Sikh gurus toured country to unite it, says Adityanath
SIKH SAMAGAM J&K was peaceful under Hindu ruler: UP chief minister
LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday claimed that Jammu and Kashmir was peaceful as long as it was governed by a Hindu ruler.
Hindus and Sikhs were safe till the time there was a Hindu ruler in Kashmir, but people of these communities witnessed a downfall when the Hindu ruler was gone, he said addressing a state level Sikh Samagam at Vishweshwaraiyya auditorium here.
“Look at the condition of these communities in J&K today. Can either of them claim a sense of safety there? We must learn from history,” he said.
The CM said Sikh gurus toured the country for uniting it when the invaders were busy dividing it. “And it’s because of Guru Govind Singh and Guru Teg Bahadur that Kashmir is a part of India,” emphasised Yogi Adityanath.
“It’s our duty to honour the gurus because of whom our country is safe today. Shri Guru Granth Sahibji mentions Ram’s name more than any another name,” he added.
“Once Afghanistan and Pakistan were inhabited by a lot of Hindus and Sikhs but due to some divisive forces only 100 Sikhs are left in Afghanistan and a limited number of them are in Pakistan and living in a pathetic condition. They are constantly pressurised to convert.
Similar thing is happening in Kashmir, where the demography changed after the fall of the Hindu king,” he said.
“Such is the strong bond between the two communities that families in Punjab still have one son as a Sikh and the other as a Hindu. But there are some forces that want to break this bond,” added the CM.
Yogi Adityanath said, “These forces want to divide the communities and our country. Some political parties, despite understanding their agenda, play into their hands just because they want to come to power at any cost.”
He said the saffron flag of the gurus can be hoisted at Hindu houses and BJP men but not at the houses of Congress, SP or BSP men because the BJP believes in nationalism, but these parties believe in sticking to power at any cost by dividing communities. “So, there is a need to remain cautious against such forces,” added the chief minister.
On the demand of Sikhs, the chief minister said the state government would extend full support to the grand celebrations to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Dev.
Adityanath said he himself was a follower of Guru Nanak’s teachings and ‘Guru tradition’ (parampara).
The chief minister said around 14 medical colleges were coming up in the state and one of them would be named after a Sikh guru.
Yogi Adityanath called upon the gathering of Sikhs to take the message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the masses and ensure the BJP’s win in the elections.
He also said: “I have already given directives of SIT inquiry into the Kanpur riots.”
Deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, state president of Bharatiya Janata Party Mahendra Nath Pandey and state general secretary of BJP Sunil Bansal also addressed the conclave.
(INPUT FROM AGENCY)