Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini attended the 43rd annual mela of Shri Almast Bapu Lal Badshah Ji in Nakodar, Punjab, on Monday, 20 July 2026, describing the occasion as a matter of 'immense honour and good fortune.' He called the fair a sacred medium for spreading messages of love, service, brotherhood and humanity to all people.

Context

Posting on X, CM Saini wrote in Hindi: 'aaj Punjab ke Nakodar ki paavan dhara par... shamil hona mere liye atyant samman aur saubhagya ka vishay raha' — 'attending today on the sacred soil of Nakodar, Punjab, was a matter of immense honour and good fortune for me.' He extended heartfelt wishes to all devotees, sevaadaars (volunteers) and organisers connected with the event. The mela is held annually to commemorate the spiritual legacy of Almast Bapu Lal Badshah Ji, a revered figure whose teachings centre on love, equality, service and humanity.

Nakodar is a town in Jalandhar district, Punjab, long regarded as a hub of Sufi spiritual heritage. CM Saini noted that this sacred land has been the ground of spiritual practice for great souls including Bulle Shah, Baba Murad Shah and Almast Bapu Lal Badshah Ji.

Policy Backdrop

Indian political leaders regularly attend cross-border religious melas and Sufi commemorations to underscore messages of communal harmony and the country's composite cultural tradition. In the Haryana-Punjab context, such participation reflects the shared cultural geography of the two states and the political value placed on inter-state goodwill. CM Saini's presence at a Punjab shrine as a Haryana leader reinforces this pattern of invoking Sufi and Bhakti traditions to build bridges beyond state boundaries.

Bulle Shah, the celebrated 18th-century Sufi saint-poet of Punjab, is widely cited across political and cultural discourse for his verses stressing devotion, love and the transcendence of social divisions. Baba Murad Shah is another spiritual personality associated with Nakodar's sacred sites, making the town a confluence of multiple Sufi traditions.

Stakeholders and Impact

CM Saini used the occasion to articulate a broader social message, stating that India's greatest strength is its unity, and that Sufi saints have performed the great work of weaving that unity with threads of love and humanity. He said: 'When we rise above the narrow boundaries of caste, religion, language and region and regard humanity as supreme, only then will a strong, harmonious and developed India be built.'

The mela draws devotees from across the Punjab-Haryana belt, and CM Saini's attendance signals the continued importance of Sufi shrines as spaces of inter-community dialogue. Organisers, volunteers and the wider community of followers of Almast Bapu Lal Badshah Ji are the primary stakeholders of the annual event.

What's Next

CM Saini expressed his wish that the annual mela continue to spread messages of devotion, service, goodwill, brotherhood and humanity across society in the years to come. Future editions of the Nakodar mela and any state-level initiatives on the preservation of Sufi shrines or cultural harmony programmes in Haryana and Punjab will be worth watching. The Chief Minister's participation may also prompt discussions on greater institutional support for such cross-state cultural events.