Sikh tradition a living example of one India, strong India: PM Modi

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, April 29

Sikh tradition is a living example of one India, strong India and the community has become synonymous with the national spirit of courage, prowess and diligence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday.

He was addressing a 100-member Sikh delegation led by Chandigarh University Chancellor and Chief Patron of NID Foundation Satnam Singh Sandhu at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg.

Remembering his association with the community and how visiting gurdwaras, partaking in langar and living with Sikhs has been part of his life journey, the PM said the Sikh Gurus spent their entire lives uniting the nation and left their imprints all over India, from Gujarat to Bihar.

“The Sikh tradition is a living tradition of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’. The nation remains grateful for the community’s contribution to India’s Independence and later. India’s history is incomplete without the mention of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s contributions, Sikh struggles against the British and Jallianwala Bagh tragedy,” Modi said.

Saluting the Sikh spirit of service and enterprise, PM Modi said India’s rising stature made diaspora the proudest and opened new horizons for them as the world viewed them with greater respect.

“Indian diaspora are ‘rashtradoots’ (national ambassadors),” the PM announced, lauding the contributions of Sikh NRIs and noting, “The contribution of Sikhs spans from India’s borders to India’s economy. The Sikh society has become synonymous with the Indian spirit of courage, prowess and hard work.”

Recalling his visits to multiple Sikh shrines abroad, the PM said a new India was now emerging.

“The biggest teaching of Gurus is the sense of duty, bravery and service. Indians all over the world have reached great heights without any resources, only by the dint of hard work. This sentiment is now imbibing the spirit of new India, which is scaling greater heights and is leaving an impression on the world,” PM Modi said, noting how India belied old perceptions and doubts in its war against Covid by creating the largest vaccine shield anywhere globally.

“Ninety-nine per cent Covid doses administered are made in India. India has become one of the world’s biggest startup ecosystems…,” the PM said, adding that Sikhs have always served as a strong link for India's bilateral relations with other nations.

Urging the community for continued participation in India’s growth story the PM said, “Where ever we live, let the sense of “nation first” be our guiding force.”

Noting that the solution to the climate crisis was in India’s cultural practices, the PM also appealed to the delegates to build Amrit Sarovars (ponds) in every village as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Earlier, the delegation witnessed a presentation on government’s initiatives for the community including GST waiver on langar; FCRA licence for Harmandir Sahib; opening of the Kartarpur Corridor and celebrations of the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur.

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