From Red Fort, PM Modi to address nation on Guru Tegh Bahadur’s Parkash Purab

Apr 19,2022

PM will address the nation from the Red Fort on the 400th Parkash Purab of guru on April 21. He will also release a commemorative coin and postage stamp on the occasion, the culture minisry said on Monday.

The Sikh Guru’s execution orders were passed at the Red Fort which will relive his life, struggles and valour through a 15-minute light and sound show to mark the start of the two-day programme on April 20-21.

While home minister Amit Shah will open the programme at Red Fort on April 20, Modi will address the nation on April 21, culture minister G Kishan Reddy said.

Emphasising that this is the first time in 70 years that such a commemorative programme is being organised, Reddy said, “There were several attempts by the Mughals to convert him but resisted the force and torture and did not succumb. He also strongly opposed the forced conversions of Kashmiri Pandits and was eventually beheaded in Chandni Chowk for his resistance.” This programme on the 400th Parkash Purab (birth anniversary) of Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur is being organised as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Reddy added. It is being jointly organised by the culture ministry along with the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.

It will host 400 ‘ragis’ (Sikh musicians) who will perform the ‘Shabad Kirtan’. Members of the PM-headed 70-member high-level committee, constituted in October 2020 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, are expected to attend. Its members include ex-PM Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Hardeep Singh Puri, Congress member Ghulam Nabi Azad, Akali Dal members Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Singh Badal, SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal, former chief of Indian Army J J Singh, former Air Force chief BS Dhanoa, and sportspersons Milkha Singh and Harbhajan Singh.

CMs of Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, UP, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and are also expected to attend.