BAISAKHI OR VAISAKHI
On this memorable Baisakhi day (March,30 of A.D.1699) , Guru Gobind
Singh Sahib called a big meeting at Kesgarh Sahib near the City of
Anandpur Sahib. Between fifty to eighty thousand Sikhs attended this
meeting. When all were expecting to hear words of comfort and
consolation from the lips of their Guru, they were perturbed to see
him with a drawn sword in his hand and cried ' Is there anyone here
who would lay down his life for Dharam?' There was a big silence, but
the Guru went on repeating his demand. At the third call Daya Ram, a
Khatri of Lahore, rose from his seat and offered himself. The Guru
took him into an adjoining enclosure....(and soon after) came out with
the (blood) dripping....(sword in hand) and flourshing it before the
gathering, asked again, 'Is there any other Sikh here who will offer
himself as a sacrifice(for the cause of dharma)? At this Daram Das, a
Jat of Delhi (Haryana side) came forward and was taken into the
enclosure....(The Guru again came out with the blood-stained sword,
and made his previous demand). In the same way three other men stood
up, one after another, and offered themselves for the sacrifice. One
was Mohkam Chand, a chhimba of Dwarka (Gujarat State); another was
Himmat, a cook of Jagannath (Orissa State); and the third was Sahib
Chand, a barber of Bidar (Karnataka State). The Guru, after dressing
the five in handsome clothes, brought them from the assembly.
These five were then administered 'Khande di Pahul' (the double-edged
Sword Amrit). They were then knighted as Singhs, as the Five beloved
ones, the first members of the Order of the Khalsa. The Guru then
asked them to administer the Pahul to him in the same manner in which
he had given the Pahul to them, and it was done so.
With the creation of Khalsa, the Khalsa created history and since the
birth of Khalsa, the history of Punjab has been the history of Sikhs.
Baisakhi played a significant role in this regard. In 1762, Ahmed Shah
Abdali, with the sole purpose to destroy the entire Sikh nation,
declared 'Jehad'(holy-war) against the Sikhs and all the Muslims of
the Punjab rallied under this slogan. The Sikhs were surrounded near
the village Kup in Ludhiana District. Chronicles mention that about
twenty thousand Sikhs were martyred in a single day. This event is
known in the history of the Sikhs as "Ghallughara" (Bloody
Carnage). After this, Ahmed Shah Abdali thought that he had crushed
the entire Sikh nation, but was greatly disillusioned when after a few
months heard that the Sikhs in large number are celebrating Baisakhi
at Amritsar. In due course of time Baisakhi reminds every Sikh of his
cultural and religious heritage. On Baisakhi day all the Sikhs used to
assemble at Amritsar and decide their problems relating to politics
and religion. This convention still goes on.
The celebrations of Baisakhi are similar to the three-day schedule of
the the celebrations of other Gurpurabs. It is generally celebrated on
13th April every year.
