CM honours 400 Punjabi followers of Guru Nanak

Kapurthala: As the Punjab chief minister, Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday honoured 400 prominent Punjabi followers of Guru Nanak from around the world for their contribution in various fields, he also announced his government’s decision to establish a chair in the name of Guru Nanak in 11 universities, including one from Iran.

The function to honour these Punjabis was held at the Punjab Technical University Kapurthala and representatives of all the 11 universities, of which seven are in Punjab and three in other states of India, were also present when Amarinder made the announcement of establishing the chairs which would focus on research on the life and teachings of the first Sikh master.

The chairs would be established in Punjabi University, Patiala; IK Gujral PTU Jalandhar-Kapurthala; Maharaja Ranjit Singh PTU Bathinda; Lovely Professional University Phagwara; Chandigarh University Gharuan; Chitkara University Rajpura; Akal University Talwandi Sabo; ITM University Gwalior; RDKF University Bhopal; JIS University West Bengal; and University of Religion, Iran.

Amarinder exhorted the Punjabis to remember their roots at all times and join his government in helping revive the state and create opportunities for the progress of its youth, who had the power and inclination to work but lacked opportunities at present. “Let us all join hands to give them those opportunities,” he added.

Seeking their help in rebuilding Punjab, he asked the prominent Punjabi personalities from around the world to become a part of the campaign to work together to restore the state, which had suffered a double Partition, to its pristine glory. He pointed to the depleting ground water table to warn that, as per assessments, Punjab was likely to turn into a desert in the next 25 years. “We have to prevent this from happening,” he stressed, adding that the real tribute to Guru Nanak Dev would be to preserve the natural resources for future generations and to make Punjab a clean, green and pollution-free state.

Seechewal refuses award over dirty water in Bein

Environmentalist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal did not attend the function to register his protest against flow of polluted water continuing in the historic Kali Bein. Seechewal said that he was being honoured for cleaning the Bein but the official machinery responsible for stopping flow of dirty water in the historic rivulet had failed to stop it even temporarily. “Even waste water from langar sites is being thrown into the Bein while devotees takebath, even sips from the Bein. Even entry of people on the passages along the Bein has been restricted when it it is an important heritage site associated with Guru Nanak,” he said. “It is cheating by the official machinery when they have failed to stop dirty water in the Bein,” he added.

SGPC honours Sikhs

SGPC honoured nine Sikhs, who have made contributions in different fields, on Sunday. It is learnt that SGPC has shortlisted 41 names and the rest would be honoured during the remaining two days.