Chandigarh, April 13 – Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini said Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji instilled the spirit of living with courage and sacrifice in people by establishing the Khalsa Panth on April 13, 1699. He gave a new direction to the society by combining bravery and heroic spirit with spiritual thinking.
The Chief Minister was speaking at Gurdwara Sadh Sangat, South City-I, Gurugram on the occasion of Vaisakhi today. On this occasion, the Chief Minister paid obeisance at the gurdwara and congratulated everyone on this auspicious day.
He said Vaisakhi is a very beautiful and colourful festival, which is celebrated with great enthusiasm in the whole of North India. The festival of Vaisakhi is known by different names in different states. It holds great importance for farmers as it symbolises the joy of ripening of Kharif crop.
Sh. Nayab Singh Saini said Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji established Khalsa Panth in 1699 on the day of Vaisakhi to fight injustice and oppression. At that time, the country was ruled by the Mughals. They were inflicting severe atrocities on the people and they were being forced to convert. The society was divided on the basis of caste and religion. At that time, Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji performed such a miracle which no ordinary man could do. He inspired people to make every kind of sacrifice to protect their religion and honour.
He said while laying the foundation of Khalsa Panth, Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji had included ‘Panj Pyaras’ from five different castes and five different regions of the country. Then he ended the discrimination by giving Amrit to all of them from the same vessel. He never accepted the discrimination between humans on the basis of language, caste and religion.
Generations sacrificed to protect humanity
Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji himself, his father Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji, mother Gujri and his four sons were martyred while protecting humanity. In this way, the example of sacrifices of three generations of the same family is rarely found in the history of the world, the Chief Minister added.
Tribute to Jallianwala Bagh martyrs
Sh. Nayab Singh Saini said many events of our history are also associated with the festival of Vaisakhi. On April 13 1919, peaceful citizens were ruthlessly shot dead by General Dyer in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar. The massacre made the freedom fighters more committed to take revenge from the British Government, due to which the country got independence on August 15, 1947. The Chief Minister said today, the entire nation is paying its tributes to the great martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh. On this occasion, on behalf of the people of Haryana and the Haryana Government, I pay my tributes to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh, he added.
Sikh museum to come up in Kurukshetra
The Chief Minister said state-level events were organized to commemorate the 550th Prakash Parv of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji in 2019 and the 350th Prakash Parv of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 2017. The 400th Prakash Parv of Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji was celebrated in 2022 wherein a state-level function was organized on the historical land of Panipat. The Chief Minister said a Sikh museum will be established in Kurukshetra on an area of 4 acres so that the Sikh community can remain connected with its history and the next generations can be informed about the great sacrifices of our gurus.
He said the Government of India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi, constructed the Kartarpur Corridor so that the Sikh community can visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan where Guru Nanak Dev ji spent a large part of his life. He said the Haryana Government also transferred land of an educational institute located adjacent to Gurdwara Chilla Sahib in Sirsa to the gurdwara management committee, fulfilling its long-standing demand. Guru Nanak Dev ji had meditated there for 40 days and stayed in Sirsa. He said a world-class Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Memorial will be built at Lohgarh in Yamunanagar district which will reflect the heroic saga of his bravery and sacrifice.
Gurdwara management doing noble service
He said the Gurugram gurdwara started in 2000 on a small piece of land but with the blessings of Gurus, it has become big today and it will become even more grand in the future. He said whatever demands have been put forward by the gurdwara management before him, these will be fulfilled soon, including the demand for additional land. The Chief Minister also announced Rs 21 lakh grant for the gurdwara. He said noble service was being done by the gurdwara at the wellness centre being run by it as a large number of poor patients visit its OPD daily and get treatment.
India developing under PM Modi’s leadership
The Chief Minister said under the leadership of Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi, India is being continuously developed and that’s why visiting gurdwaras like Hemkunt Sahib has become a lot easier today. He said the Prime Minister will be coming to Haryana on April 14 to inaugurate Maharaja Agrasen Airport in Hisar and lay the foundation stone of the third unit of Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Plant in Yamunanagar.
Earlier, the Chief Minister also visited Anandpur Sahib in Punjab and paid obeisance at the gurdwara there on the occasion of Vaisakhi.
