NEW DELHI: Paying tributes to Banda Singh Bahadur on 300th martyrdom anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the life of the warrior who lived on the edge of the sword is an inspiration for all.
Addressing a large congregation in Delhi to celebrate 300th martyrdom anniversary in New Delhi, Modi said, “Baba Banda Singh Bahadur ji was not just a great warrior but was also very sensitive towards common people.”
He further said that one event agitated the great warrior and he “turned a monk”. “Sometimes a single moment in life gives direction to a person, similar thing happened with Banda Bahadur ji. He gave utmost respect to cultural and social diversity in the country. He was a Bairagi who turned into a brave warrior and embraced martyrdom,” Modi said.
Prime Minsiter pointed out that that during Baba Banda Singh Bahadur’s time, for the first time, farmers were given their rights and common man felt empowered. “During Baba Banda Singh Bahadur ji’s time, poor people and minorities felt secured. After getting inspiration from Guru Gobind Singh ji, he imbibed values of a warrior and embarked on a new journey for social development,” added Modi.
He stated that Baba Banda Singh Bahadur ji was not just a great warrior but was also very sensitive towards common people. “Today on Baba Banda Bahadur’s 300th maytrydom anniversary I pay tribute to him, his bravery and sacrifice,” he said.
Recounting the life of the warrior, the Prime Minister said Banda Bahadur took along members from all communities to build an army. “This showed his organisational ability and skill to carry them forward. He gave rights to poor, farmers and reflected socialist thinking by his administration. He believed in being an administrator without seeking any benefit for himself.”
Modi also released a coffee table book on Banda Singh Bahadur brought out by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.
The PM was also presented with a ‘siropa’. Amid chants of ‘Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal’, the Prime Minister presented a set of commemorative coins issued earlier to mark the occasion.
Apart from Modi, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal were some of the prominent dignitaries present at the anniversary celebrations.
The commemorations come months ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab to be held in 2017 and already all parties are scrambling to appease voters and outflank their competition in the process.
Arvind Kejriwal government for instance recently put out newspaper advertisements to announce renaming of the Barapulla flyover after Banda Singh Bahadur.
In another move made by Kejiriwal while eyeing Punjab election, advertisement released last month declared that the AAP government has made Punjabi compulsory in government schools in Delhi.
Banda Singh Bahadur is believed to have been born in 1670 in Rajouri, now part of Jammu and Kashmir state. At a young age he became a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh and assembled a force to fight the Mughal Empire.
He is credited with establishing Sikh rule in Punjab, starting with the sack in 1709 of the Mughal provincial capital, Samana, now part of Patiala district. He was captured and executed by Mughals in Delhi in 1716.