Devotees throng Golden Temple to observe ‘Bandi Chhor Diwas’
The ‘Bandi Chhor Divas’ was commemorated at Golden Temple with a dignified but solemn observance today as it coincided with the 40th anniversary of anti-Sikh riots.
Australian PM visits gurdwara
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted on X few photos of him celebrating the ‘Bandi Chhor Divas’ at a gurdwara down under. The photos showed him wearing a turban as he poses with people for selfies. “Happy Bandi Chhor Divas! Wonderful to celebrate at Gurdwara Sahib Glenwood and open the newly expanded kitchen, serving thousands of people every week,” he wrote on X.
As per the Akal Takht’s directions, only the sanctum sanctorum of Golden Temple and the Akal Takht building were illuminated. Devotees, who thronged the complex, light up ‘diyas’ at the designated spots on the parikrama of the shrine as a symbolic gesture. Also, display of fireworks, another spectacular event, was missing this time.
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh read out the customary public message from the ‘Darshani Deodi’. He expressed concerns over the ‘interference of governments’ in Sikh institutions, ‘justice not being delivered’ to the families of 1984 riots victims even after four decades, migration of Sikh youth to overseas and an increase in the number of migrants in the state. He also touched the issue of ‘anti-Sikh hatred being spread on social media platforms’. He said the Panthic organisations need to unite to make Punjab socially, economically and politically strong.
The ‘parallel’ acting Jathedar of Akal Takht, Dhyan Singh Mand, visited the shrine complex and read out a separate message. Incidentally, he too flagged Sikh youth settling abroad and the rise in the number of migrants in Punjab. He too asked the Sikh community to join hands to strengthen the Panth and save its future generations.
