ULTANPUUR LODHI: In his address from SGPC stage on Tuesday, on the concluding day of 550th Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh said that all expected that Sikh prisoners who were in jails would be released by the Government of India on the occasion of 550th Parkash Purb but that did not happen. “Now we again urge Government of India to release them to mark this occasion,” he said.

He also thanked Punjab government for making elaborate arrangements for the devotees including tent city and transport facilities. Jathedar also touched global issues including environmental crisis, apprehensions of nuclear war, expansion of materialism, trade wars and changes being imbued by the technology and gave a call to the Sikh intellectuals to contextualize the role of community and the ideology of Guru Nanak amid these changes.

He made a special appeal to all Punjabis not to get indifferent to their mother tongue and ensure that the language and its richness perpetuates in homes. Quoting from Gurbani he underlined that Guru celebrated linguistic diversity and gave his message in the language of commoners. He also made an appeal to the followers of Guru Nanak and the Panthic entities and groups to have complete ideological unite and unite under Akal Takht.

