I have a passion for pushing the boundaries of the familiar to learn about new ideas, people and places. I have studied folklore and heritage management from Boston University Professor Dr. Frank Korom. My interest in history developed at an early age as I grew up in Taxila, amidst the remnants of the magnificent Gandhara civilization. I also have an early association with and interest in Sikh heritage as my ancestral home, the Shergarh fort in Hazara (Northwest Pakistan) was constructed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s brave general, Hari Singh Nalwa, after he conquered Kashmir in 1819. My ancestor, Jahandad Khan Tanoli, had a close association with Hari Singh Nalwa. When the first Anglo Sikh war ended in defeat for the Sikh Army in 1846, Jahandad Khan Tanoli was the only chief in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region to protect Ranjit Singh’s vulnerable army from attacks by local tribes and allow them a dignified retreat.
In January 2018, my research work on Sikh history in Pakistan was recognized by the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation in Washington DC. In January 2019, Indus Heritage Club won a national social entrepreneurship summit organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), DEMO and Citi, based on its work and vision to promote peace and inclusive growth in South Asia through heritage tourism.

Jahandad is also the youngest and current Coordinator of Comparative Cultures at the Asian Study Group, Islamabad’s premier and oldest cultural platform. He is also the founder of Bookay, a book club comprising more than ten thousand young people across Pakistan from all walks of life.