New Delhi: Former Attorney General of British Columbia and former Canada Federal Minister Ujjal Dosanjh on Saturday drew a parallel between detention centres in Assam and those in other parts of the world at a meet attended by Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde.
At an international conference to celebrate Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary in Chandigarh, he spoke about how Guru Nanak, who stood for safeguarding people’s rights, would have spoken out against them.
Talking about the threats of the present day polity and how various actions committed in the past warn us consequences, the lawyer-politician quoted German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemollar’s poem “first they came for…” where he spoke of crimes against committed against Jews, Romas and Gypsies by the Nazis.
“He said ‘first first they came for communists; and I did not speak out because I was not a communist. Then they came for the socialists; and I did not speak because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists; and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews; and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me…’,” the Indian Express quoted Dosanjh.
Dosanjh also questioned the “silence” surrounding the detention centres in Assam, China and the United States and said Nanak would have acted very differently.
“You think Nanak would be silent in face of all that…the Nanak who said raaje seeh mukadham kute (The kings have become lions, and their subordinates are no better than dogs)… he said that to Babar…he challenged Babar, the excesses of Babar’s invasions. Nanak would not have remained silent. Nanak would have spoken out. Nanak would have been on frontlines. He was a preacher, debater, challenger, he was irreverent”.
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The Canadian leader began his speech while referring to the anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz camp. He said Nanak’s teachings remained relevant even today as he was also an activist and a critic who would speak about how the rights of all.
“I cannot imagine Nanak sitting day in and day out reading poetry…spiritual poetry. My Nanak would ask me…you have read it, understood it.. what will you do to change the world? Nanak’s verse is ‘pavan guru pani pita mata dharat mahat (air is our teacher, water our father, and Earth, the great mother)’. He did not say Punjab was mahat. He did not say India was mahat. He said dharat mahat. He would have never…said Punjab is for Punjabis and Assam is for Assamese…Hungary is only for Hungarian white people. Nanak would have never stood silent in face of all that is happening in this world.”
Dosanjh also criticised the thought that supports the setting up of detention centres. He said he has been to the Auschwitz camp where over a million Jews were exterminated. “They were in detention camps. If you have detention camps today, be there in China, be there in Assam, be there in Trump’s United States of America… imprisoning children who are trying to run from poverty and injustice to freedom…He (Guru Nanak) would have said raaje seeh mukadham kute (The kings have become lions, and their subordinates are no better than dogs)… Nanak would ask me are you speaking up… did you just read… did you just make a speech or did you go fight on the frontlines and find change in the world”.
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Dosanjh ended his speech by exhorting people to stand up against all wrong. “We must stand up for freedom, liberty, justice and equality… Isn’t that what Nanak is all about. If you want to pay true homage to Nanak, then let Guru Nanak speak.”
Earlier in his address, Justice Surya Kant of Supreme Court said that the apex court has repeatedly called for preserving constitutional identity and morality.
“Guru Nanak’s teachings are more relevant in contemporary times, when humanity is passing through all shades of serious conflicts. Many of us consider themselves, their caste or religion to be superior to others. This is root cause of all crisis. It has descended to such a level that we are living in the lurking fear of third world war. The need of hour is that everyone – regardless of caste, creed or religion, should imbibe the philosophy of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji in letter and spirit and practice universal brotherhood and social justice,” he said.
Chief Justice Bobde said Guru Nanak stood for the cause of equality and justice. “Guru Nanak would demonstrate that all religions were equal and deserved to be equally respected by all. The ideas behind equality of all human beings as well as universal brotherhood formed the philosophy of the holy Guru Granth sahib (Sikh holy book) which we know the collection of poetic hymns through which Guru Nanak delivered his divine guidance,” the CJI said.
The Chief Justice also insisted that just like his teachings transcend all boundaries, “Guru Nanak and his philosophy do not belong only to Punjab or the Sikh religion but his persona and his teachings have gifted pearls of sanity and wisdom to whole world.”