May 7, 2015 - PATIALA: Accompanied by hundreds of Sikh devotees, the procession exhibiting holy relics Guru Hargobind, Guru Teg Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh began from Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib in Patiala on Wednesday. The special procession is being jointly organized by Punjab government and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and would cover all major cities of the state before the relics are installed at a museum in Anandpur Sahib.
Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh and SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar flagged off the procession with an 'ardas' by Takht Kesgarh Sahib Jathedar Giani Mall Singh in the presence of thousands of devotees.
Terming the beginning of procession as a historic event, Sukhbir Badal also urged the SGPC to take the yatra to adjoining states such as Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. "Our Sikh brethren are living outside Punjab also. I urge the SGPC president to organize similar processions in other states, so that Sikhs settled there can also have glimpse of the rare relics," Sukhbir said.
The holy relics, which are being displayed in a specially-designed 15m bus for devotees, include three different swords, a set of hair with comb, a turban, a 'chola' (cloak), a whip, a bunch of five arrows, a 'siri sahib' (small three-inch dagger), a spear with a wooden handle, a small plain steel spear, a big sword and a sword with engravings.
Besides this, a manuscript in Guru Gobind Singh's handwriting would also be displayed. To facilitate the devotees at night, the bus has 13 screens, which would showcase the relics and their history by a film.