Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday underlined the need to propagate the ideology of the 9th Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, around the world, to promote the values of peace, harmony, secularism and co-existence, which Guru Sahib upheld through his supreme sacrifice.
In
his address on the special session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha to mark the
commemoration of 400th Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, the Chief
Minister mentioned the Sikh faith is distinguished by the tradition of
martyrdom to uphold principles and righteousness given to us by our great
Gurus.
The
Chief Minister further said that the life and message of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji
constitutes the essence of what we have come to regard as Punjabiyat. He said
that it comprises our saanjhi tehzeeb, our ma-boli Punjabi, our close ties of
amity and fraternity cutting across people, faiths, castes and communities.
When we talk of Punjab and Punjabis, Punjabiyat must follow. “This Punjabiyat
embodied in the life and teachings of the Great Guru need to be understood,
appreciated and nurtured carefully”, remarked Capt. Amarinder Singh.
The
Chief Minister further said that the spirit of Punjabiyat has been taken by our
people to all corners of the globe where they have made a special place for
themselves through dint of hard work, enterprise and sacrifice. He said,
“Punjabiyat often is tested by forces that represent a narrow and short-sighted
perspective as against the broad all-embracing vision given by our Gurus,
therefore, it is our bounden duty as representatives of the people to guard
against such inimical forces very consciously and not to allow our competing
political interests to ever undermine the strong foundations of this
Punjabiyat.”
The
Chief Minister also said that the 400th Prakash Purb of the Ninth Guru should
help us renew our pledge and to show the people the right path as their
rightful leaders and representatives. “I trust through this august House we can
once again reiterate this message of universal peace and brotherhood on this
historic occasion,” said Capt. Amarinder Singh.
Pointing
out further, the Chief Minister said that the history remembers Guru Tegh
Bahadur Ji with great pride as ‘Hind Di Chadar’ for making the supreme
sacrifice for opposing forced conversion and for protection of religious
freedom. Guru Sahib attained martyrdom in November 1675 along with his
associates Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das and Bhai Dayal Das who were brutally
tortured to safeguard the religious freedom of Hindus of Kashmir under the
reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
The
Chief Minister also mentioned that Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s son Dasmesh Pita Sri
Guru Gobind Singh Ji has evocatively described his father’s sacrifice as “sees
diya par sirar na diya” (I gave my head but not my creed). Guru Sahib’s sees
was carried by another associate Bhai Jiwan Singh (known as Jaita Ji) to Guru
Gobind Singh Ji from Delhi to Sri Anandpur Sahib. “On this occasion, let us all
pay special tribute to the remarkable bravery and courage of Bhai Jaita Ji.
History will remember him whenever we speak of this tragic event”, said Captain
Amarinder Singh.
Dwelling
on the relevance of Guru Ji’s sacrifice, the Chief Minister said that it was
far more relevant and important even today as three-and-a-half centuries ago.
India has its unique cultural tradition what we call Indianness, which is Idea
of our country. Our ancient Indian philosophical texts have espoused the idea
of “Vasudeva Kutambakam” i.e., the world is one family.
Similarly, in the Sikh faith, the Chief Minister mentioned that we have the concept of ‘Sarbat Da Bhala’ i.e., welfare of the entire humanity by extending a helping hand to the people in the hour of distress amid the natural calamities and the same was to uphold right of the people of this land to peacefully follow the faith of their choice that Guru Sahib gave his ‘shahadat’ and by doing so Guru Ji set a unique example in history of sacrificing his life, which was taken in a most gruesome and torturous manner.
Sharing
his perception on India continuing to be a pluralistic country which has the
unique distinction of being home to almost every faith in the world, the Chief
Minister said that this concept is what gives India its richness and cultural
diversity. “The slogan that we often hear and talk about Unity in Diversity is
not a hollow or empty slogan. It carries a deep meaning which must be
understood and internalised by all of us”, asserted the Chief Minister. He said
the greatest tribute to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji would be to imbibe Guru Ji’s
universal message of love and religious freedom amongst the mankind.
Outlining
the celebrations plans of the state government to mark this mega event, the
Chief Minister said the elaborate arrangements were earlier made to commemorate
this historic event. However, the surge of Covid cases from April led us to
defer the larger public programmes. Besides the functions at Sri Anandpur Sahib
and Baba Bakala, the state government had proposed to also organize exhibition
on life and teachings of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, exhibition on Handicrafts,
Punjabi Literary Festival, Drama (Hind-di-Chadar), Sports events, Multi-Media
Light and Sound Show and Sufi Music Festival. He hoped once the Covid situation
improves considerably; the most of these events would be organized.
