Guru Arjan Dev is GenNext?s hero

THEY ARE businesslike. They are young. They are Sikh and they draw inspiration from the Gurus. This makes them GenNext with a difference.

And when it comes to the ninth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev, they are just filled to their heart.

They remember him as Human Rights supporter, who fought for the freedom of following one’s faith and religion. He accepted the death by the emperor but not accepted to convert himself. The martyrdom day holds a great place amongst not only the Sikhs but also amongst the Hindus for whom the great Guru performed his supreme sacrifice. 

The young Sikhs feel proud when they mention the names of their Gurus who performed sacrifices to protect the humanity from the evil designs of the then emperors. Parampreet Singh, a young Sikh who recites Gurubani daily in the Gurudwara Naka Hindola, says, “The Sikh community, especially the youngsters, are proud of the supreme sacrifices made by the Sikh Gurus to save the dharma in the country.  Only in our culture, you find supreme sacrifice made by the Sikh Gurus for the sake of religion. Those were Sikh Gurus who saved the country from the humiliation of being known as the country of converts.”

“Which country could boast of having so many martyrs to save the culture and religion? Only Sikhs have the history of sacrifice,” he says.

“The Gurus have not only taught us to make sacrifices but also to serve the humanity by offering community services. As a part of service, we also organise langar during the religious functions,” says Jaswant Kaur, another young girl offering prayers in the Gurudwara.

“Why shouldn’t we be proud of our rich history? Name any community who has gone through so much suppression at the hands of rulers but still maintained love for them. We are still ready to sacrifice our lives for the sake of country that’s why you find so many Sikhs in the Indian Army and Paramilitary forces.

The Sikhs enjoy protecting the people of country as they have been inspired by their Gurus,” says young Darshan Kaur.

The Gurus stand for high moral values, she says and adds, “they fought for human rights and the right to practise one’s faith. They never bowed down to the pressure of autocratic emperors. These examples pump new strength in our blood and give the strength to stand tall against any kind of suppression and wrong deeds.”

Maninderjeet Singh hopes to serve the Indian Army and says, “ I am inspired by the deeds of our great Gurus who taught us to defend the motherland from the traitors. Not only that they taught us to treat everyone as equal, they taught us to do away with casteism and remain firm on our faith.”

 Guru Arjan Dev deserves a special place in the history of our country, he says and adds, “in other words he was the champion of human rights. All the Sikhs are proud of him.”

Nanak Singh another youngster says, “ Guru Arjan Dev would be remembered as a preacher of peace and a champion of religious rights. His sacrifice would be remembered forever and he would be known as the saviour of Indian culture”.