Hry to hold function to mark 400th Prakash Purb of Guru Tegh Bahadur
Darpan News Desk IANS, 19 Apr, 2022 12:26 PM
Chandigarh, April 6 (IANS) A state-level function will be held in Panipat on April 24 to mark the 400th Prakash Purb of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Wednesday.
"In the one-day programme, devotees from across Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are expected to participate in large numbers. The function aims to spread the message of communal harmony and brotherhood as preached by Guru Tegh Bahadur," Khattar told the media here.
Guru Tegh Bahadur, also known as Hind Di Chadar, stands as a shining symbol of the country's great pluralistic tradition and secularism, and his supreme sacrifice forms an important part of India's history.
According to the Chief Minister, Haryana shares a special bond not only with Guru Tegh Bahadur but all 10 Sikh gurus as most of them travelled across the state.
The Chief Minister said the state earlier celebrated the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh as well as the 550th Prakash Purab of Guru Nanak Dev.
The Chief Minister said since March last year, as part of the celebrations of the Prakash Purab of Guru Tegh Bahadur, various religious and cultural programmes have been started in some parts of the country. However, due to the pandemic, most of the programmes in Haryana got postponed.
"Now the state government has decided to organise a state-level function on April 24," he said.
The Chief Minister, who launched a devotional song composed by the Department of Information and Public Relations for the event, said invitations have been sent to renowned 'ragis' and 'katha vachaks' of international repute to attend the programme.
Sanjay Bhatia, the convener of the event management committee, said no previous government has ever thought of organising programmes highlighting the spiritual teachings and philosophies of the great gurus and saints.
The Minister while addressing the inaugural session of 'Connect Karo 2021 - Towards Equitable, Sustainable Indian Cities' event, said that there can be no doubt that India's cities "enabled by citizen-centric infrastructure and transformational technology" will be the key to achieving the nation's development objectives.
Meanwhile, India logged 27,254 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours. The country also reported 219 Covid deaths in the same time span. The country presently has nearly 3.75 lakh active cases.
At a virtual Covid-19 review meeting, the Chief Minister said vaccine effectiveness is evident from the data being analysed. Special efforts were made to reach out to the government employees, and those who continue to avoid getting vaccinated will now be asked to go on leave till they get the first dose.
DGP Dinkar Gupta said with the case load decreasing, people had started being lax about wearing masks, which the Health Department should strictly enforce with the help of the police.
Additional Chief Secretary Devendra Singh and Deputy Commissioner of Karnal Nishant Yadav are participating in the meeting. From the farmers side, BKU president Gurunam Singh Chaduni and the state leadership will present their demands.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Balbir Singh Rajewal told the media here after the day-long deliberations with the political parties, except the BJP, that they had told the political parties not to hold big rallies till elections in the state are announced.
