On April 14 Sikhs all over the world will be celebrating the transformation (in 1699AD) of the community into the Khalsa (Pure) - the community of the saint-soldiers. The festival, celebrated each year, is known as the Baskhi.

In 1699AD the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh introduced a new form of baptism and transformed the pacifist Sikhs into a fraternity of disciplines saint-soldiers dedicated to the protection of the down-trodden and the oppressed.

The word Sikh means disipline or learner, and Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak Dev. The word Guru means enlightener or teacher. Guru Nanak was born in 1469AD in the Punjab area of India. Guru Nanak was followed in sucession by nine other living Gurus who carried on and built upon the foundation he had laid. The tenth and last living Guru, Guru Gobind Singh gave Sikhs their unique and distinct physical appearance. The fifth Guru and subsequently the ninth Guru were put to death by the intolerant rulers of the day, and against this background of persecution and for self-preservation, the Sikhs were ordered to practice weaponry, martial arts and horsemanship.

Guru Gobind Singh organised the Sikhs into a community of saint-soldiers, for whom bravery and justice as much as truth and purity was to be part of their religion. To unite the community, the Guru proclaimed that his Sikhs when Baptised should renounce their caste, background and surnames and would add the common name of Singh for men and Kaur for women (Singh means iron and Kaur means princess). He also proclaimed that Baptised Sikhs should not cut their God given gift of hair, they should were weaponry at all times for self-protection, they should not smoke or drink, but should rather live hygenic and highly moral lives. He also enjoined that as before Sikhs should rise early before dawn, bathe and then meditate on God’s name, and read the holy scriptures, for guidance and inspiration.

He called the new order the Khalsa, meaning pure. The mission of up-lifting and uniting the masses by the Gurus was so successful that the Sikhs eventually formed their own state in the Punjab throwing of the yoke of foreign invaders who had ruled India for 900 years.

Guru Gobind Singh proclaimed that the volume of scriptures written by the Sikh Gurus, known as the Guru Granth Sahib, would be the eternal guru of the Sikhs. So today for guidance and instruction, the Sikhs read the scripturesof the Guru Granth Sahib. He is treated with utmost respect by the Sikhs who bow in front of him with reverence when entereing his presence. Besides containing the Hymns of the Sikh Gurus, also contained are the Hymns of other contemporary saints. Guru Granth Sahib is unique as far as religious scriptures go because it contains authentic and original hymns as they were written by Gurus themselves.

After Guru Gobind Singh, the Sikhs had varying fortunes, but they always had their spirit and tenacity to come back from near extinction. Because the Sikhs were always fighting against the Tyranny and Injustice of the Rulers, they were always a prime target for persecution and genoside. Sikh history is studded with many shining examples of self-sacrifice, martyrdom and unflinching courage in the face of torture and death.

To celebrate Basakhi, the local Sikh communities hold a procession through the village to a temple. The celebrations usually continue until April 14. Keeping in tune with the self-sacrifice spirit of Basakhi, local Sikhs often donate blood at this time.