Qaisar Mansoor
15th April marks as the 553 birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism. He was born in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan. However, the anniversary of Nanak’s birth subsequently came to be celebrated on the full moon day of the Kattak month in November.
Prior to ‘Baisakhi’ celebrations, the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued over 2,200 visas to Sikh pilgrims of India to attend the annual festival scheduled from 12-21 April, 2022. The celebration is being held in Pakistan.
The Baisakhi is the most important “Sikh Religious and cultural Gathering” marking the birth of the Sikh faith and every year Pakistan observes participation from all over the world at the shrines of Panja Sahib and Nankana Sahib. In last three years, cultural and religious tourism in Pakistan has shown an upward trend and has witnessed a significant increase in number of tourists from India, Japan, China, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and even Myanmar.
Various holy sites of Hindu and Sikh for the worshippers have been renovated by the government of Pakistan (GoP) in good faith which prominently include Kartarpur and 126-year-old Shiva Temple in Sindh province. Similarly, the visa facilitation for Sikhs to attend Baisakhi celebrations is reflective of Pakistan’s pride in its diverse cultures and their significance in promoting regional peace and connectivity.
Pakistan began preparations for ‘Baisakhi Festival’ after holding a coordination meeting with all the representatives of relevant departments at ETPB office Lahore on 8 March 2022. In Hinduism, Baisakhi or Vaisakhi is celebrated as both cultural and religious festivals. In some parts of India like Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu etc. Vaisakhi marks traditional solar New Year.
Guru Nanak’s teachings laid the basis for a community that now numbers up to 30 million across the world. Guru Nanak advocated the existence of one God and taught his followers that every human being can reach out to God through meditation and other pious practices
Every year, Pakistan welcomes thousands of Sikhs across the world to participate in Guru’s birth celebrations. Pakistan is home to some of the most important Sikh pilgrimage sites which include the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak, Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara and Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal. Recently, on 12 April, over 2,000 Sikh pilgrims entered into Pakistan through Wagah border to attend the annual Baisakhi festival. It is pertinent to mention that Baisakhi is an ancient spring harvest festival of India and Pakistan.
It became closely associated with Sikhism at the end of the 17th century when Guru Gobind Singh chose the date of the festival. The Sikhs celebrate the event by making pilgrimages to their holy sites. Sardar Arvinder Singh, party leader Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (India) said, “Whenever we come to Pakistan, the land of our Gurus, we feel very happy and relaxed. Therefore, this time too, we have come here with a lot of love for the people of Pakistan.” Delhi Gurdwara Management Committee Chief Sardar Sukhbeer Singh said both Pakistan and India had the same culture and they (the pilgrims) always felt comfortable in Pakistan.
