Sikh body plans to develop places visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur in Delhi-NCR as tourist spots

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has a plan to develop the places visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur in Delhi-NCR as tourist spots on the occasion of his 400th birth anniversary next year. All the places visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur in Delhi-NCR will be meticulously authenticated by a committee of historians and developed as religious places for Sikh devotees as well as tourists to mark the ninth Sikh guru's 400th Prakash Purb (birth anniversary), DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa said here on Sunday.

"The DSGMC will hold events starting April to commemorate the 400th Prakash Purb of the ninth Sikh guru in a grand and befitting manner," he added. A grand event will be held on Guru Tegh Bahadur's 399th Prakash Purb at the historic Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, where he attained martyrdom on November 11, 1675, Sirsa said, adding that the concluding function of his 400th birth anniversary will be organized at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, where his mortal remains were consigned to flames.

An executive committee comprising eminent Sikh historians, celebrities and academicians, among others, will be formed to finalize the broad contours of the programs being planned for the momentous occasion, he said. The Sikh relics associated with Guru Tegh Bahadur, including a sword and a purse kept at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, will be preserved in a scientific manner, Sirsa said, adding that a holy well situated inside the gurdwara complex, which was associated with the ninth Sikh guru, would also be revived.

The committee has plans to hold seminars and symposia to create awareness about Guru Tegh Bahadur's teachings as also organize various social events on his 400th birth anniversary, he said.