in the northwest and an independent Hindu-majority India in the south. Sikhs, who for centuries had occupied regions now divided by two rival nations, found themselves caught in violent turmoil.

No longer welcome or safe in their own land, they were forced to abandon their homes and flee for their lives. In the wake of the Sikhs' mass uprooting, they left behind numerous gurdwaras, historic forts, havelis and monuments attesting to a once flourishing and expansive Sikh Empire.

Seven decades later, Singapore-based Amardeep Singh, a descendant of those directly affected by the partition of India, has been greatly preoccupied with the loss of the physical and spiritual homeland to which few Sikhs have access today. In October 2014, Singh embarked on a month-long journey into thirty-six cities and villages in Pakistan to trace, in his words, "the tangible and intangible footprints of the Sikh legacy".