9-day event to mark 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur concludes at Anandpur Sahib

The nine-day event to mark the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, organised by the state government and SGPC, concluded today at Anandpur Sahib with the organisation of Sis Sanskar Divas. The top leadership of SGPC paid obeisance to the Guru at gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib.

It was on November 29, 350 years ago, that the severed head of Guru Tegh Bahadur was brought from Delhi to Anandpur Sahib by Bhai Jaita and cremated at the place where gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib now stands.

SAD (Badal) president Sukhbir Singh Badal participated in Nagar Kirtan organised from gurdwara Sis Bhent in Kiratpur Sahib to gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Anandpur Sahib. He joined Nagar Kirtan at Kiratpur Sahib and returned from there.

Anandpur Sahib MLA and Cabinet minister Harjot Singh Bains participated in Sis Sanskar Divas.

The events organised to mark the martyrdom day of Guru Tegh Bahadur in the last 9 days were an extraordinary blend of devotion, political spectacle, and institutional rivalry. The political programmes of the government and SGPC concluded on November 25, while spiritual and cultural attractions, including the drone show, devotional congregations, and light-and-sound displays, continued until November 29.

The Punjab Government claimed to have spent crores to prepare the holy city for the commemorations, projecting the celebrations as unprecedented in scale. Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann termed them historic, emphasising the special Vidhan Sabha session held for the first time outside Chandigarh on November 24, a symbolic shift intended to honour Guru Tegh Bahadur on his 350th martyrdom anniversary.

A major government event, Sarv Dharam Sammelan, was held at Guru Ka Bagh, the Nihang sect centre of Baba Budha Dal, from November 23 to 25, after SGPC declined permission for the gathering at gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib. Despite the state’s attempts to position the sammelan as a national-level interfaith congregation, it proved diplomatically lacklustre.

The government had invited 28 chief ministers, as well as the President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but only Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu attended. Public participation was also thin. Many pilgrims who arrived on government-arranged buses preferred to offer prayers at Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib and gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib instead of attending the sammelan, undermining the state’s effort to showcase the event as a grand interfaith platform.

Residents had anticipated major announcements, such as district status, a medical college, or other large development projects. Instead, the government declared Anandpur Sahib a Holy City and announced a world-class university in the name of Guru Tegh Bahadur. Though welcomed symbolically, the limited nature of the announcements fuelled opposition criticism.

SGPC and SAD (Badal) used the anniversary to reposition their Panthic leadership. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal urged unity among Panthic factions to regain political footing in Punjab’s shifting electoral landscape. SGPC reaffirmed its religious authority and called for renewed commitment to Sikh issues, including the demand for the release of Bandi Singhs.

BJP also sought to make its presence felt, organising its own independent religious congregation at Anandpur Sahib on November 19, its first such solo event in the holy town. The move is seen as an effort to cultivate a direct connection with Sikh devotees and expand the party’s influence in a region traditionally aligned with Panthic groups.