Referring
to the Infrastructure & other projects for major towns associated with Guru
Tegh Bahadur Ji are already underway, adding Capt. Amarinder Singh said the
historic place of Baba Bakala, connected with the life and times of Ninth Guru,
from a Gram Panchayat into a Municipal town has been upgraded. Special plans
are afoot to improve the infrastructure of Sri Anandpur Sahib. Similarly, 103
places blessed with Guru Sahib’s visit (Charan Chhoh) during his lifetime have
been identified in 79 villages & 24 Towns, where a development grant of Rs.
50 lakh and Rs. 1 crore for each such village and town has already been
sanctioned. The state has also established Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur State University
of Law in Tarn Taran district. As a part of the commemoration plan of 400th
Prakash Purb of Guru Sahib, several initiatives have been undertaken including
release of a commemorative stamp by GoI besides release of commemorative gold
and silver coins by the state government.
Apart from these, the state government has also undertaken the conservation and development of the old Jail at Bassi Pathana where Guru Sahib is reported to have been kept imprisoned on his way to Delhi. Besides, 60 lakh saplings have been planted in 6986 villages dedicated to this Prakash Purb. Earlier more than 70 lakh saplings had been planted during Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Gurpurb celebrations. In all, the state government has already planted more than 1.30 Crore saplings in the two Gurpurb celebrations, which will be hugely beneficial to Punjab’s environment in the long run. The state government has already forwarded a Memorandum to the Prime Minister for a grant of Rs. 938.37 crore for various infrastructural projects in the State.
In
his concluding remarks, the Chief Minister said that he was happy that the
Government of India has also decided to observe this historic occasion in a
befitting manner. He reiterated his government endeavor to take the message of
the Great Guru to not only across the country but also to different parts of
the globe where Guru Sahib’s followers are settled today. Thus, the message of
Guru Sahib is universal and deserves to be disseminated to the humanity at
large.
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Speaking on the occasion, Punjab
Governor Banwari Lal Purohit described the martyrdom of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur
Sahib as one of the most important turning points in the spiritual, religious
and political history of India. He further said that Guru Ji shines among the
galaxy of great spiritual Gurus whose message continues to guide the humanity
and remains universally relevant at all the times.
“The
history of Punjab is full of selfless sacrifices made by the great gurus and
martyrs who have always been a source of inspiration for all of us. Sikh Gurus
inspired us in an era that was perhaps the most challenging phase of our
history. No one can forget the contributions of the Sikh Gurus and their
selfless sacrifices to strengthen the unity among different communities.
Therefore, Sikh Gurus are respected not only by Sikhs, but also by people of
all faiths across the world,” said Purohit.
Pointing
out further, the Governor said that one of the key elements in the teachings of
Guru Sahib has been the spirit of Sewa or selfless service. This is considered
as one of the foremost pious duties that the mankind can perform enriching us
with selflessness, humility and gratitude towards God.
In
his speech, Speaker Vidhan Sabha Rana KP Singh said that the unprecedented
sacrifice of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji would ever inspire the mankind to imbibe
the message of love, harmony and tolerance thereby rising above the parochial
consideration of caste, color, creed and religion. The Speaker further said
that Guru Sahib’s sacrifice was not only for the sake of Kashmiri Pandits or
for the protection of Hindu Religion rather it was made for the entire
humanity, religious freedom and equality. “The country, state, nation and
people deriving inspiration from their history and tales of martyrdom to march
ahead, find the rays of hope even in the darkest of times. I bow my head in
complete reverence to the divine light of the Ninth Sikh Guru and extend my
heartiest congratulations to the entire humanity on the occasion of the 400th
Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji,” said the Speaker.
In
his keynote address, the former Chief Justice of India Justice JS Khehar
emphasized the importance of ‘Ardas’ in the Sikh way of life across the globe
and said that we all are blessed today to celebrate 400th Prakash Purb of Sri
Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji to remember and contemplate on Guru Sahib.
He
further pointed out that by reflecting on Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, we can
achieve all 9 spiritual and worldly sources of wealth and those who contemplate
on Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji would receive his help in all the situations.
Justice
Khehar cited the martyrdom of the Fifth Sikh Guru Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji as the
event that changed the course of the Sikh history and started the process of
militarization of the Sikhs who until then were a peaceful community.
"This background must be understood to understand the events that shaped
the circumstances in Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji's life", said the ex-Chief
Justice of India also recounting the life and events of Guru Sahib Ji who
didn't bow before the injustice of the then Mughal Emperor and instead chose
martyrdom to ensure protection of religious rights of all as being central to
the Sikh identity.
The
encyclopedia Britannica also recognizes Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji's sacrifice
for the religious freedom of another religion, added Justice Khehar.
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Thanking all the dignitaries, Leader of the Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema exhorted one and all to follow the path shown by Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. He also emphasized relevance of the teachings of Guru Sahib in today's troubled times when the society is still fraught with the dangers of religious fanaticism and conflicts across the world.
On
the occasion, Speaker Vidhan Sabha read out the messages sent by His Holiness
the Dalai Lama and Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu.