The Punjab Government has decided to celebrate the 350th birth anniversary of Sikhs’ tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, all year long, by organising various commemorative events. For the same, the Government has already made a provision of Rs100 crore.
“The 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh will be celebrated as a massive event of global magnitude with focus on the Guru’s message on peace humanism, love and universal brotherhood and its relevance in the emerging national and international scenario,” said a Government spokesperson.
The spokesperson said that the commemorative events, spread over an entire year, will feature among other things, seminars on the works, history and philosophy of Guru Gobind Singh especially in the context of major movements of spiritual substance down the ages.
“For a start, the state government will make a provision for Rs100 crore to be spent on the organising various events throughout out the anniversary year,” said the spokesperson.
The decisions were taken at a high level meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister on Sunday evening.
“A Foundation will be set up under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister. Apart from official representatives, the Foundation will include eminent religious personages, Sikh scholars, including historians, religious and social thinkers, etc. An endowment fund of Rs5 crore will be created for the Foundation,” said Advisor to the Chief Minister on National Affairs and Media Harcharan Bains.
He said that the Government proposes to observe the celebrations at a scale befitting the universal saturate of the Guru .
“This will also be a great and historic opportunity to educate people, people belonging to different faiths all over the world, about the humanitarian and cosmopolitan message of the Sikh Gurus as contained Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The Sikh masses all over the world as well people from other communities with a concern for human race on this planet are looking forward to the occasion,” he said.
Bains informed that the Chief Minister will be holding a series of meetings with eminent scholars of Sikh religion and philosophy and solicit their help and cooperation in helping the government carry the message of the Sikh gurus to every corner of the globe.
Badal is going to Delhi on Monday to meet some central ministers regarding some of the issues that need to be addressed for a smooth observance of the anniversary, he said.
The issues involved upgrading and modernising infrastructure around religious shrine in Patna
Sahib as well as unclogging the traffic arteries in the city for a smooth passage of the procession during the celebrations.
Bains said that the Chief Minister is firmly of the view that there is a need to create awareness not only about the identity of the Sikh religion among people from other communities and countries but even more importantly, there is need to realize that the Guru’s message, which has always had a relevance for the entire mankind, was never more needed than today when society is fraught with divisive bitterness, acrimony and mindless violence.