'Veer Baal Diwas' evokes mixed response

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 9

Some prominent Sikh personalities and members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) did not appreciate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to mark December 26 as “Veer Baal Diwas”.

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said: “Restricting the martyrdom of Sahibzadas to “Veer Baal Diwas” does not commensurate with the Sikh ethos.” He said the Prime Minister Modi’s announcement might had come out of respect, but not according to the Sikh tradition.

He appealed to the Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Harpreet Singh, to take the lead in connection with the recognition of the “Veer Baal Diwas”. He said the Sikh sangat and their historic institutions consider the incomparable sacrifice of the Sahibzadas like those of great warriors.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee member Kiranjot Kaur, through a post on social media, said: “The move of declaring the Shaheedi Diwas of younger Sahibzadas as “Veer Baal Diwas” is reductionist in nature.”

Meanwhile, head of the Damdami Taksal and president of Sant Samaj, Harnam Singh Khalsa, appreciated the Prime Minister’s decision. He said no other government had thought of paying homage to the sacrifice of the Sahibzadas in the past 325 years.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Secretary Karnail Singh Panjoli, while talking to the media here on Sunday said he had urged the Prime Minister that all those airports that were named after some individuals should be renamed after the 10 Sikh Gurus to commemorate their unique sacrifices.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Secretary said he had also written a letter to the Prime Minister in this regard.