By Asia Samachar | Sikhi |
This is new. Some Sikhs would have been receiving greetings for ‘Bandhi Chhor Diwas‘, marking the day when Guru Hargobind would arrive in Amritsar after being released from imprisonment.
It’s a little odd for most of us. All this while, Bandhi Chhor Diwas‘ has been linked to Diwali, which usually falls in November. This particular greeting wish is dated 12 February.
The one received by Asia Samachar was initiaited by Dr Kala Singh, a thinker, speaker and writer based in Canada.
We approached fellow writer and thinker Dr Karminder Singh Dhillon, a regular contributor to this media portal, to explain the Bandhi Chhor Diwas greeting. This is his take on the issue:
“The Guru was imprisoned in Agra and released after two years. The objective was to quell the Sikh anger arising out of the execution of Guru Arjun. Jahangir had also ordered some Hill rajas imprisoned on a host of charges – not paying taxes etc. Their imprisonment had nothing to do with Sikh issues. This much is recorded in the Mugal side of history.
“Jahangir’s wife was of Hindu origin. So its natural and possible that when Jahangir decided to release Guru Hargobind, she pressed him for the release of the rest as well. Guru Hargobind himself would have pressed Jahangir to release them as well given that they were religious or political prisoners.
“The part that is concocted by the Hijackers of Sikhi is the 52 kaliyan vala chola and the Guru reaching Darbar Sahib on Diwali day to celebrate Diwali. The guards at the jail would have been deaf, blind and stupid to allow 52 prisoners to walk out holding on to the dress of the ONLY person who was ordered to be released. And if the other 52 were ordered to be released as well, then there was no need for them to to do the pakhand of hanging on to the Guru’s dress.
“Given the distance between Agra and Amritsar – and given the fact that the Guru would have stopped in multiple places along the way to meet with Sikhs – the writers of Bhatt Vahi put February 12 as the date the Guru arrived in Amritsar. February is not a Divali month.”
RELATED STORY:
Diwali: To celebrate or not to? (Asia Samachar, 27 Oct 2019)
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