PM to attend Guru Nanak's 550th birth anniversary event

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over a function to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikh faith, at Sultanpur Lodhi on November 9, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Saturday.

Badal said President Ram Nath Kovind will attend the main event on November 12 while Union Home Minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of several states will be present at the November 11 function at Sultanpur Lodhi.

It is said that Guru Nanak Dev stayed at Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district for more than 14 years and attained enlightenment. The function there will be held from November 1 to 12, Badal said.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief, who was in West Bengal on Saturday, urged the Sikh community to visit Sultanpur Lodhi and Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.

He said the Kartarpur corridor would be opened on November 9 and then devotees could pay obeisance at the historic Gurdwara in Pakistan.

Badal also urged people to do their utmost to propagate the messages of Guru Nanak Dev and expose the new generation to the teachings of the first Sikh Guru.