Anandpur Sahib Research Articles

Health risk assessment of heavy metals in groundwater sources: carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic evaluation

ABSTRACT Persistent exposure to arsenic, chromium, cadmium, lead, and selenium in drinking water above permissible levels poses significant health risks, including increased incidences of skin, lung, bladder, and kidney cancers. This study evaluated 34 water samples from Rupnagar district, Punjab, for heavy metal content. Health risks were assessed using hazard quotient (HQ) and chronic daily intake metrics. Aluminium concentrations were highest in Block Nurpur Bedi (36.43 mg/L). Arsenic levels in Ropar and Anandpur Sahib were 0.09 and 0.068 mg/L, respectively. Cadmium was highest in Nurpur Bedi (0.041 mg/L). Morinda had the highest selenium concentration (0.0038 mg/L). Lead was detected across all blocks, peaking in Chamkaur Sahib (2.176 mg/L). The HQ exceeded unity in nearly all areas, indicating significant health risks from aluminium, arsenic, and lead. The hazard index was highest in Nurpur Bedi (2.66) for adults. Incremental Life Cancer Risk (ILCR) values indicated a high cancer risk from arsenic, chromium, and lead across all blocks. One-way analysis of variance revealed significant differences among Fe, As, and Al concentrations (p < 0.05). The findings underscore the need for targeted treatment technologies and policies to mitigate heavy metal contamination and its health impacts in Punjab.

Evaluation of Uranium Concentration in Some Water Samples of Anandpur Sahib

Uranium is the most radiotoxic and heaviest element with a very long half-life, present in the earth crust naturally. Due to various health risks of uranium, worldwide a lot of research has been done on its concentration in naturally occurring radioactive materials by various researchers. The present study deals with assessment of uranium in drinking water samples of the city of Anandpur Sahib in Punjab by fluorimeter technique. 15 different locations water samples, including tube well, borewell, and hand pumps, were taken for this study. A surface water sample taken from a river named ‘Sutlej’ contained 1.25 μgl-1 of uranium. However, the uranium concentration in all the collected water samples ranged from 2.79 μgl-1 to 18.4 μgl-1. One of the physiochemical parameters, i.e. pH, was also measured for all the water samples. The results of all the water samples were compared with the permissible limits specified by numerous health authorities.

Working Paper: Decoding Anandpur Sahib Resolution

Working Paper: Decoding Anandpur Sahib Resolution

Monitoring of radon, thoron, their progeny concentrations in dwellings, and radon exhalation rates of soil/sand of Rupnagar district, Punjab, India

Radon and its progeny are major contributors in the radiation dose received by general population of the world. Keeping this in mind, the environmental monitoring of radon–thoron and their progeny in dwellings of district Rupnagar, Punjab, India has been carried out. Both radon–thoron twin dosimeter cups and the newly developed pin-hole dosimeters cups by BARC, India were used for the study. The study reveals good agreement between the values measured by the two types of dosimeters. Radon exhalation rate from soil samples of these dwellings/areas have been carried out using “Canister Technique.” The radon exhalation rates of some soil samples of these dwellings/areas were also measured by an active technique using a continuous radon monitor. Both the active and passive techniques show the exhalation rate values to be lower than the worldwide average. The study of the exhalation rate of the soil samples of Nangal and Anandpur Sahib of the district Rupnagar and the sand samples available from the study area has also been carried out for the possible use as construction material. The in situ gamma dose varied from 0.13 to 0.33 µSv/h.

Shiny New Buildings: Rebuilding Historic Sikh Gurdwaras in Indian Punjab

This article examines some of the tensions inherent in conservation and reconstruction work taking place on Sikh religious monuments in northen India, particularly at those monuments that mark important events in Sikh or in the lives of the Sikh Gurus and their families. Juxtaposing the divergent practices of enthusiastic lay worshippers with those of more professionally trained heritage conservationists, the author argues that both groups engage simultaneously with protocols of objectivist history and subjective notions of heritage, albeit in differing ways. The analysis focuses on a handful of sites undergoing renovation in Anandpur Sahib, India, to explore the material, cultural, and rhetorical strategies through which different groups secure their appropriation of the sites' historical and affective qualities. Two museums located in the town—one dedicated to the life of Guru Tegh Bahadur, and the other intended to be an internationally prominent center for Sikh heritage—add further complexity to a town landscape replete with meaningful objects.

