Sikh body to take out nagar kirtan on Sunday

New Delhi : A Sikh body on Thursday said it will take out a 'nagar kirtan' (religious procession) from Delhi to Gurdwara Sri Gian Godri Sahib in Haridwar on November 9 to reclaim land for the shrine ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

The All India Sikh Conference said it will take out the 'nagar kirtan' from Majnu Ka Tila here to the shrine located on the banks of the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar. "Authorities might try to stop the 'nagar kirtan' from proceeding towards Gyan Godri Sahib.

If they try to do so, it will cause a lot of resentment among the community," Gurcharan Singh Babbar, the president of All India Sikh Conference, said. Guru Nanak Dev had visited Gurdwara Sri Gian Godri Sahib at Har Ki Pauri. The gurdwara was demolished in 1979 and the Sikhs were not allowed to reconstruct it.

In 2017, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management committee (DSGMC) had jointly initiated efforts to get back the land and rebuild the shrine, Babbar said.