AMRITSAR INDIA, April 3, 2004: About 150 birs (books) of Sri Guru Granth Sahib were airlifted from Amritsar to Canada on a chartered plane. Jaswinder Singh Advocate of Akal Purakh Ki Fauj said that birs would be received by Prime Minister of Canada and would be placed at a Gurdwara before being transported to other Gurdwaras across North America. He said the attempt would prove to be the platform for transporting birs to other countries in future. Surjit Babra who came from Canada said the old and tattered birs of Sri Guru Granth Sahib would be replaced with these with full maryada (respect). He said besides panj payara, two sewadars and 17 crewmembers were accompanying the bir and the plane did not carry any cargo. In the Sikh tradition, the Guru Granth, the holy scriptures of Sikhism, are to be transported just as if they were the holy guru himself, hence each had its own seat on the plane.
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