Punjab government has announced gazetted holiday on the birth anniversary of Guru Nabha Dass, a 16th century saint, taking it out from list of restricted holidays.
Who was Guru Nabha Dass?
- Guru Nabha Dass was born on April 8, 1537 at village Bhadrachalam on the bank of Godavari river in Khammam district, which falls in the present day Telangana.
- He belonged to Mahasha also known as doom or dumna community, which is one of the Schedule Caste communities.
- Since childhood, orphaned Guru Nabha Dass, whose original name was Narayan Dass, had an inclination towards spirituality.
- Two religious gurus — Agar Dass and Keel Dass — who were passing through his village took the orphan child to a temple at Ghalta Dham, which is now main pilgrimage of Nabhadassias, at Jaipur.
- People from this community are also known as Nabhadassias. They are known for making baskets and grain storage containers with bamboo.
His legacy
- Guru Nabha Dass wrote ‘Bhagatmal’ in 1585.
- It has the life history of around 200 saints. He died in 1643.
What is his connection with Punjab?
- Guru Nabha Dass used to visit village Pandori in Gurdaspur district where people of Doom community live.
- Some gurus of the community also used to live there.
What made government announce gazetted holiday now?
- Political parties can’t manage to ignore the sentiments of such a large community.
- The community had been requesting the government to declare April 8 as a gazetted holiday since long.
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