NBT’s titles commemorating 550th year of Guru Nanak Dev to be released by HRD Minister & Minister for Food Processing Industries

The year 2019 is being celebrated worldwide as the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. World over the occasion is marked by book releases, panel discussions, deliberations, seminars, etc. on the life and teachings of Guru Nanak Dev.

On this occasion, the National Book Trust, India has published three titles – Guru Nanak Bani, Nanak Bani, and Sakhian Guru Nanak Dev – to spread the message of Guru Nanak Dev’s writings amongst readers of Indian sub-continent. These books published originally in Punjabi shall be translated into 15 major Indian languages.

The above three titles of National Book Trust, India will be released by Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Hon’ble Minister of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India, and Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Hon’ble Minister for Food Processing Industries, Govt. of India, at Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College, University of Delhi, on the 7th November 2019 at 10.00 am. Other speakers at the occasion will include: Dr Jaswinder Singh, Principal, SGTBKC;
Shri S. Tarlochan Singh, Chairman Governing body SGTBKC, Dr Jaspal Singh, Member NCMEI, and Prof. Govind Prasad Sharma, Chairman NBT.

The National Book Trust, India has already published the Guru Nanak Bani in Urdu, Odia, Marathi, Hindi and Gujarati. The translation in Asamiya, Bangla, Kannada, Sanskrit, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Sindhi and English will be published in due course.

Guru Nanak Dev enunciated a comprehensive philosophy of universal nature which has relevance for all times. His teachings are immensely beneficial across humanity because the teachings, embody all facets of society and life, and they transcend social, religious, colour, creed, ethnic and national barriers and demarcations.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, passed a Resolution in November 2018, to celebrate the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in the year 2019, throughout the country and across the globe, in a grand and befitting manner along with State Governments and the Indian Missions abroad. One of the highlights of the decisions taken in the Cabinet meeting was that the National Book Trust, India will publish
Gurbani in different Indian languages. UNESCO will publish Guru Nanak Dev’s writings in major world languages.

The details of the three books published in Punjabi by National Book Trust, India are: In the book entitled Guru Nanak Bani, compiled by Bhai Jodh Singh has collected various verses from the original Bani of Guru Nanak Dev and collated them theme-wise. The writings of Guru Nanak Dev have relevance in the current scenario as they play the role of beacon to the disillusioned. The book Nanak Bani (compiled by Manjit Singh) is a collection of five prominent writings (paanch bania) of Guru Nanak Dev. The ‘Janamsakhis’ literally meaning birth stories, are writings which profess to be the biographies of Guru Nanak. Sakhian Guru Nanak (compiled by Jagtarjit Singh) is a book based on these life stories of Guru Nanak Dev. This is an illustrated book especially meant for children.

Guru Nanak Dev was born in 1469 in Talwandi, a village in Punjab region. Now known as Nankana Sahib, the village is situated near Lahore in present day Pakistan. Guru Nanak Dev undertook spiritual journeys across India, South Asia, Tibet and Arabia. During these travels he spread the message of ‘One God’ or Ek Onkar who dwells in each of His creations, and that all human beings can have direct access to God without the need of any rituals or priests. Guru Nanak promoted the equality of all humankind. Guru Nanak’s messages are penned down in the form of 974 poetic hymns in the holy text of Sikhism, the ‘Guru Granth Sahib’.