WASHINGTON: A US-based Sikh outfit today appealed to Sikhs in India and elsewhere to celebrate March 14 as World Sikh Environment Day, as a tribute to Guru Har Rai the seventh Sikh Guru.
Since 2010, ‘EcoSikh’ has been engaging Sikhs to take action on nature preservation and to combat the threat of the climate change.
March 14 marks the enthronement day of Guru Har Rai who is remembered for his sensitivity for nature and animals, a media release said.
“He is perhaps the first environmentalist in South Asia who during his reign from 1644 to 1661 started and promoted herbal gardens and wild life refuge and exhorted Sikhs to care for nature,” EcoSikh said.
“The world, particularly the South Asia region including Punjab, is facing a great threat due to climate change. India has lost forest area at an alarming rate in the last two decades and Punjab only has four per cent forest area and it is our moral duty to take action. Sikh Environment Day is one such attempt,” said Rajwant Singh, president of EcoSikh.-PTI
