A reference may also be made to the two Union Territories which, despite a small population of Sikhs, have a connection with Sikh religion and also Gurdwaras to satisfy the desire of the devotees to join the congregation and sing the praises of the Lord. Pondicherry has a Gurdwara situated at Verampattinam Road, Puranankuppam Street, Behind Bharathiar Palkalakoodm, Pondicherry. Pondicherry is situated 150 km North East wards from Chennai, along the East coast of India. Whereas it is famous for Aurobindo Ghose (Philosopher), this old French colony is also associated with S. Thakur Singh Sandhanwalia, related as maternal uncle of Maharaja Duleep Singh. After the annexation of Punjab by the Britishers, he had taken a refuge in the French colony. Although, the Sikhs have yet to make research regarding his period of stay here, a few Sikh families living there are inquisitive to know more about him. When S. Iqbal Singh became Lt. Governor of Pondicherry, he granted the local Sikh families just over half an acre of land for the Gurdwara and his worthy successor Sh. Varinder Kataria helped them in making a Gurdwara in Pondicherry.
It is because of the generous efforts of the Lt. Governors and the prominent Sikhs that the present Gurdwara is now functioning. S. Charanpreet Singh Anand (9841288806) and S. Harsaran Singh (9566551702) are the president and the secretary of this Gurdwara. Port Blair is the capital of the Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were earlier known as Kale Pani where the freedom fighters were sent as punishment to them. Most of the people sentenced to Kale Pani were Bengalis and Punjabis (majority being Sikhs). Many Sikhs were tortured and died for the cause of freedom. Their succeeding generations settled there. That is why, one of the Islands in Nicobar has a village Campbell Bay, which is still thickly populated by Sikhs. There is a Gurdwara also. So far Port Blair is concerned, there are four Gurdwaras, one managed by the police (known as police Gurdwara), second managed by the Army (known as MES Gurdwara) and third by the Navy, situated at Mini way near airport. The fourth Gurdwara is not only the oldest, but also the most visited by the local Sikh population as well as the tourists as it was made by the great patriot Dr. Diwan Singh Kale Pani, who had also to face torture and death for the freedom of the country. This Gurdwara was established by him in 1937 before he became a martyr. The original committee to manage this Gurdwara consisted of 12 Sikhs, 10 Hindu, 2 Muslims and 1 Christian (25 members). All communities contributed for its constructions and presently it is a big Gurdwara having a Langar hall and also a Khalsa Public School attached to it. A statue of Dr. Diwan Singh Kale Pani has now been set up just in front of the Gurdwara. The present management committee is headed by S. Swaran Singh as President and S. H.S. Pabla as Secretary. The contact details of this Gurdwara are Address: Aberdeen Bazar, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 744101. Email and Mobile Number are: support@gurdwaar.com and +91-3192232756.
