Besides the light and laser show, there will be an exhibition on the life and times of the Sikh guru. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also inaugurate a postal stamp and coin to commemorate Guru Tegh Bahadur’s contributions to society
The grand event to mark the 401st birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, has been organised by the Ministry of Culture, along with the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. Image Courtesy: @MinOfCultureGoI/Twitter
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be at Red Fort tonight to celebrate the 401st birth anniversary of Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur (born on 21 April 1621).
Taking to Twitter, a day earlier, the prime minister had said that he would be addressing the event and also releasing a commemorative coin and postage stamp to mark the occasion of the birth anniversary of the ninth Sikh guru.
The Ministry of Culture, along with the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, has organised the massive two-day event at the historic Red Fort.
Here’s what we know of the event and how the Red Fort is being prepped for it.
The selection of Red Fort for the celebrations is significant, as it is from this very spot that Mughal ruler Aurangzeb gave orders for the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675.
Moreover, Narendra Modi gives his Independence Day address each year from the ramparts of the Red Fort and officials believed that the prime minister’s address tonight on interfaith peace and harmony among communities would be perfect from this location.
The celebrations at Red Fort will include ragis (Sikh musicians) and children from different parts of the country participating in the ‘Shabad Kirtan’.
The traditional martial art of Sikhs, ‘Gatka’, will also be displayed during the festivities at Red Fort.
Indian Express has reported that there will also be an exhibition on the life and times of the Sikh guru at the Red Fort forecourt for two days.
The organisers added that there would also be a grand light and sound show depicting the life of the Sikh guru.
It has also been reported that the Centre has invited prominent Sikh personalities, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to attend the commemorative event.
Other invitees include Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and his predecessors Parkash Singh Badal and Captain Amarinder Singh.
Heads of the five Sikh Takhts, former and sitting MPs and MLAs from the community, head of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat Gurcharan Singh Gill, former Chairman of National Commission of Minorities Tarlochan Singh, heads of other institutions like the SGPC, and other notable persons from different walks of life will also be in attendance, as per a report published by the Tribune.
A laser show is part of the celebrations of Guru Tegh Bahadur at the Red Fort. Image Courtesy: @MinOfCultureGoI/Twitter
Tight security measures have been put in place for the event with over 1,000 Delhi Police personnel and NSG snipers, SWAT commandos deployed at the Red Fort. Additionally, more than 100 CCTV cameras have been installed inside the Red Fort compound
Earlier on Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah paid tribute to the ninth Sikh guru at the Red Fort event, saying he had sacrificed his life to protect the Hindu dharma.
“Guru Tegh Bahadur sacrificed himself to protect the Hindu dharma. When Kashmiri Pandits narrated to him about the atrocities being committed on them by the Mughals, he said, go and tell Aurangzeb after they convert me, they can convert others,” Amit Shah said.
“He came to Delhi and sacrificed himself right here at Chandni Chowk… Those who ordered his execution have long gone, but millions of people follow the path of the one who sacrificed himself… That’s why he continues to be known as Hind ki Chadar even after 400 years.”
Political pundits note that the two-day event by the Centre in honour of Guru Tegh Bahadur is an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to reach out to the Sikhs. The BJP, in the recent past, has tried to woo the community. On Guru Nanak Jayanti last November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recalled the farm laws, which had seen thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, camping at Delhi’s borders.
Also, BJP went alone in the recently-concluded Punjab Assembly elections after their age-old alliance had snapped with the Shiromani Akali Dal.
With inputs from agencies
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.