Sikhs remind Yogi of his stand
LUCKNOW: A demand was raised on Thursday in the presence of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to observe Children’s Day in memory of Shri Guru Govind Singh’s four kids, who were martyred for standing up for freedom of religious practice and refusing to convert to Islam during Mughal king Aurengzeb’s rule. Adityanath, who as Gorakhpur MP, had first talked about it in Parliament.
In his Parliament speech then, the firebrand MP from Gorakhpur had made a fervent appeal on the issue. On Thursday, however, he only promised to look into the matter positively. The community Sikh chose Baisakhi celebrations as a befitting occasion to rake up the issue as CM himself was the chief guest of the function held at Gurudwara Yahiyaganj.
Earlier, the chief minister praised the contributions of Sikh Gurus. He said the sacrifices of Sikh Gurus ensured the freedom of religious practice in the country.“Today’s youth must learn from the sacrifices made by Guru Teg Bahadur who gave up his life for Kashmiri Pandits and Guru Govind Singh ji who martyred his all four sons for the religion,” he said.
“One should learn from Sikhism about equality, brotherhood, service and sacrifice,” the chief minister said while adding: “Those who believe in caste and community must read the teachings of Gurus who never cared about such things,” he said while citing the fact that ‘Panch Pyare’ of Shri Guru Govind Singh came from the weaker sections of society. He urged the gathering to keep everything about Gurus beyond controversy.