Arjun Dev anniversary: 800 Indian Sikhs arrive in Pak

         Lahore: Eight hundred Indian Sikh pilgrims, mostly elderly people, have arrived here to participate in the 401st death anniversary of their fifth Guru, Guru Arjun Dev. The devotees were overwhelmed to receive the warm welcome be the people of Pakistan upon their arrival at Wagah Railway Station. Sardar Raghbir Singh, member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) of Amritsar , said this was his seventh visit to Pakistan and he never felt like a foreigner in the country. "Pakistan is like my own country and we Sikhs want better relations between India and Pakistan ," the Daily Times quoted him as saying. "We are here to worship and not to talk politics. Every Indian Sikh wants to visit worship places in Pakistan ," said Guljit Gohar, an old lady from Amritsar . From station, the pilgrims left for Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib. They will stay in Nankana for two days and will visit Sacha Sauda Sahib in Farooqabad.
- June 9, 2007

Amarnath yatra: Registration for 2007 begins

          Jammu: Registration for the annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath has started. It will continue till June 15. Pilgrims can register through the designated branches of Jammu and Kashmir Bank across the country. "Two hundred and thirty thousand people will be registered throughout the country. In this, 96 of our branches are involved and it will be done till June 15. In Jammu, we will register 9,000 people, of that 4,500 will go from Baltal and rest 4,500 will proceed from Chandanvadi. From Jammu and Kashmir province, 11,280 people will be registered," said R.P. Sharma, Deputy General Manager of the bank. Militants have often targeted the two-month long pilgrimage, but the last three years have been peaceful. "Jammu and Kashmir is a militancy affected state but the grace of lord Shiva will act as a protective trinity for us. If we have to die we can die anywhere but there we are under protection," said Sanjeev Sharma, a pilgrim. The date of the beginning of the pilgrimage is yet to be decided. he annual pilgrimage that started in June will come to an end on the full moon day of August, when the main rituals will be held inside cave shrine. The Amarnath yatra is a symbol of 'Kashmir's composite culture' and would be incomplete without the active support of the local people and both pilgrim and traditional tourism had proved a boon to the state's economy.
- June 2, 2007

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