REASI: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today paid obeisance at the historic Gurudwara Baba Banda Singh Ji Bahadur at Reasi and prayed for peace, progress, prosperity of Jammu & Kashmir, and well-being of its people.
Addressing a gathering at Dera Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, the Lt Governor urged the people, especially the youth to follow the principles of Baba Banda Singh Ji Bahadur.
“I bow to Baba Banda Singh Ji Bahadur, who is an epitome of patriotism, fearlessness, dedication, and sacrifice”, said the Lt Governor.
The story of his courage and selfless service needs to be constantly told to the generations to come. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to serve the land of Baba Banda Singh Ji Bahadur, the Lt Governor maintained.
I call upon every citizen of Jammu and Kashmir to work as a center of social consciousness with collective responsibility for social and national interests, said the Lt Governor.
Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, as a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, always stood firm for freedom, protection of poor & marginalized people, and upliftment of all sections of society, that needs to be understood by the young generation of the country, added the Lt Governor.
The youth must take inspiration from the life of Baba Banda Singh Ji Bahadur and work for the development of all classes and all religions for building a better society said the Lt Governor.
Throwing light on the glorious life of Baba Banda Singh Ji Bahadur, the Lt Governor talked about how he met Guru Gobind Singh Ji in Nanded and how Madho Das surrendered himself at the feet of the Guru and became Banda Singh Bahadur. With his might, he laid the foundation of the Khalsa Raj and got the farmers and labourers to take ownership.
The deepest thing hidden between these stories is that of living an awakened life. One more thing these stories tell us that not only the disciple looks for the teacher, but the guru also looks for his worthy disciple, the Lt Governor observed.
The Lt Governor said that on the day one becomes eligible to be a disciple, on that day the Guru himself discovers the disciple. The same happened with Baba Banda Singh Bahadur. The message of his transformed life is to be awake, to be seen and he lived life with the same value till his last moment, he added.
The Lt Governor asked the young generation to understand that there will be many paths in life and they have to decide which path to choose.
Recalling his visit to University of Jammu last year to establish the Guru Nanak Dev Chair, the Lt Governor said that during his visit, he urged the scholars and researchers to make the research and papers on the teachings of Great Guru available to the people so that the message, ideas, and instructions could be conveyed to the young generation through technology.
He further reiterated Government’s commitment for promoting Punjabi language. Initiative has been undertaken to ensure that Punjabi language books are made available in all public libraries across the UT and this process will be completed soon, the Lt Governor maintained.
The Lt Governor assured the inclusion of the glorious history of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Ji in the school textbooks so that new generation will remain connected to their values, traditions and contribute to the rapidly changing developmental activities with duty and responsibility. And for this, the Jammu and Kashmir administration is working on many fronts, from education to industrialization, he added.
In the new education policy, we are also paying attention that our children learn moral values, as well as get trained for the fourth industrial revolution, maintained the Lt Governor.
Earlier, the Lt Governor also planted saplings at Dera Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Ji.
While speaking on the occasion, Baba Jitender Pal Singh Sodhi, 10th descendent of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, said that we need to make our youth aware of our rich cultural and traditional values. He said youth should strive hard to excel in every field and live a disciplined life.
Former Member of Parliament and present Chairman National Monuments Authority, Sh. Tarun Vijay, in his address, highlighted the Sacrifice made by Baba Banda Singh Ji Bahadur and appealed that the history of such a great warrior should be included in the textbooks.
He also requested the Lt Governor to construct a ghat at his worship place and appealed for immediate repair and doubling of the road connecting Dera Baba Banda Singh Bahadur.
On which, the Lt Governor assured the construction of road to Dera Baba Banda Singh Bahadur and development of the ghat. He also asked the Chairman, National Monuments Authority to rope in the best experts for establishing museum of Baba Banda Singh Ji Bahadur and assured him every assistance and help from the UT administration.
The Lt Governor observed that PMGSY has created a revolution in terms of connectivity and said that the UT administration is working on the policy to connect all the unconnected habitations in the next two and half years.
SS Pahwa, Secretary, Dera Baba Banda Bahadur delivered the vote of thanks on the occasion.
Prominent among others present on the occasion were, Dr. JP Sharma Vice-Chancellor SKUAST; Sujit Kumar Singh, DIG Reasi Udhampur Range; Indu Kanwal Chib Deputy Commissioner Reasi and Ms. Rashmi Wazir SSP Reasi.
S. Charanjit Khalsa, former Legislator, and other prominent persons were also present on the occasion.
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