Sikh–Muslim coexistence in Nankana Sahib: A historical study of shared religious space

This paper examines Sikh–Muslim coexistence in Nankana Sahib, historically ‘Rai-Bhoi-Di-Talwandi’ and Guru Nanak’s birthplace. It presents the town as both ‘pilgrimage centre’ and ‘shared religious space’, shaped by sacred memory, Muslim custodianship, Sikh devotion, state regulation and local exchange. Using historical method, ‘process tracing’ and hermeneutic reading of ‘sacred geography’, it follows developments from Guru Nanak, Rai Bular Bhatti, shrine formation, ‘Saka Nankana’, Partition, evacuee-property laws and the 1974 Protocol. It concludes that coexistence is a negotiated order sustained through ‘darshan’, ‘sewa’, hospitality, security, minority rights, heritage tourism and economic interdependence, rather than pure harmony or continual conflict alone.