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| April 14, 2006 | Friday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 15, 1427 |
Over 9,000 yatrees take part in Besakhi Mela
ATTOCK, April 13: Over 9,000 Sikh Yatrees (pilgrims) from all over the world have arrived in Hassanabdal to participate in Besakhi Mela.
Sardar Ranjeet Singh, who is heading a delegation from India, has thanked the Pakistan government for the warm welcome accorded to them on their arrival at Lahore and then at Hassanabdal. He was also grateful to the government for issuing visas to a record number of yatrees, who have also been permitted to visit their other holy places in the country.
Soon after the yatrees’ arrival, festival kicked off with the ceremony of Arambah Path Sahib. Amid a shower of petals, some of the pilgrims entered Gurdwara Punja Sahib, which had been decorated with flags and illumination. Banners emblazoned with peace messages in Gurmukhi were displayed to welcome the guests by the Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee.
The pilgrims will perform rituals like Akhand Paat Sahib, Bhog, Ardas and Hukamnama. They would also visit the shrine of Muslim saint Baba Wali Qandahari at the hilltop near the Gurdawara, and later leave for Lahore the same day.
Official sources said during their nine-day stay, the Indian Sikhs would also visit Gurdwara Janam Asthan (birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak) in Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore, Gurdwara Succha Soda in Farooqabad, and Gurdwara Rohri Sahib in Aimanabad. They will return home on April 20.
Our correspondent from Hassanabdal adds: Central leader Sardar Manmohan Singh of Dul Khalsa of England said here on Thursday that a conference would be organised in London on “the mistreatment of minorities in India”.
Talking to newsmen at Gurdwara Punja Sahib the Sikh separatist leader said “the plight of all minorities especially the Sikh community would be highlighted” at the conference to be held in the precincts of Westminster.
He claimed the Sikh community in the Great Britain has the support of 70 members of parliament.
India projects itself as a secular state but the social and economic conditions of the minorities living there were worsening with each passing day with the result that armed resistance was raging in Assam, Kashmir, Nagaland, (Indian) Punjab, Manipur, Taripura and Arunanchal.
Even the Indian constitution does not recognise the Sikhs as a nation. Article 25 of the Indian constitution describe the Sikh and Jains as sub-nations.
Sardar Manmohan Singh alleged that the Indian government was dominated by “extremist Hindus” and having a Muslim as President and a Sikh as Prime Minister was “just for propaganda’s sake”.
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