News & Update

In a remarkable goodwill gesture, Muslims in Fatehgarh Sahib have opened up the premises of historical Lal Masjid to the members of Sikh community to let them prepare and serve ‘langar’ (community kitchen) for Shahidi Jor Mela, a three-day event which observes martyrdom of the younger Sahibzaadas of Guru Gobind Singh.

The mosque belongs to the later Mughal period and is attributed to Saifuddin, the grandson of Shaikh Ahmad Faruqi Sirhindi (1560-1623) also known as Mujaddid Alf Sani. The mosque was renovated by the Muslim community two years ago.

Following permission from the mosque in-charge, villagers from Ranwan and Batho in the Khamano sub-division of the district set up langar there to serve the congregation.

“The Muslim community has allowed using their land for preparing Langar. We are preparing food and serving it to the visitors for the last three days. The basement of the mosque is also being used by us for storing food items. Gurdwaras of two villages have collectively organized the Langar and villagers are taking turns to participate in the services of the community kitchen. We got permission from the in-charge of the mosque here as Muslims were happy to share their land for our religious event,” said Charanjit Singh Channi of Ranwan village.

“Shaikh Sirhindi had also played a key role in persecution and execution of fifth Sikh master Guru Arjun Dev Ji. However, when Banda Singh Bahadur took over the reins of Sirhind, he did not demolish the mosques. Similarly, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and other Sikh chieftains established their rule by defeating the subordinates of the Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Abdali but did not harm the mosques or other key places of the Muslims. The battles of Sikhs was not against the Muslims or Islam but was only with the rulers who were Mughals,” said Paramvir Singh, professor at the department of Encyclopaedia in Sikhism, Punjabi University, Patiala.

“We are glad to assist the Sikh community. They are allowed to use the land of the mosque for setting up the community kitchen. In the past, battles of Sikhs were not against the Muslims but the then rulers,” said, Khalifa Syed Mohammad Sadiq Raza, in-charge of Lal Masjid.

-Times Of India

The educations gained by the chaar sahibzaade’s were way beyond their age. Sahibzaada Ajit Singh and sahibzaada Jujhar singh were well educated in philosophy, history and religious texts and had training in the martial arts such as horse riding, swordsmanship, archery and gatka.

They always gave equal importance to education and martial arts. The Sahibzada’s never rejected education in favor of doing the right thing or vice versa, they did both at the same time.

The sahibzaade’s were blessed to be born as Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s son but it doesn’t mean they got all the knowledge and strength in legacy. They have earned it themselves and so can we. We need to become like the Sahibzada’s in this manner where we learn to do both things at the same time. Often we hide behind the excuse of education and work, so we don’t have to follow the order of our father Guru Gobind Singh Ji and do the right thing. But let’s initiate our first step towards changing our self towards the path of Chaar Sahibzaade’s. We can also become Guru Gobind Singh Ji child if we follow atleast 8 such qualities of Chaar Sahibzaade’s.

LEARN 8 QUALITIES OF CHAAR SAHIBZAADE TO BECOME GURU GOBIND SINGH JI’S CHILD

1. Be Brave and fearless: Guru Gobind Singh’s wants his Sikh to be a brave, fearless and strong as a lion and yet sweet, humble and loving. In Chamkaur battle, there were many brave Sikhs who fight for their faith and fearlessly achieved martyrdom along with Sahibzaada Ajit Singh and Sahibzaada Jujhar Singh. We should also learn to become more strong, brave and fearless since death can come anytime for coward as well.

Serve the True Guru fearlessly, and your doubt shall be dispelled.

2. Stand by your faith: Sikhs should stand by their faith in Guru Ji’s teaching. When Sahibzaada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzaada Fateh Singh were lodged for a night in a cold room in tower (Thanda Burj) with Mata Gujri Ji. Mataji teach them the lessons of Sikh History. On hearing about the ideals set by the Gurus the two Sahibzaade assured Mataji that they will stand by the faith and follow the footstep of their father.

Why lose your faith to save your life, Faith lives with you, even after you die.

3. Remove Ego: Even though Sahibzaade’s did an amazing job in whatever they did but they never had any ego. They were always keen to learn, practice and improve themselves. So we should not proud of what we have achieved in life, instead we should keep on learning everyday and at same time do our job with full commitment and passion.

