Naidu, Manmohan call for following path of Guru Nanak

Chandigarh: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday asked the people to follow the path shown by the first Sikh master Guru Nanak Dev, whose 550th ‘Prakash Purb’ or birth anniversary falls on November 12. Speaking at a special commemorative session of the Punjab Assembly to mark the historic occasion in Chandigarh, Naidu recalled the philosophy of Guru Nanak and urged all to imbibe his teachings of universal brotherhood, equality, and one God. Starting his address in chaste Punjabi, Naidu extended greetings to all dignitaries.

Earlier, Speaker Rana K.P. Singh welcomed the dignitaries. Haryana legislators and Members of Parliament were specially invited for the event, besides all Members of Parliament of the host State. Besides the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana, Amarinder Singh and Manohar Lal Khattar, respectively, the Governors of both the states, V.P. Singh Badnore and Satyadeo Narain Arya, were also present on the occasion.

Akali Dal patron and five-time Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal were also present among other special dignitaries. The special Assembly session, chaired by Naidu, was called ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor on Saturday and dispatched the first lot of pilgrims to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan’s Punjab province on the occasion of the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev. The Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, originally known as Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, is a highly revered Sikh shrine, where Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years of his life and is his final resting place.

He said respect for women and gender equality was another important lesson to be learned from Guru Nanak Dev’s life. On the opening of Kartarpur Corridor, he said, “I am very happy that the corridor that connects us to Kartarpur, the sacred space where he spent the last 18 years of his life is going to be opened in a couple of days from now.” Addressing both the houses of Punjab and Haryana - a first since the latter was carved out of the former in 1966 - former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed to all to take forward Guru Nanak Dev’s philosophy of mutual love and respect to ensure an equitable society. “Punjab is Guru Nanak Devji’s ‘karam bhoomi’. How will we keep Guru Nanak Devji’s legacy alive if its youth is wasted with drugs, water is becoming poisonous and women are being disrespected? It is the most crucial question on his 550th birth anniversary,” he said. (IANS)

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