Modi chairs meeting on commemoration of 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur

New Delhi, April 9, 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired the meeting of the High-Level Committee to commemorate the 400th Birth Anniversary (Parkash Purab) of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur.

The meeting was organised via video conferencing. The participants of the meeting thanked the Prime Minister for the grand vision to commemorate the 400th Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur.

They referred to the various contributions and sacrifice for religious freedom by the Guru. The participants gave inputs and suggestions for the commemoration and noted that it was important to highlight the various facets of his life.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that collective efforts should be made to ensure that the message of the Guru reaches everyone.

Culture Secretary Raghvendra Singh gave a presentation on suggestions outlined for the commemoration.

Addressing the meeting, the Prime Minister thanked the participants for their suggestions. He said the occasion of the 400th Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur was a spiritual privilege as well as a national duty. He shared teachings and lessons from the life of the Guru, exhorting all to derive inspiration from him.

He highlighted the need to make the younger generation understand these lessons and noted that, through digital means, it was easier to reach out to the younger generation the world over to spread the message.

“The Sikh Guru tradition is a complete life philosophy in itself. It is the privilege and good fortune of the government that it has got the opportunity to celebrate the 550th Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the 400th Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and the 350th Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji,” he added.

Elaborating on the discussions in the meeting, the Prime Minister said that to connect more and more people to commemorate the 400th Prakash Purab, various activities will be organized throughout the year.

The organisation of activities should be such that not only the life and teachings of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur but of the entire Guru tradition was propagated all over the world. Hailing the social service done by the Sikh community and Gurudwaras all over the world, he called for proper research and documentation on this aspect of the Sikh tradition.

The meeting was attended by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge; Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Shiromani GurudwaraParbandhak Committee president Bibi Jagir Kaur, Parliament Members Sukhbir Singh Badal and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Former MP Tarlochan Singh, MD Amul R S Sodhi and eminent scholar Amarjit Singh Grewal, among others, attended the meeting.

NNN