Tribune News Service
Kapurthala, November 10, 2019
The Punjab Government honoured, among 381 others, National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi and Hon Consul of India in Auckland Bhav Dhillon, with a special award to commemorate the 550th Parkash Purb Celebrations of Guru Nanak yesterday (November 10, 2019).
The ceremony was held in ten phases at the Guru Nanak Auditorium of the Punjab Technical University in Kapurthala, known as the ‘Paris of Punjab,’ one of the least populated (about 101,000) cities in India.
The actual Birthday of Guru Nanak is being celebrated all over the world on Tuesday, November 12, 2019.
Among those who received the Awards were Army personnel, artistes, writers, philanthropists and industrialists.
The following is a Report from The Tribune, Chandigarh:
While the government had formulated a list of 688 dignitaries to be awarded, the final list of persons who attended the event came down to 383.
Defence Officers
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh honoured former Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, General JJ Singh (Retired), Air Marshal Jagjit Singh, Brigadier Sukhjit Singh (Retired), Retired Lieutenants General K J Singh, N S Brar, J S Cheema, Surinder Singh N P S Heera, Former Union Minister and eminent columnist Arun Shourie.
Legal luminaries
Among legal luminaries honoured were Justice Mehtab Singh Gill, Justice GR Majithia, Justice Amarbir Singh Gill, Justice Gurdev Singh, Justice SS Saron, former Union Minister Ashwani Kumar and Advocate KTS Tulsi.
The following is an extract from our November 1, 2019 Report:
About Guru Nanak
Guru Nanak was the Founder of Sikhism, the youngest and fifth largest religion in the world. Guru Nanak is known as the world’s greatest philosophers, revolutionary, activist, social reformer and a spiritual teacher.
Born into a simple Hindu family (on April 15, 1469), he showed signs of uniqueness even in his early years. His father Mehta Kalian Das was an accountant in the employment of the local Muslim authorities. From an early age, Guru Nanak made friends with both Hindu and Muslim children and was keen to learn and practice the meaning of life.
Those were one of the darkest periods of Indian history. Evil and injustice reigned, the society was deeply divided by casteism, ritualism and shackled by the chains of religious and political tyranny.
He was a fearless and outspoken critic of injustice and rose against the cruelty of the rulers. This revolutionary outspokenness was seen as a threat by the rulers and Guru Nanak was imprisoned by Babar, who invaded India and brutalised the Hindu and Muslim population.
Universal Vision
He laid the foundation for a universal religious vision when he proclaimed the message of ‘Ik Onkar,’ meaning One Spiritual Reality, symbolising Oneness of God.
He said that he was neither a Hindu nor a Muslim but a servant of God who had come to deliver His message.
According to Guru Nanak, religion supports and promotes life, love for God and His creation, service to mankind, dedication and truthfulness.
He lost no opportunity to condemn mindless rituals, bigotry and the caste system.
He said there is only one caste and that is humanity.
Guru Nanak strongly disapproved of asceticism and life of deprivation.
The Langar
He revolutionised the system by introducing the concept of Langar (Community Meal) in which people of all castes, creeds and faiths sat together to eat a meal. This was a very bold step as eating together by people of different castes was taboo and never heard of before. This tradition of langar is followed in all Gurdwaras all over the world. The Golden Temple in Amritsar in the Indian State of Punjab feeds up to 100,000 people every day which is a world record.
