PunjabChief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday underlined the need topropagate the ideology of the 9th Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib,around the world, to promote the values of peace, harmony, secularism andco-existence, which Guru Sahib upheld through his supreme sacrifice.
Inhis address on the special session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha to mark thecommemoration of 400th Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, the ChiefMinister mentioned the Sikh faith is distinguished by the tradition ofmartyrdom to uphold principles and righteousness given to us by our greatGurus.
TheChief Minister further said that the life and message of Guru Tegh Bahadur Jiconstitutes the essence of what we have come to regard as Punjabiyat. He saidthat it comprises our saanjhi tehzeeb, our ma-boli Punjabi, our close ties ofamity and fraternity cutting across people, faiths, castes and communities.When we talk of Punjab and Punjabis, Punjabiyat must follow. “This Punjabiyatembodied in the life and teachings of the Great Guru need to be understood,appreciated and nurtured carefully”, remarked Capt. Amarinder Singh.
TheChief Minister further said that the spirit of Punjabiyat has been taken by ourpeople to all corners of the globe where they have made a special place forthemselves through dint of hard work, enterprise and sacrifice. He said,“Punjabiyat often is tested by forces that represent a narrow and short-sightedperspective as against the broad all-embracing vision given by our Gurus,therefore, it is our bounden duty as representatives of the people to guardagainst such inimical forces very consciously and not to allow our competingpolitical interests to ever undermine the strong foundations of thisPunjabiyat.”
TheChief Minister also said that the 400th Prakash Purb of the Ninth Guru shouldhelp us renew our pledge and to show the people the right path as theirrightful leaders and representatives. “I trust through this august House we canonce again reiterate this message of universal peace and brotherhood on thishistoric occasion,” said Capt. Amarinder Singh.
Pointingout further, the Chief Minister said that the history remembers Guru TeghBahadur Ji with great pride as ‘Hind Di Chadar’ for making the supremesacrifice for opposing forced conversion and for protection of religiousfreedom. Guru Sahib attained martyrdom in November 1675 along with hisassociates Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das and Bhai Dayal Das who were brutallytortured to safeguard the religious freedom of Hindus of Kashmir under thereign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
TheChief Minister also mentioned that Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s son Dasmesh Pita SriGuru Gobind Singh Ji has evocatively described his father’s sacrifice as “seesdiya par sirar na diya” (I gave my head but not my creed). Guru Sahib’s seeswas carried by another associate Bhai Jiwan Singh (known as Jaita Ji) to GuruGobind Singh Ji from Delhi to Sri Anandpur Sahib. “On this occasion, let us allpay special tribute to the remarkable bravery and courage of Bhai Jaita Ji.History will remember him whenever we speak of this tragic event”, said CaptainAmarinder Singh.
Dwellingon the relevance of Guru Ji’s sacrifice, the Chief Minister said that it wasfar 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 Ideaof our country. Our ancient Indian philosophical texts have espoused the ideaof “Vasudeva Kutambakam” i.e., the world is one family.
Similarly, in the Sikhfaith, the Chief Minister mentioned that we have the concept of ‘Sarbat DaBhala’ i.e., welfare of the entire humanity by extending a helping hand to thepeople in the hour of distress amid the natural calamities and the same was touphold right of the people of this land to peacefully follow the faith of theirchoice that Guru Sahib gave his ‘shahadat’ and by doing so Guru Ji set a uniqueexample in history of sacrificing his life, which was taken in a most gruesomeand torturous manner.
Sharinghis perception on India continuing to be a pluralistic country which has theunique distinction of being home to almost every faith in the world, the ChiefMinister said that this concept is what gives India its richness and culturaldiversity. “The slogan that we often hear and talk about Unity in Diversity isnot a hollow or empty slogan. It carries a deep meaning which must beunderstood and internalised by all of us”, asserted the Chief Minister. He saidthe greatest tribute to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji would be to imbibe Guru Ji’suniversal message of love and religious freedom amongst the mankind.
Outliningthe celebrations plans of the state government to mark this mega event, theChief Minister said the elaborate arrangements were earlier made to commemoratethis historic event. However, the surge of Covid cases from April led us todefer the larger public programmes. Besides the functions at Sri Anandpur Sahiband Baba Bakala, the state government had proposed to also organize exhibitionon life and teachings of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, exhibition on Handicrafts,Punjabi Literary Festival, Drama (Hind-di-Chadar), Sports events, Multi-MediaLight and Sound Show and Sufi Music Festival. He hoped once the Covid situationimproves considerably; the most of these events would be organized.
