Lt Governor pays obeisance at Gurudwara Baba Banda Singh Ji Bahadur at Reasi

REASI, MARCH 8(HS): 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 the day one becomes eligible to be a disciple, on that very 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.