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Indian PM, Prez Greet Nation on 10th Sikh Guru’s 353rd Birth Anniversary as Devotees Throng Shrines

New Delhi (Sputnik): The Sikh community across India is commemorating the 353rd birth anniversary of the 10th Sikh guru - Guru Gobind Singh - on Thursday. He is remembered for establishing a community of Sikh warriors called Khalsa Panth to fight against oppression from the regime.
Sputnik

As people in India celebrate the birth anniversary of Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other political leaders also congratulated the Sikh community and people at large on this auspicious occasion, recalling the teachings of the warrior guru.

The country’s top leaders joined other devotees on social media to greet the nation.

​Guru Gobind Singh, the last spiritual master, became a warrior Sikh leader at the age of nine after the demise of the ninth Sikh guru and his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur.

Born in Patna city in India’s Bihar state, Guru Gobind Singh is remembered for waging war against the tyrant rule of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

Some of the Twitterati chose to share pictures of gurdwaras (Sikh shrines) related to the 10th guru, while others greeted community members.

Pilgrims thronged important Sikh shrines such as the Golden Temple in Amritsar city in India’s Punjab state to mark the occasion.

​In Pakistan, which houses many important Sikh shrines, Kartarpur Gurdwara has been closed to non-Sikhs for three days.
India’s new daily Punjab Kesari quoted Evacuee Trust Property Board spokesperson Aamir Hashmi as saying that the Pakistani government has decided to close Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara for three days, from 3 to 5 January for non-Sikhs.

The Kartarpur Sahib Corridor connecting Indian and Pakistani pilgrims through a special route was inaugurated on 9 November to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.

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