• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced that all Indian diplomatic missions would celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of the founder of Sikh faith Guru Nanak.

About:

• Indian diplomatic and cultural missions across the world will organise prayers and festivities to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
• The move is seen as a counter to the pro-Khalistan rally in London.
• To take the message of Guru Nanak to the world. His message of sharing the fruits of good deeds with all is the right teaching in this era when I, me, myself is the dominating idea.
• The message of One God taught by Guru Nanak is similar to the Indian teaching in the Shastras.
• Guru Granth Sahib is the best representative of the Indian understanding of multiple versions of truth. Guru Granth Sahib is the only holy book in the world which apart from the ten gurus of Sikh faith also contains messages (vaanis) of other learned saints and great souls (belonging to other faiths).

Pro-Khalistan Rally:

• A pro and an anti-Khalistan rally took place in central London on Sunday
• In a rally at the Trafalgar Square, for the support of a non-binding referendum in 2020, dubbed the London Declaration, for an independent Sikh nation.
• The group was organised by the US-based group Sikhs for Justice, though the rally attracted demonstrators from across the UK.
• The rally has drawn the ire of the Indian government, which has called it a ‘separatist activity, which impinges on India’s territorial integrity.
• Pro-Khalistan groups based out of India, have refused to support the referendum and instead, have asked searing questions of the campaign and its effectiveness.

Guru Nanak:

• Guru Nanak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539) was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.
• Guru Nanak’s words are registered in the form of 974 poetic hymns in the holy text of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib.
• Guru Nanak travelled far and wide teaching people the message of one God who dwells in every one of His creations and constitutes the eternal Truth.
• He set up a unique spiritual, social, and political platform based on equality, fraternal love, goodness, and virtue.
• Guru Nanak emphasised Bhakti, and taught that the spiritual life and secular householder life are intertwined.
• Guru Nanak emphasised Nam Japna (or Naam Simran), that is repetition of God’s name and attributes, as a means to feel God’s presence.
• Guru Nanak appointed Bhai Lehna as the successor Guru, renaming him as Guru Angad, meaning “one’s very own” or “part of you”. Shortly after proclaiming Bhai Lehna as his successor, Guru Nanak died on 22 September 1539 in Kartarpur, at the age of 70.