Siliguri, 13th April: On the occasion of Vaisakhi/Baisakhi (the annual spring harvest festival), the Khalsa Panth was founded by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh in the year 1699. With the establishment of the Khalsa Panth, Guru Gobind Singh initiated the Five K’s tradition of the Khalsa: Kesh: uncut hair, Kangha: a wooden comb, Kara: an iron or steel bracelet worn on the wrist, Kirpan: a sword or dagger and Kacchera: short breeches. Since then, every year on the foundation day of the Khalsa Panth Vaisakhi festival is celebrated.
On the foundation day of Khalsa Panth, the Gurdwara in Siliguri is decorated extravagantly. Bhartiya Janta Party candidate (BJP) Shankar Ghosh, from the Siliguri constituency, visited the Gurdwara and took the blessing by touching the feet of the Sikh Guru. During this, Shankar Ghosh also ate in the langar.
Shankar Ghosh said that the Khalsa Panth was established on April 13 and the Sikh community considers Vaisakhi as a festival, a new year for the Sikh community. Meanwhile, many programmes were organized in the presence of the BJP leader.
Shankar Ghosh, while attending the programme in Gurdwara said that the Vaishaki festival is the culture of India and he paid a visit to the Gurdwara to join in the happiness of the Sikh community.