Morphotectonic analysis in Anandpur Sahib area, Punjab (India) using remote sensing and gis approach

Anandpur Sahib area of Rupnagar district (Punjab) was investigated using an integrated multi-disciplinary approach of geomorphological, structural, drainage and morphotectonic analysis through satellite data and GIS. Most commonly used geomorphic indices viz., channel sinuosity, drainage basin asymmetry, basin elongation ratio, mountain front sinuosity and valley floor to valley width ratio index have been used to identify the geomorphic indicators of active tectonics in the area. Existence of fluvial anomalies viz., abrupt changes in flow direction, flow against gradient, beheaded streams and river terraces reflect the strong structural control on the fluvial features. Asymmetric nature of drainage basin, elongated nature of the sub-watersheds, straight to curvilinear mountain fronts and narrow incised valley floors further substantiate the role of active tectonics in the region.

Rise of the Sikh Militancy: An Appraisal of the Economic Factor

The Sikhs are an enterprising and a dynamic community. They are able to adjust to diverse situations and circumstances and still make a comfortable living in any part of the globe. A section of the Sikhs in the Indian Punjab was however involved in militant violence from 1978 to 1992. It cost the state exchequer many billions of rupees and loss of thousands of men in the security forces and others. Numerous public figures and political leaders including the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi succumbed to their violence. The impact of this violence was not only confined to the country but spilled over to all places where Sikhs had sizable population especially Canada, the U.S.A. and the western Europe. They were also involved in this struggle, directly and indirectly, following the premise of ‘distant nationalism’ a la Anderson. This militant movement has been characterized differently by various people and political parties on the basis of their ideology. The Indian government led by the Indian National Congress(Indra) labeled it a ‘separatist’ (separation from India), ‘disintegrationi st’ (breaking the integrity of the Indian nation), ‘fundamentalist’ (a la Khomeini of Iran), and a ‘terrorist’ movement. The then dominant party in opposition, namely the Bhartiya Janta Party called it an ‘anti-Hindu’ and an ‘anti-national’ movement interested in creating Khalistan, a Sikh theocratic state. They consider India a nation of the Hindus and Sikhism a sect of Hinduism. The Communist parties characterized militancy an ‘extremist’, ‘undemocratic’, ‘fascist’, ‘obscurantist’, ‘ethnic’ and a ‘fundamentalist’ movement. But a sizable section of the Sikhs led by their democratic party the Shiromani Akali Dal, and later the militant groups spearheading the movement did not believe in such characterization. They considered themselves ‘fighting for a just cause’ that meant their rights, against discrimination, for freedom of belief, expression and action. The former had earlier passed an Anandpur Sahib Resolution in 1973 seeking more rights for the Indian provinces such that the regional communities and

Understanding Sikh Pilgrimage

The year 1999 marked the 300th anniversary of Khalsa when the Sikh religion was given a formal identity at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, Northern India. Today the Sikh Diaspora stretches over many countries of the world. Sikhism, a monotheistic religion based on the universal equality of humankind, was founded in 1469 by Guru Nanak, whose message was carried on by nine successors who provided a distinct shape to the Sikh community in terms of written language, religious scriptures, and institutions. This paper examines the role of pilgrimage in Sikh scriptures and concludes that although Sikhism officially places no importance on pilgrimage, adherents travel great distances to visit sites associated with their history and traditions. The paper also investigates the reasons why so many Sikhs travel to sacred sites even though it is not encouraged or required.

The Sikhs as a "Minority" in a Sikh Majority State in India

Two decades after the achievement of Punjabi Suba that is, a Sikh majority state-Sikhs have wedded political power to their numerical majority. Elections in Punjab on September 25, 1985, brought the leading Sikh political party, the Akali Dal, to power in the Vidhan Sabha, the state legislative assembly, with an absolute majority for the first time. In addition to the strengths derived from a numerical majority statewide and in the Vidhan Sabha, Sikhs have impressive economic power. Basically, but not wholly, agriculturists, they are the dominant human resource in the Punjab's eminently successful Green Revolution. As a consequence, Punjab leads India in a variety of economic indicators including per capita income. Moreover, this is not a Western-style nouveau riche with economic power but without status. Therefore, one can add status as another attribute. Jats are the dominant group among Sikhs in Punjab, composing roughly one-third of the entire Sikh population, and Jat social status is high. Why then have Sikhs been engaged in militant movements since 1981? What motivated the Akali Dal to refurbish the old 1973 Anandpur Sahib Resolution in the 1980s, demanding increased state autonomy as well as expressing more specific Sikh demands? How did Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale rise so rapidly from the position of a minor, obscure religious recluse to head a terrorist movement which almost brought Punjab to its knees? A partial answer to these questions can be found in the oft-used Sikh slogan, The Panth [religion] is in danger. Sikhs in the 1980s have perceived themselves not in majoritarian, but in minority, terms. Accordingly, their panth appeared to them to be threatened in all of the above categories. Moreover, the revivalist and perhaps fundamentalist dimension tapped by Sant Bhindranwale added the fuel of passion. In an at-