Fatehgarh Sahib: The Sri Guru Granth Sahib University (SGGSU) was launched in this Sikh holy city on Monday with the first academic session being inaugurated by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

The university, set up by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the mini-parliament of Sikh religion, will focus on disseminating philosophy and ideology of the Sikh religion and the Sikh holy book "Granth Sahib". It will also offer professional and vocational courses.

Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the academic session, Badal said that the new university would be a unique institution of higher learning, disseminating the philosophy and ideology of great holy scripture to bring awareness amongst the mankind about the universal message of love, peace, oneness and communal harmony.

The university would not only undertake the research on different aspects of Guru Granth Sahib but also carry out comparative study of other religions to enable the students, researchers and theologians to have better understanding of all the religions, he added.

Badal lauded the role of of the SGPC for the conceptualization of the project.

The university campus is being developed at Fatehgarh Sahib, 60 km from Chandigarh.

SGPC President and founder chancellor Avtar Singh Makkar said that the Rs.500 crore university would be a state of the art premier institutions of the country. The institution, spread in over 84 acres of land, has been funded by the SGPC.

Vice Chancellor Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia said that besides religious studies, the university will offer professional and vocational courses also. IANS