Report (4)
Report (4)
[9]
Vaisakhi, also known as Baisakhi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is
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traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April. It is seen
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as a spring harvest celebration primarily in Punjab and Northern India.
is also the date for the Indian Solar New Year. But to sikhs this is not the new year as
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calendar.
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For Sikhs, in addition to its significance as the harvest festival, during which Sikhs
hold kirtans, visit local gurdwaras, community fairs, hold nagar kirtan processions, raise
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the Nishan Sahib flag, and gather to socialize and share festive foods, Vaisakhi
observes major events in the history of Sikhism and the Indian subcontinent that
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happened in the Punjab region. Vaisakhi as a major Sikh festival marks the birth
of the Khalsa order by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of Sikhism, on 13 April
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1699. Later, Ranjit Singh was proclaimed as Maharaja of the Sikh Empire on
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12 April 1801 (to coincide with Vaisakhi), creating a unified political state.
Vaisakhi was also the day when British Indian Army officer Reginald Dyer ordered his
troops to shoot into a protesting crowd in Amritsar, an event which would come to be
2
known the Jallianwala Bagh massacre; the massacre proved influential to the history of
[19]
the Indian independence movement.
This holiday is observed by Hindus and is known by various regional names in other
parts of India. For many Hindu communities, the festival is an occasion to ritually bathe
in sacred rivers such as Ganges, Jhelum, and Kaveri, visit temples, meet friends, take
part in other festivities, and perform a mandatory daan (charity) especially of hand fans,
water pitchers and seasonal fruits. Community fairs are held at Hindu pilgrimage sites.
In many areas, processions of temple deities are taken out. The holiday also marks the
worship and propitiation of various deities, such as Durga in Himachal Pradesh, Surya
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in Bihar, and Vishnu in southern India. Although Vaisakhi began as a grain harvest
festival for Hindus and its observance predates the creation of Sikhism, it gained
historical association with the Sikhs following the inauguration of the Khalsa