Guru Arjan’s 418th Martyrdom Day Commemorated

On 16 Jun, Sikh pilgrims who came to Pakistan from India attended prayers at Gurdwara Dera Sahib on the eve of 418^th martyrdom day of Guru Arjan, the fifth of the ten founder-Gurus of Sikhi. Provincial Minister Ramesh Singh Arora, Guru Arjan’s Sufi friend Mian Mir’s successor Sain Ali Raza Qadri, officials of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and Evacuee Trust Property Board, as well as a large number of local Sikh community were also present on the occasion. Arora informed that renovation of a Gurdwara in Jhelum has started while a Gurdwara is also going to open to the Sikh community in Faisalabad. In various cities in Panjab and India, Sikhs carried out nagar kirtans (religious processions) and set up chabeels (water kiosks) with water sweetened with milk and rose syrup for the thirsty. On 10 Jun, Shri Krishna Ayush University (SKAU), Haryana vice chancellor Prof. Vaidya Kartar Singh Dhiman made a controversial statement that Guru Arjan sacrificed his life to protect Sanatan Hindu Dharma (ancient Hindu religion). Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee’s Dharam Prachar (religious preaching) chairman, Baljit Singh Daduwal said, ‘Some chaploos (sycophants) try to please their masters in an attempt to change and re-write Sikh history.’ Delhi’s Jago party chief Manjit Singh GK said, ‘The Sikh Gurus never adopted Sanatan Hindu Dharma ideology, rather they brought their Sikhs out of superstitions and other such rituals.’ Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee posted on the occasion: ‘Guru Arjan wrote Gurbani (verses in  the Guru Granth Sahib), built Sri Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple), compiled Guru Granth Sahib, developed towns (Tarn Taran and Kartarpur), developed Sarovars (Amritsar and Santokhsar pools in Amritsar) and wells, due to which Mughal rulers felt uneasy. The fifth Guru was martyred by Mughals under false charges of Yasa law.’ Yasa was the Mughal punishment derived from the Mongol law.