Addressing a gathering from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of Guru Teg Bahadur’s 400th birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India has never posed a threat to any country.
Modi said the Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib near the Red Fort stands a symbol of the immortal sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur.
“This holy Gurudwara reminds us how great was the sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji to protect our great culture. At that time there was a storm of religious fanaticism in the country. India, which considered religion as a matter of philosophy, science and self-reflection, was facing people who had committed violence and atrocities in the name of religion,” he said.
At that time, there was a great hope for India to save its identity in the form of Guru Tegh Bahadur, he noted.
“In front of Aurangzeb’s tyrannical thinking, Guru Tegh Bahadur ji, becoming ‘Hind di Chadar’, stood like a rock,” Modi said.
Red Fort is witness that Aurangzeb and tyrants like him might have beheaded many people but our faith could not be separated from us, the prime minister said.
The sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur has inspired many generations of India to live and die to protect the dignity of their culture, for its honour and respect, he said.
Big powers have disappeared, big storms have calmed down, but India still stands immortal and is moving ahead, Modi asserted.
“India has never posed a threat to any country or society. Even today we think for the welfare of the whole world. When we talk about a self-reliant India, we keep the progress of the whole world in front of that goal,” he said.
