VAIRAGYA AUR BALIDAN KA CHANDNI CHOWK By Brij Bhushan Goyal (Hindi) Review by Dr Jernail Singh Anand

REVIEW

VAIRAGYA AUR BALIDAN KA CHANDNI CHOWK

By Brij Bhushan Goyal
(Hindi)

Review by Dr Jernail Singh Anand

Generally, on the festive occasions, books to commemorate various historic moments are published and so far as Sikh Gurus are concerned, the books are either in Punjabi or in English. This is the first book that I have come across which has been written in Hindi as a mark of respect to the 350th year of the martyrdom of the great Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib. Guru Sahib spent most of his time in an underground cell in meditation and contemplation. However, when he was approached by Kashmiri Pundits, to save their religion, the great Guru told them to tell Aurangzeb that he should first convert the Guru. This message was conveyed to the Mughal Emperor, a religious fanatic, who wanted to spread Islam through forcible conversions. The Guru consistently refused to accept his suggestions to convert, or to show miracles as a result of which, he ordered the beheading of the Guru at Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, along with several other Sikhs who had come to Delhi with the Guru. The Guru was beheaded by Aurangzeb and other Sikhs were also martyred after giving them limitless tortures. It was in 1675 after which the fall of the Mughal Empire set in.

By laying down his life peacefully, the Guru had set the highest example of peaceful resistance to a tyrannical ruler. Prior to him, the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev ji had also been martyred by making him sit on a hot plate. It was also an act of passive resistance. The Islamic rulers wanted to fight the Sikhs with force. But Sikhism has shown the way to the world how a peaceful movement can shake the roots of a great empire.

The book ‘Vairgya aur Balidan ka Chandni Chowk’, dedicated to 350th year the martyrdom of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur and his Followers, has been compiled by Sh. Brij Bushan Goyal as an act of great devotion for the great Guru and his great sacrifice for the country which set the stage for the formation of the Khalsa Panth in 1699 at Anandpur Sahib. After that, the tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh was engaged in fierce struggle with the Mughals in which he lost his four sons and his revered mother also, but it shook the foundations of the Mughal rule.

I appreciate the great work that Sh Brij Bushan Goyal, a distinguished alumnus of S.C.D. Govt. College, Ludhiana has accomplished. As a student of Govt. College, I had also contributed an article Hind Di Chadar to College magazine [Sandhya Deep] which could not be located. However, the list of the alumni who contributed articles which were translated into Hindi is pretty long and shows how much effort has gone into it. Apart from articles and poetry by great scholars, who happened to be the alumnus of this College, Sh. Goyal has compiled and edited the articles which were written in 1975 when 300th year of the Guru’s Martyrdom was celebrated all over the world. The author feels that the great message of the Guru, which was lying concealed in the books in Libraries must reach the world which reads Hindi. Mr. Goyal translated highly philosophical articles written in Punjabi and English into Hindi himself. These articles were published in the special supplement of Sutlej in 1975. The various sources from which necessary help was sought have been duly acknowledged, such as ‘Gurugranthdarpannet.’ Dr. Kulbir singh Thind and Gurbanifilesnet with a scholarly foreword by Dr Balwinderpal singh, Editor, Sada Virsa Sada Gaurav, Guru Gobind singh Study circle.

The illustrious contributors of this edition include Methili Sharan Gupt. Giani Lal singh, former President, PPSC and Director, Languages Dept., Punjab. Dr. Taran singh, former Prof and Head, Dept. of Guru Granth Sahib Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala, S. Gurbax Singh Preetlarhi, S. Ranjodh Singh, Industrialist, S. Himmat Singh IPS (Retd); Rajni Khanna, Col. Dr. Dalvinder singh Grewal, Prof. Prem Kumar Sharma, Dr. Puran Singh, Dr. Kirpal Singh, Dr. Khadak singh and Principal Surjit Singh and some poetry by eminent Punjabi poets, Sh. Gurbhajan Gill, Sh. S.S. Misha, Dr. Bhupinder Kaur, Hari Singh Jachak, to mention a few of them.

This work is unique as it underlines a great message that Sikh Gurus were able to set up a faith which inspired confidence in all the sections of society. Punjab was a unified entity, unbroken by any religious divide, about which Prof. Puran Singh, the great sage poet of Punjab has said: “Punjab Sara Jeenda Guran de Naam te’ [Punjab lives by the name of the Gurus] and this endeavour by Sh. Brij Bhushan Goyal proves him right.

As a Punjabi, and as a Sikh, and also, an alumnus of the Govt College, Ludhiana, I feel impelled to say that, apart from its reverential aspect, the work undertaken by Sh Brij Bhushan Goyal possesses a great referential value in Sikh literature as well as in literature of Punjab as it carries treasures of wisdom from the topmost scholars of Punjab

Dr Jernail Singh Anand, with an opus of 190 plus books, is Laureate of the Seneca, Charter of Morava, Franz Kafka and Maxim Gorky awards.  His name adorns the Poets’ Rock in Serbia. Anand is a towering literary figure whose work embodies a rare fusion of creativity, intellect, and moral vision. He’s not just an Indian author but a global voice, challenging readers to confront the complexities of existence while offering hope through art and ethics.