Detail from a steel chakram engraved with Colonel George Hamilton’s insignia.

Community Engagement

The University of Manchester Library is actively engaging with the Sikh community in Manchester, sharing our collections and supporting the creation of a new community-led archive in collaboration with the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre.

The Sri Guru Granth Sahib at the Rylands is one of the oldest of its kind outside of India. Early Sri Guru Granth Sahibs are often difficult to access, lost to time or privately owned.

This exhibition reflects a positive shift in a relationship that has developed over many years, shaped in recent times by closer collaboration with the Sikh community. This includes securing funding for the conservation and digitisation of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and the work performed by the AIU RACE Centre, community consultant Gurtek Singh, and former Diversifying Collections Curator, Inbal Livne.

In recent years, the Library has supported a number of community engagement events to support access to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib for members of the Sikh community in Manchester and beyond.

Delegation from five Gudwaras in Greater Manchester

In August 2022, all five Gurdwaras from Greater Manchester sent a delegation to pay their respects to the Guru. The day included Prakash (the awakening of the Guru Granth Sahib), Hukumnama (the order of the day), Kirtan (the reciting of passages, Ardaas (formal prayer), and Sukhasan (retiring the Guru Granth Sahib to rest).

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Five members of the Sikh community and religions leaders surround the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, seated in its palki.

Donation of Palki Sahib

In September 2022, the Library hosted a worship event for members of the Sikh community. The community donated a Palki Sahib to the Library, along with decorative cloths.

Here we see the Sri Guru Granth Sahib seated on a throne for the first time in approximately 170 years.

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Photograph showing Jamie Robinson from the John Rylands Research Institute and Library, capturing material at a Sikh community digitisation day at a Gurdwara in Manchester.

Sikh Heritage Digital Community Event

In June 2023, members of staff from the Library, including the RACE Centre and the Rylands, supported an event at the Sri Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwar to digitise material brought in by the community.

This newly created archive will be held by the RACE Centre.

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Photograph showing eight Sikhs sat around the Sri Guru Granth Sahib and its Palki Sahib, with one reading from the Guru.

Sri Darbar Sahib visit

In August 2023, the Library enjoyed a visit from guests of Sri Darbar Sahib (The Golden Temple) in Amritsar and Sri Anandpur Sahib. The revered Granthi (Sikh priest) and the Panj Pyare paid their respects to the historic Guru Granth Sahib and offered an Ardaas (formal prayer).

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Group photograph featuring all those involved with the Sri Darbar visit, twelve are standing and two are kneeling.

Sri Guru Granth Sahib at Whalley Range Gurdwara for Vaisakhi

In April 2024 the Sri Guru Granth Sahib travelled to the Guru Gobind Singh Ji Gurdwara in Whalley Range to celebrate the Sikh festival of Vaishaki. This event marked the first time the Guru left the Rylands since the early 1900s, and was the first large-scale public event with the Guru Granth Sahib since the mid 19th century.

Attracting local and national media interest, this was one of the first occasions a British cultural institution has allowed a Sri Guru Granth Sahib to be displayed in the traditional setting of a Gurdwara.

Listen to a Radio 4 broadcast about the event (Begins at 23:30).

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Visit to Rylands by Nihung Akaali Sikhs

Mahant Giani Tarlochan Singh (Head Granthi Misl Shaheedan Tarna Dal Baba Bakala) along with Nihung Akaali Sikhs paid their respects to the Guru Granth Sahib at the Rylands in June 2024. They discussed the presence of a couplet by Guru Gobind Singh within the passage of the Ninth Guru.

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The 70th anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurdwara

The University of Manchester Library was invited to join the Sikh community in celebrating the 70th anniversary of the oldest Gurdwara in Manchester, on July 27, 2024. The Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and collections from the John Rylands Research Institute and Library and the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre, formed part of the celebrations.

This video captures the moment where the Sri Guru Granth Sahib left the Rylands to join anniversary celebrations. Note the use of a Chaur Sahib, a fly-whisk like implement, which is waved gently by the Guru as an act of reverence and humility.

25th anniversary of Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara (Central), Manchester

In August 2025, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib travelled to the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara (Central) in Cheetham Hill, as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations.

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The University of Manchester Library's work with the Sikh community is ongoing. We are planning future events and projects to further celebrate and preserve Sikh heritage for years to come.