Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh wrote to Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik Saturday, urging to retract his government’s decision to demolish the Mangu Mutt in Puri, which is associated with Sikhism founder Guru Nanak.
Amarinder described as unfortunate the move to demolish the Mutt, which has age-old significance for the Sikh community as Guru Nanak Dev visited the holy site to spread his message of the oneness of God.
“It was shocking that while the whole world was getting ready to commemorate the 550th ‘Prakash Purb’ of the first Sikh Guru, the historically important Mutt, a symbol of the connection between Sikhism and the Jagannath Temple, was sought to be demolished by the Odisha government,” said Amarinder in a statement.
The Mutt is among many structures within 75-metre radius of the Jagannath temple that are being demolished to ensure safety and security of the 12th century shrine, following a decision of the Odisha government led by Patnaik.
Opposing the move, several organisations earlier said at least 12 major mutts and shrines associated with the Jagannath temple are located within 75-metre of the ‘Maghanada Pacheri’ or the boundary wall.
Set up in 1615 by Bhai Almast, a Sikh preacher and head of Dhuari of the Udasi Sect, the Mangu Mutt was also visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1670.
The eldest son of Guru Hargobind, Baba Gurditta, had also chosen Bhai Almast to disseminate Guru Nanak’s message.
Besides, the Mutt was the abode of the Nanak Panthis, who were primarily responsible for taking the Jagannath culture to north India. The image of Baba Shri Chand, Guru Nanak’s son, is kept inside the mutt, it said.