CJI on dais, Dosanjh recites ‘first they came for…’, talks of Auschwitz
The speech focusing on
Nanak’s teachings in context of the detention centres existing around the world
was delivered by former Attorney General of British Columbia and former Canada
Federal Minister Ujjal Dosanjh.
WITH CHIEF Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde seated
on the dais, the stories of Auschwitz concentration camp and about the
“silence” surrounding the existence of detention centres in Assam and outside
India found a noticeable mention at an international conference celebrating
550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on Saturday in
Chandigarh. German Lutheran pastor Martin
Niemoller’s poem “first they came for….” was also read at the event organised
by Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana.
The speech focusing on Nanak’s teachings in context of
the detention centres existing around the world was delivered by former
Attorney General of British Columbia and former Canada Federal Minister Ujjal
Dosanjh. Beginning his speech with a reference to the
anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz camp, Dosanjh said “hold the thought”
and went on to describe the relevance of Nanak’s teachings in today’s world.
Saying that Nanak was not only a scholar and thinker but also an activist and a
critic, Dosanjh said the Guru cannot be reduced to mere scriptures.
“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,” he said....
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/cji-on-dais-dosanjh-recites-first-they-came-for-talks-of-auschwitz/