Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday underlined the need to propagate the ideology of the 9th Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, around the world, to promote the values of peace, harmony, secularism, and co-existence, which he upheld through his supreme sacrifice.
In his address on the special session of the Punjab Assembly to mark the commemoration of the 400th Prakash Purb (birth anniversary) of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the CM said the Sikh faith is distinguished by the tradition of martyrdom to uphold principles and righteousness given by great Gurus.
The CM said the life and message of Guru Tegh Bahadur constitute the essence of what we have come to regard as Punjabiyat.
He said that it comprises ur saanjhi tehzeeb, our ma-boli Punjabi, close ties of amity and fraternity cutting across people, faiths, castes, and communities.
“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”, Amarinder said.
The CM further said 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.
He said, “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.”
The CM also said that the 400th Prakash Purb of the Ninth Guru should help us renew our pledge and to show the people the right path as their rightful leaders and representatives.
“I trust through this august House we can once again reiterate this message of universal peace and brotherhood on this historic occasion,” said Amarinder Singh.
Pointing out further, the CM said the history remembers Guru Tegh Bahadur with great pride as ‘Hind Di Chadar’ for making the supreme sacrifice for opposing forced conversion and for protection of religious freedom.
Guru Sahib attained martyrdom in November 1675 along with his associates Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das, and Bhai Dayal Das who was brutally tortured to safeguard the religious freedom of Hindus of Kashmir under the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, he added.