The supreme sacrifice of ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur will be the theme of the official tableau of Punjab for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26. He is the ninth Sikh Guru who laid down his life to uphold the eternal values of humanity, religious co-existence and freedom of faith. Guru Tegh Bahadur, known as ‘Hind Di Chadar’, was a great philosopher, spiritual leader and poet.
The Guru took up the cause of Kashmiri Pandits who were facing religious persecution due to the orthodox religious policy of Mughal king Aurangzeb and was martyred on November 11, 1675, at Chandni Chowk. The entire tableau delineates an aura marking the 400th Parkash Purb of the ninth Sikh Guru.
The tractor portion starts with the holy Palki Sahib (palanquin) while the trailer portion depicts a “prabhat Pheri” with devotees reciting “kirtan”. The end of the trailer portion shows Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib which marks the site where Lakhi Shah Vanjara and his son Bhai Naghaiya burnt their own house to cremate the headless body of Guru Sahib. A full dress-rehearsal of the parade was held on Saturday in New Delhi.
Notably, the tableau of Punjab has been selected for the Republic Day parade for the fifth consecutive year. The state got the third position in 2019.