ਤਜਿ ਅਭਿਮਾਨ ਭਯੇ ਨਿਰਵੈਰ ||
Shedding my Ego, I have become free of hate.

4. Respect your parents: Sahibzaade’s followed the instructions of their father, and always did whatever their Guru, their father told them to do. How often do we listen to our parents today? How often do we do as Guru Ji instructed us to do? Where is the respect if we can’t even follow simple instructions given by our parents or the Guru Ji? We need to be like the Sahibzada’s.

5. Fight for your rights: Guru Gobind Singh Ji fought against oppression because Guru Ji said “When all other means have failed, it is your right to raise arms and fight for your rights.” This is exactly what Sikhs should do. We have to be both Saints and Warriors. Practicing Naam Simran and fighting against oppression at the same time is what Guru Ji has taught us. Guru Gobind Singh Ji said that sovereignty is a MUST for a religion otherwise it perishes. Whenever Guru Gobind Singh Ji instructed Sahibzaada Ajit Singh Ji to go and fight for what’s right, he always went without questioning.

6. Don’t Bow your head other than Guru Sahib: Sikhs should not bow their head other than Guru Granth Sahib Ji. At the time when Chote Sahibzaade’s were taken to Nawab’s court, as the Sahibzaade reached the Court they noticed that the big gate was closed and there was only a small window for gaining entry to the Court. It was setup so that the Sons of Guru Gobind Singh would have to bow to Quran which Qazi was holding in his hands across the door. The intelligent Sahibzaade saw through the game. They put their feet forward and jumped inside through the window without bowing their heads.

ਆਗਯਾ ਭਈ ਅਕਾਲ ਕਿ ਤਭੀ ਚਾਲਾਯੋ ਪੰਥ,
ਸਾਬ ਸਿਖਣ ਕੋ ਹੁਕੂਮ ਹੈ ਗੁਰੂ ਮਾੰਯੋ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ.
ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਜੀ ਮਾੰਯੋ ਪਰਗਟ ਗੁਰਾਣ ਕਿ ਦੇਹ.
ਜੋ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਕੋ ਮਿਲ ਬੋਚ ਹੈ ਖੋਜ ਸ਼ਬਦ ਮੇਂ ਲੇ

7. Don’t prefer wealth over religion: Earning money is not sin. Sikhs can actively create wealth so long as they always remember that this knowledge is a blessing from God and that a small portion of the wealth (10% is recommended) should be donated for the greater benefit of humanity. Also, Sikhs should never forget that all wealth, property and riches belong to God. When Chote sahibzaade’s were arrested and presented in the nawab’s court, they were offered with worldly goods but the two Sahibzaade shouted back in one voice. “We care not for the worldly wealth. We shall not renounce our religion at any cost”

8. Do not fear death, it will come to everyone at any point: Sikh should not fear death as no one knows how long their life is. So let’s try to learn and live the sahibzaade’s way of life in our daily routines. Kabeer Ji’s says:

ਕਬੀਰ ਮਰਤਾ ਜਾਗ ਮੋਯਾ ਮਰ੍ਬਿ ਨਾ ਜਾਣਿਆ ਕੋਈ
ਐਸਿ ਮਰਨੀ ਜੋ ਮਰੇ ਬਹੁਰ ਨਾ ਮਰਨਾ ਹੋਏ ||29||
Kabeer, dying, the whole world has to die, and yet, none know how to die. Let those who die, die such a death, that they shall never have to die again. ||29||

“Don’t ask me about my childhood. I won’t be able to narrate that time,” said 83-year-old Jagdish Lal Ahuja, in a voice choked with emotion. In 1947, a 12-year-old boy born in Peshawar, Pakistan, came over to this side during the Partition. The event not only took away his birthplace from him, but his childhood too.

Popularly Known as ‘Langar Baba’, is searching among hundreds of poor kids whom he has been feeding over 3 decades.

He sold his seventh property worth ₹1.6 crore to arrange money for his noble initiative. He has sold six other such properties worth crores to ensure that the poor do not go to bed on an empty stomach.

