The Akal Takht today asked the Sikh community to unite to save Punjab from drug menace, a day after Chief Minister Amarinder Singh urged the Jathedar of the highest temporal seat of Sikhism to issue an appeal against drug abuse.
"As per Sikh tenets, Sikhs were asked for divine intoxication to experience the spiritual world but unfortunately these teachings of the Gurus were distorted and some people were indulging in drug addiction, which was a highly condemnable act," Akal Takht Jathedar Gyani Gurbachan Singh said in the appeal.
The appeal has come about a fortnight after the Jathedar had urged the Punjab government to take strict measures to curb the menace, amid reports of people dying due to drug overdose.
The Punjab government is facing criticism from several quarters over its alleged failure to curb the drug menace.
The Jathedar said unscrupulous elements were spreading the menace in the state. "It was a matter of deep concern for the Sikh community as well as Punjab," he said.
He said the Punjab government, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and other religious organisations and NGOs were working to save Punjab from drug menace.
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But this was not enough, he said.
He asked schools, colleges, theatre groups, doctors and cultural artistes to come forward for this cause.
He said the Punjab government should adopt strict measures to break the nexus of those supporting the illicit drug trade.
Yesterday, Chief Minister Singh had urged the Jathedar to issue an appeal to the Sikh community not to resort to drug abuse and strictly follow the path shown by the Sikh Gurus.
"Sri Akal Takht Sahib - the highest temporal seat of Sikhism - had always played a pro-active role whenever the state was faced with any sort of crisis from a religious perspective," the chief minister had said in a letter to the Jathedar.
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