Right next to where Shah spoke is situated the Sisganj Gurudwara, built to honour the martyrdom of Tegh Bahadur, who was beheaded on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. An exhibition at the Red Fort is on, depicting the life story of the ninth Sikh guru and brutalities believed to have been committed on Hindus and Sikhs by Aurangzeb’s regime.
Shah said the story of Sikh Gurus would be told to every child in India and translated into every language of the country. “When Kashmiri Pandits sought his help against Aurangazeb, he told them ‘go tell the Mughals if they can change the religion of Guru Tegh Bahadur, they can go forward.’ Even the killing of his disciples in front of him did not deter him,” Shah said.
“This is the place where there was a fatwa against him, and today we listened to kirtan in the same place. His heroism and sacrifice will not go waste,” the home minister said. Sikhs and Hindus will remain indebted to Guru Tegh Bahadur, who learnt and promoted Hindi, Sanskrit and Gurmukhi and toured the country from Assam to Patna to Anandpur.”
Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to ensure the sacrifice of Sikh Gurus should be carried to every corner of the world and the government was celebrating birth anniversaries of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh in a big way for the purpose. Talking about the historic battle in Kartarpar, Shah said the way Tegh Bahadur fought the Mughals was an inspiration for all.
“The PM has chosen to speak from the Red Fort, on a day other than Independence Day, for us. The government has been solving problems of the community. Sikh interest is India’s interest,” he said.
