Form committee to oversee Guru Tegh Bahadur's 400th birth anniversary celebrations: Amarinder urges PM

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up a national level committee to oversee the year-long celebrations of Guru Tegh Bahadur's 400th birth anniversary, an official statement said here on Monday.

In a letter to the prime minister, Singh said the Punjab government will celebrate the historic occasion with a series of programmes throughout the year, beginning April 2020, it said.

He said his government is in the process of drawing up a detailed proposal for the commemoration of this mega event and it will be sent to the government of India shortly.

Describing the 400th 'Parkash Purab' of Guru Tegh Bahadur as a fortunate occasion for all, Singh said the ninth Sikh guru occupies a special place in the country's history.

Guru Tegh Bahadur sacrificed his life to uphold the principles of religious freedom and amity and was, therefore, rightfully called 'Hind-di-Chaadar', he said.

The Punjab government has already decided to commemorate Guru Tegh Bahadur's 400th birth anniversary on April 18, 2021, with year-long celebrations beginning April 12 this year, the statement said.

It has also planned to organise a mega function on his 399th 'Parkash Purab' at the historic town of Baba Bakala and the concluding function on his 400th birth anniversary at Anandpur Sahib, the statement added.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was born on April 1, 1621. He resisted forced conversions of Hindus, Kashmiri Pandits and non-Muslims to Islam and was killed in 1675 on the orders of the then Mughal emperor in Delhi.