Land transferred to Chilla Sahib Gurdwara in Sirsa; Sikhs hail move

Our Correspondent

Sirsa, June 28

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced on Thursday that 70 kanals and seven marlas would be given to Chilla Sahib Gurdwara in Sirsa. On Friday, Jathedar Baba Jagtar Singh and Surendra Singh Vaidwala, chairman of the Guru Nanak Mission Charitable Trust, expressed their gratitude towards the government for the decision. They praised the Cabinet’s decision of transferring the land to the gurdwara management committee, noting that it fulfilled the long-standing demand. The land was previously under the Revenue Department’s name.

Talking to the media, Jathedar Jagtar Singh and Surendra Singh hailed the government’s decision. They said the land transfer would make it easier for improving facilities for devotees, as they previously needed government approval for any new arrangements.

They also plan to open a hospital at the site.

On August 5, 2019, during the Guru Nanak Dev Prakash Utsav at Anaj Mandi, the Chilla Sahib Gurdwara management committee had requested the then Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, to transfer the land in the name of gurdwara. He had promised to do so, acknowledging that Guru Nanak Dev spent four months and 13 days at the gurdwara. Keeping up to the promise, the process to transfer the land began. Khattar also directed that one acre of adjoining government land be allocated for building a dharamshala for the Sikh community.

Historically, during his second Udasi, Guru Nanak Dev, accompanied by his disciple Mardana, reached Sirsa in 1567 Vikrami. At that time, a fair was organised at Sirsa by Muslim fakirs. Guru Nanak Dev’s unique attire included wooden sandals, a staff, a rope around his head and a tilak on his forehead. Fakirs Pir Bahawal and Khwaja Abdul Shakur, known for their miracles, put Guru Nanak Dev to test, which he passed. Guru Nanak Dev meditated there for 40 days, known as ‘chilla’ and stayed in Sirsa. Chilla Sahib Gurdwara was built on this site, attracting devotees from Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and other states.

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