Sikh pilgrims to visit Pak on Oct 28, to participate in centenary event
Darpan News Desk IANS, 27 Sep, 2022 11:45 AM
New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS) A group of 240 Sikh pilgrims will visit Pakistan on October 28 to participate in the 'Saka Panja Sahib' centenary event.
The event will be organized at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib located in Hasan Abdal, some 45 km away from Rawalpindi.
Harmeet Singh Kalka, President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), on Tuesday said that the pilgrims will reach Pakistan from the Attari-Wagah border checkpoint on October 28 and will return to Amritsar on November 2.
They will also visit other historic Sikh shrines in Pakistan, including Gurdwara Panja Sahib and Nankana Sahib, as well as Lahore.
Of the 240 pilgrims, 40 are being sent by the DSGMC, Kalka added.
Saka Panja Sahib, the heroic event which took place at Hasan Abdal railway station, close to the sacred shrine of Pahja Sahib October 30, 1922, when Sikh masses wanted to provide Langar (community meals) to Sikh prisoners.
But, they were arrested for peaceful protests in Amritsar and were being sent by special trains to distant jails. Around 200 Sikhs stopped a train forcefully carrying Sikh prisoners to offer them food as authorities refused to halt the train at the station.
Some of them attained martyrdom in the incident as they lay on the track to stop the train. They were hailed as martyrs and, until the partition of 1947, a three-day religious fair used to be held in their memory at Pahja Sahib from October 30 to November 1 every year.
Kalka said that all pilgrims should be vaccinated with two doses against Covid-19 and must undergo a test 72 hours before leaving for Pakistan.
A negative RTPCR report is mandatory and a further RAT test will be conducted on arrival at the joint checkpost in Attari-Wagah border.
Accommodation for the visiting devotees will be arranged by the Pakistan government and staff of the Evacuee Trust Properties Board (ETPB) will issue room numbers in all gurdwaras.
The DSGMC will hold a special Covid-19 testing camp for the pilgrims at its office in Rakab Ganj Sahib, the dates of which will be disclosed shortly, Kalka added.
Talking to the media at Gurdwara Rakabganj here, Badal said the AAP had again started befooling Punjabis in its age-old tradition. The Punjab Finance Minister had now announced that the state's river waters would not flow into Haryana.
According to the police, acting on a tip-off, a joint team of Sector-40 and cybercrime police stations raided a call centre running in South City Phase-1 and arrested 11 persons, who used to allegedly cheat residents of the US and Canada.
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 delegation has demanded that the police should avoid unilateral action and arrest the culprits as soon as possible, and take stern action against whoever is guilty without any discrimination.
Seven others were injured in the mishap, who have shifted to the BDK Hospital in Jhunjhunu. As per the locals, around 18 members of a family had gone to immerse the ashes of an elderly family member who passed away recently when their vehicle overturned.
Superintendent of Police, Rae Bareli, Shlok Kumar said that the main accused in the case is a minor and has been sent to a juvenile home, while six others, identified as Abhishek, Vikas Pasi, Mahendra Kumar, Hrithik Singh, Aman Singh and Yash Pratap are majors and they have been arrested.
