Hoshiarpur, Punjab (November 19, 2013): Asserting that Guru Teg Bahadur was in fact “dharam di chadar” (cover for religion), and not “Hind-di-chadar” (cover for Hindu), the Sikh Youth of Punjab (SYP) has urged the Union government to correct all errors and misgivings about Sikh Gurus from the books published by the NCERT.
Dal Khalsa’s youth wing leaders Paramjit Singh (L) and Manjit Singh (R)
In a briefing sent to the Sikh Siyasat News (SSN), leaders of the Dal Khalsa’s youth wing Paramjit Singh and Manjit Singh said that their group had resolved to hold a conference on the occasion of the martyrdom day of Ninth Master Guru Teg Bahadur on Nov 24 at Hoshiarpur.
They said the subject of the conference would be “Martyrs and our responsibilities”, where prominent Panthic personalities would shed light on the concept and spirit of martyrdom in Sikhism. They said apart from paying homage to them, the speakers would dwell upon the unfinished task of martyrs.
They said the Guru attained martyrdom to protect the oppressed class irrespective of their religion and caste.
They urge the Sikh Diaspora in particular and citizens of India in general to observe the martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur as ‘Human Rights and Religious Freedom’ day on Nov 24.
“Guru Teg Bahadur was undisputedly the first martyr for human rights. His martyrdom was unparalleled in world history as never before somebody had laid down life to defend the right of followers of another faith to practice their faith.
It was around a century before the popular quotation attributed to French writer and philosopher Voltaire, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”, that the ninth Guru demonstrated it literally.
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ਨੌਵੇਂ ਪਾਤਸ਼ਾਹ ਗੁਰੂ ਤੇਗ ਬਹਾਦਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ ‘ਧਰਮ ਦੀ ਚਾਦਰ’ ਹਨ ਨਾ ਕਿ ‘ਹਿੰਦ ਦੀ ਚਾਦਰ’: ਸਿੱਖ ਯੂਥ ਆਫ ਪੰਜਾਬ