Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute a national level committee to oversee the year-long 400th prakash purb celebrations of ninth Sikh master Guru Teg Bahadur, on the lines of the 550th prakash purb celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev.

Capt Amarinder’s letter came a day after the Shiromani Akali Dal’s delegation met the Union Home Minister with the similar demand.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, Capt Amarinder pointed out that the State Government has planned to celebrate the historic occasion in a befitting manner with a series of programmes throughout the year, beginning April 2020.

The Chief Minister apprised Modi that Punjab Government was already in the process of drawing up a detailed proposal for the commemoration of this mega event and the same would be shortly sent to the Centre.

Describing the 400th prakash purb of the ninth Sikh Guru, scheduled to take place in April 2021, as a fortunate occasion for all, Capt Amarinder said that the Great Guru occupies a special place in the country’s history.

He had sacrificed his life to uphold the principles of religious freedom and amity and was, therefore, rightfully called as ‘Hind di Chaadar’, he added.

Notably, the State Government had already decided to commemorate the 400th birth anniversary of the ninth Sikh Guru on April 18, 2021, with year-long celebrations beginning April 12 this year.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was born on April 1, 1621. He resisted forced conversions of Hindus, Kashmiri Pandits and non-Muslims to Islam and was killed in 1675 on the orders of the then Mughal emperor in Delhi.