Srinagar: Expressing joy and happiness over the festival of Baisakhi, the All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) today expressed hope that the festival would be harbinger of peace and prosperity in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
In his message APSCC Chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina said that a festival like Baisakhi brings about happiness and joy among the people. Raina said such festive occasions provide a chance to the people of different communities to come close to each other while exchanging pleasantries.
“For Sikhs, Baisakhi is celebrated as the day of the creation of the Khalsa Panth. Baisakhi is really a sacred and pious day for the community and the community especially the youth should follow the path shown by Guru Gobind Singh Ji for peace and development,” said Raina.
The APSCC Chairman said that every household of Sikh community celebrate Baisakhi day in nearby gurudwaras. “I appeal to all the sikh community on this auspicious day to remain united and calm for redressal of our long pending issues by the government and pray that our issues dont last for long”, Raina said.
The other APSCC leaders who extended greetings. They include Ajit Singh Mastana, Principal Niranjan Singh, Kanwal Kashmiri, Davinder Singh, Hakumat singh, Indumeet Singh, Master Kuldeep Singh, Sant Singh, Gurdayal Singh, Rajinder Singh, Manjeet Singh and others.
Raina regretted that the successive governments of Jammu and Kashmir have not taken the festival of Baisakhi seriously even though it is very important for the Sikh community. He said that glaring issues like neglect of Punjabi language, unemployment and relatively less attention to the celebrations and festivals of sikh community are haunting the people of the community.
“After criminalisation of politics in states and UTs now criminals are trying to enter the religious organisations. It is my appeal to the Sikhs of Jammu and Kashmir to refrain from entertaining any criminal in Gurudwara affairs. The community should segregate themselves from such harmful elements and learn the lesson what happened in the past,” said Raina.