Guru Gobind Singh's footwear to be enshrined at Patna Sahib after 1,500-km nagar kirtan post-Diwali

After establishing the authenticity of the 300-year-old Jore Sahib belonging to the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, and his wife Mata Saheb Kaur, it has been decided to enshrine the sacred relics at Takht Sri Patna Sahib following a 1,500-km nagar kirtan from Delhi to Patna.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, whose family has served the holy pair of shoes for three centuries and now plans to institutionalise these, announced on Monday that the religious journey of the Jore Sahib will be organised with the support of the entire Sikh Sangat a few days after Diwali.

Puri’s cousin, Jasmeet Singh, was the custodian of the relics. After his passing, the family decided to hand over the sacred Jore Sahib for the devotion of all Sikhs. Puri involved the government in the process, and a committee of senior Sikh leaders was formed to verify the relics’ authenticity through carbon dating and to decide their final enshrinement location.

The committee, chaired by senior academic Simrit Kaur, Principal of Sri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi, consulted the Sikh community and recommended that the relics be enshrined at Gurdwara Patna Sahib—the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh.

“It was considered fitting to enshrine the holy relics at the place where Guru Sahib took his first steps towards greatness,” Simrit Kaur said.

Puri also unveiled the nagar kirtan route, which will pass through four states: Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief Harmeet Singh Kalka stated that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) will be actively involved in the nagar kirtan. “It is our duty to involve the SGPC in this holy matter, and we will,” he said.

The planned nagar kirtan route is as follows:

Delhi to Faridabad: 60 km

Faridabad to Agra: 190 km

Agra to Bareilly: 225 km

Bareilly to Mangepur: 160 km

Lakhimpur: 90 km

Kanpur: 224 km

Prayagraj: 210 km

Patna: 363 km

Puri called the journey a matter of pride for the entire Sikh Sangat and said efforts would be made to engage gurdwaras along the route to enable the maximum number of devotees to participate in the holy procession.