Ahuja was the only breadwinner of the family as his father did not work and his mother was a homemaker. “Everyday, I walked three miles barefoot to buy namkeen dal for ₹1 and sold it for ₹1 and 2 aane at stations. I made two such rounds daily and earned ₹2 and 2 aane. By the time I got home, my feet and hand would be full of blisters, but I still had to earn or else I would go hungry for days,” he said, his voice choking up.

He never went to school in Peshawar even though he could afford to do so. He said, “My father beat me up if I studied and teachers beat me up in school because I would not have done my homework. So, yes, I could not study; my childhood was horrifying.”

From selling namkeen dal at the stations in Amritsar to selling toffees, jaggery, and fruits on the streets of Patiala, Ahuja continued working and fought hard when faced with hardships.

Now that baba is growing old and is fighting cancer, he only comes for a visit towards the end of the langar. That is when he distributes balloons, toffees and snacks to children. (Anil Dayal)
STARTING FROM SCRATCH

At 21, he moved to Chandigarh after a fight with his family. Here, he started buying and selling fruits. His journey in the new city that started from the purchase of a cart of oranges for ₹15 turned into an enterprise worth crores.

He bought his first property, a house in Sector 22, in 1965-66 for ₹4,000. He recently sold this property to fund the langar. Since he had a business of selling bananas, he was often known as the “banana king”. Soon, he was became popular as ‘langar wale baba’.

Talking about how he began this initiative, Ahuja said, “It was my son’s eighth birthday and I wanted to celebrate it by giving to the society. So, I decided to organise a langar for children.”

“We cooked food for 150 children and served it in the market in Sector 26. The moment I saw the joy on the faces of the children, it reminded me of my childhood. I then announced that this langar will be held daily,” he added.

YEARS OF SERVICE

He said, “It was on Guru Gobind Singh’s birthday that I wanted to distribute halwa and was wondering which place I should choose to set up. I was passing through PGIMER and saw a boy serving rice to the poor; that’s where I got the idea.”

Since then, baba’s langar is part of a routine at PGIMER. Between 6pm and 6.30pm, a black van stops outside gate number 2 of PGIMER and a stall is set up. In no time, people queue up for food. The langar outside GMCH-32 is organised in the afternoon.

“Not a single day has passed in the last 17 years that this langar was not organised outside PGIMER. We serve dal, chapatti, rice, halwa and banana. Apart from this, we also serve biscuits to cancer patients and kurkure, toffees, lollipops with whistles and balloons to children,” said Ahuja.

NO FAVOURS FROM OTHERS

However, these days, shortage of money has made it difficult to run the langar but that has not stopped him. Asking for financial help from others to run the langar is against Ahuja’s principles. Instead, he has chosen to cut down the supply. “Earlier, I made this langar for over 2,000 people daily; now it’s for 500. I have reduced the quantity after 2015,” he added.

The number of vegetable drums has reduced from 17 to seven, the carts of chapattis have reduced from six to three and only two boxes of bananas are distributed instead of six.

His motivation comes from those he feeds daily. He said, “Main apna bachpan dekhda haan, inna ch (I see my childhood in them).”

Now that baba is growing old and is fighting cancer, he only comes for a visit towards the end of the langar. That is when he distributes balloons, toffees and snacks to children.

“I have never sought a favour from anyone, but can only expect some help from the government. Kindly convey my message to the governor that I might need his help in continuing the langar in the near future,” said Ahuja.

Group of Akal Academies organised a walkathon in the four states of Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan in which 15,000 students of 116 Akal Academies participated.

The 2-km walkathon– Race against drug addiction– was flagged off at the school’s main gate and took a round of the nearby villages before finally dispersing at the school. The walkathon was held on the same day and at the same time.

In Hoshiarpur district, the students of all four academies participated in the event. As many as 150 students of Akal Academy, Makhangarh, 66 from Akal Academy, Pawein Jhinger and 50 students from Akal Academy in Dhugga Kalan in Hoshiarpur district participated in the walkathon. The students carried placards bearing messages on the harmful effects of drugs on individuals, society and economy.

The SMO of Dasuya hospital Dr Bagha flagged off the walkathon at Akal Academy Dhugga Kalan. Mandeep Kaur, principal of the Akal Academy at Khera, said the academies were being run by the Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, Sirmaur district in Himachal Pradesh, and offered “modern education with spiritual values” to help tackle the problem of drug and alcohol abuse.