To commemorate the 350th Shaheedi Purab of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji, GNNSJ arranged a number of smagams and events to engage the sangat, and for us to learn about Guru Ji’s life and legacy.
Worldwide Salok Mahalla 9 Jaap
On the 26th July 2025, GNNSJ began a worldwide Salok Mahalla 9 Jaap. This Jaap was designed to engage sangat from around the world by asking them to record the number of jaaps they were able to complete until the worldwide bhog at GNNSJ Birmingham. The arambh and bhog were both live streamed. On a dedicated website, sangat were able to access Salok Mahalla 9 recordings and gutke to support them in the jaap.
Alongside weekly and monthly jaap programmes at GNNSJ, the Jatha also carried out jaaps programmes during their travels around various African countries over the summer. Sangat TV also supported the jaap by playing a ‘read-along’ recording of the Salok Mahalla 9 Jaaps twice a day at 9.30am and 9.30pm.
The bhog was preceeded by a 48-hour Salok Mahalla 9 jaap in the main darbar of GNNSJ Birmingham. By the time of the wordlwide ardas on the 14th December 2025, over 257,161 jaaps had been recorded on the website. Sangat participated from across the UK, USA, Canada, Zambia, Bostwana, Kenya, Australia, India, Sweden, UAE, Germany, Malawi, Malaysia, South Africa, Uganda and Spain. The jaaps also engaged students from Nishkam Gurmat School, Nishkam Primary School and Nishkam High School.
Shaheedi Purab Week
During the week of the Shaheedi Purab, GNNSJ Birmingham carried out two Akhand Paath Sahibs, and 3 days of kirtan, jaap and sukhmani sahib. Special gutke were designed and printed with Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s bani for kirtanee to use throughout their duties.
Vichaar and Santhiya Sessions
Special vichaar sessions were carried out at GNNSJ Birmingham for all ages, exploring the bani of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and the sakhi of the Shaheedi itself. The topics of the sessions were as follows:
- The history of the shaheedi and the journey towards amrit and rehat
- Contextual history of the shaheedi
- Katha of the final pauria of Salok Mahalla 9
- Kirtan of Dasam Bani linking to Guru Ji’s shaheedi, with explanations.
Students in Nishkam Gurmat School were also taught to read Salok Mahalla 9 to participate in the Jaap.
Exhibition: Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji – Life and Legacy
GNNSJ launched an exhibition in the Nishkam Centre exploring the life and legacy of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji. The exhibition was split into four key sections:
- The life history of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji
- Explorations of Salok Mahalla 9
- Reflections on the Khalsa roop in relation to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s life and sacrifice
- Depictions of various shaheedis and sakhiyan throughout Sikh history
The exhibition engaged over 37 volunteers including the creation of 21 original pieces of art. It was well received by the sangat with over 1000 individuals viewing it in the first 3 weeks,
