Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Friday held a special one-day session to commemorate the 400th prakash purb (birth anniversary) of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, which was attended by almost all the MLAs. Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Banwari Lal Purohit and former Chief Justice of India Justice JS Khehar presided over the event.
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, during his address, called for sarbat da bhala (welfare of humanity) and lauded the Sikh community’s effort to reach out in crisis. Besides, he stressed on having more religious freedom in the coutry.
“Whenever there is a crisis, Sikhs come forward to help. Our gurus were willing to lay down their lives for humanity. Serving humanity should be the prime objective in spite of diverse political thoughts,” he said.
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, adding that the greatest tribute to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji would be to imbibe Guru Ji’s universal message of love and religious freedom amongst mankind.
Capt Amarinder also underlined the need to propagate the ideology of the Sikhs ninth master Guru Tegh Bahadur around the world to promote the values of peace, harmony, secularism and co-existence, which Guru Sahib upheld through his supreme sacrifice.
He said that the Sikh faith is distinguished by the tradition of martyrdom to uphold principles and righteousness given to us by our great Gurus. “The life and message of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji constitutes the essence of what we have come to regard as Punjabiyat. It comprises our saanjhi tehzeeb, our ma-boli Punjabi, our close ties of amity and fraternity cutting across people, faiths, castes and communities,” he said.
He added, “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.”
The Chief Minister added 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. “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,” he said.
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.
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,” he said.
Meanwhile, Governor Purohit, who visited the assembly for the first time after taking charge recently, said that the teachings and sacrifices of all Sikh gurus were a lesson for humanity. “The saga of Guru Teg Bahadur ji offers the symbolism of the highest sacrifice and the finest expression of spiritual faith,” Purohit said.
Purohit described the Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom as one of the most important turning points in the spiritual, religious, and political history of India. “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,” he said.
“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,” he said.
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, he added.
Vidhan Sabha Speaker 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, colour, 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.
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.
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,” he said while 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.
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.
Assembly Speaker Rana KP Singh read out the greetings sent by Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu. In his message to the House, the Dalai Lama said that the life, writings and principles of the Guru will always be source of inspiration.
HOUSE PAYS TRIBUTE TO FARMERS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES DURING ONGOING FARMERS’ AGITATION
Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Friday paid tribute to the farmers who lost their lives during ongoing farmers’ agitation, besides other eminent personalities including Flying Sikh Milkha Singh, globally renowned athlete Mann Kaur among others.
The names of the farmers were included in the obituary list after the AAP MLA and Deputy Leader of Opposition Sarvjit Kaur Manuke and SAD MLA Sharanjit Singh Dhillon demanded that the farmers and farm labourers, who have died in the ongoing farmers struggle against the Centre’s farm laws, be included in the list.
Earlier, the House paid tribute to the eminent personalities, freedom fighters, sports icons, political personalities besides senior officers of civil and police administration, who had passed away since the last session of the Assembly.
On the onset of one day special session of the 15th Vidhan Sabha to commemorate the 400th prakash purb of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the House paid respects to former Union Minister of State RL Bhatia, former Ministers Gurnam Singh Abul Khurana, Gulzar Singh, Surjit Kaur Kalkat, Chaudhri Radha Krishan and Inderjit Singh Zira, ex-Chief Parliamentary Secretary Jagdish Sawhney besides former MLAs Sukhdarshan Singh Marar and Jagraj Singh Gill.
The House also paid tribute to the martyr Sepoy Prabhjit Singh. Likewise, homage was also paid to the freedom fighters Kala Singh, Gurdev Singh, Ranjit Singh and Sulakhan Singh.
The House also remembered the former State Chief Secretary YS Ratra and former DGP Mohd Izhaar Alam.
Ricj tributes were also paid to the founder of Centre for Research on Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) Rashpal Malhotra. The House also paid homage to Mahinder Kaur (Cabinet Rank) and former SGPC Member Kuldeep Singh Dhoss.
Meanwhile, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi proposed the names of Crickter Yashpal Sharma and Indian Volleyball Team’s former captain Nirmal Milkha Singh, the wife of late Milkha Singh, for obituary references.
Likewise, Nabha MLA Randeep Singh also proposed the name of martyr Gurjant Singh, Raikot MLA Jagtar Singh proposed name of martyr Sub-Inspector Gurmukh Singh, and Adampur MLA Pawan Kumar Tinnu also proposed the name of Baba Bhag Singh University Chancellor Sant Baba Dilawar Singh to be included in the obituary list.
On their request, the Speaker Rana Kanwar Pal Singh consented to include these names to obituary references.
A two-minute silence was observed in the memory of departed souls as a mark of respect during the obituary references.
Meanwhile, the Speaker proposed that homage be paid to all those members who had passed away since the previous session. After the obituary references to the departed souls, he passed a resolution for conveying the condolences of the House to their respective families. The resolution was passed by voice vote.