Referringto the Infrastructure & other projects for major towns associated with GuruTegh Bahadur Ji are already underway, adding Capt. Amarinder Singh said thehistoric 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 plansare afoot to improve the infrastructure of Sri Anandpur Sahib. Similarly, 103places blessed with Guru Sahib’s visit (Charan Chhoh) during his lifetime havebeen 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 beensanctioned. The state has also established Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur State Universityof Law in Tarn Taran district. As a part of the commemoration plan of 400thPrakash Purb of Guru Sahib, several initiatives have been undertaken includingrelease of a commemorative stamp by GoI besides release of commemorative goldand silver coins by the state government.
Apart from these, the stategovernment has also undertaken the conservation and development of the old Jailat Bassi Pathana where Guru Sahib is reported to have been kept imprisoned onhis way to Delhi. Besides, 60 lakh saplingshave been planted in 6986 villages dedicated to this Prakash Purb. Earlier morethan 70 lakh saplings had been planted during Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Gurpurbcelebrations. In all, the state government has already planted more than 1.30Crore saplings in the two Gurpurb celebrations, which will be hugely beneficialto Punjab’s environment in the long run. The state government has alreadyforwarded a Memorandum to the Prime Minister for a grant of Rs. 938.37 crorefor various infrastructural projects in the State.
Inhis concluding remarks, the Chief Minister said that he was happy that theGovernment of India has also decided to observe this historic occasion in abefitting manner. He reiterated his government endeavor to take the message ofthe Great Guru to not only across the country but also to different parts ofthe globe where Guru Sahib’s followers are settled today. Thus, the message ofGuru Sahib is universal and deserves to be disseminated to the humanity atlarge.
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Speaking on the occasion, PunjabGovernor Banwari Lal Purohit described the martyrdom of Sri Guru Tegh BahadurSahib as one of the most important turning points in the spiritual, religiousand political history of India. He further said that Guru Ji shines among thegalaxy of great spiritual Gurus whose message continues to guide the humanityand remains universally relevant at all the times.
“Thehistory of Punjab is full of selfless sacrifices made by the great gurus andmartyrs who have always been a source of inspiration for all of us. Sikh Gurusinspired us in an era that was perhaps the most challenging phase of ourhistory. No one can forget the contributions of the Sikh Gurus and theirselfless sacrifices to strengthen the unity among different communities.Therefore, Sikh Gurus are respected not only by Sikhs, but also by people ofall faiths across the world,” said Purohit.
Pointingout further, the Governor said that one of the key elements in the teachings ofGuru Sahib has been the spirit of Sewa or selfless service. This is consideredas one of the foremost pious duties that the mankind can perform enriching uswith selflessness, humility and gratitude towards God.
Inhis speech, Speaker Vidhan Sabha Rana KP Singh said that the unprecedentedsacrifice of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji would ever inspire the mankind to imbibethe message of love, harmony and tolerance thereby rising above the parochialconsideration of caste, color, creed and religion. The Speaker further saidthat Guru Sahib’s sacrifice was not only for the sake of Kashmiri Pandits orfor the protection of Hindu Religion rather it was made for the entirehumanity, religious freedom and equality. “The country, state, nation andpeople deriving inspiration from their history and tales of martyrdom to marchahead, find the rays of hope even in the darkest of times. I bow my head incomplete reverence to the divine light of the Ninth Sikh Guru and extend myheartiest congratulations to the entire humanity on the occasion of the 400thPrakash Purb of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji,” said the Speaker.
Inhis keynote address, the former Chief Justice of India Justice JS Kheharemphasized the importance of ‘Ardas’ in the Sikh way of life across the globeand said that we all are blessed today to celebrate 400th Prakash Purb of SriGuru Tegh Bahadur Ji to remember and contemplate on Guru Sahib.
Hefurther pointed out that by reflecting on Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, we canachieve all 9 spiritual and worldly sources of wealth and those who contemplateon Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji would receive his help in all the situations.
JusticeKhehar cited the martyrdom of the Fifth Sikh Guru Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji as theevent that changed the course of the Sikh history and started the process ofmilitarization of the Sikhs who until then were a peaceful community."This background must be understood to understand the events that shapedthe circumstances in Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji's life", said the ex-ChiefJustice of India also recounting the life and events of Guru Sahib Ji whodidn't bow before the injustice of the then Mughal Emperor and instead chosemartyrdom to ensure protection of religious rights of all as being central tothe Sikh identity.
Theencyclopedia Britannica also recognizes Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji's sacrificefor the religious freedom of another religion, added Justice Khehar.
Thanking all the dignitaries, Leaderof the Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema exhorted one and all to follow the pathshown by Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. He also emphasized relevance of theteachings of Guru Sahib in today's troubled times when the society is stillfraught with the dangers of religious fanaticism and conflicts across theworld.
Onthe occasion, Speaker Vidhan Sabha read out the messages sent by His Holinessthe Dalai Lama and Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu.