Sikhs gather for Vaisakhi harvest festival in Pakistani border town

(14 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hasan Abdal - 14 April 2024
1. Various of Gurdwara Panja Shaib, pilgrims gathered to celebrate Vaisakhi festival
2. Various of Sikh procession
3. Various of pilgrims praying and performing rituals
4. Various of pilgrim reading holy book
5. SOUNDBITE (Punjabi) Sirbajeet Singh, British pilgrim:
“From far away countries the pilgrims used to come here to visit Panja Sahib Gurdwara. Today we are celebrating 325th (year of) celebrations, you have seen the poster outside. I congratulate to all Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims to Vaisakhi, because all religions were the same, only their names are different. No one is permitted to dishonour any religion, only to respect that religion. All religions are good with their beliefs and faiths. We came from London, and we also came in 2018, this is our second time to visit here.”
6. Pilgrim touching imprints on wall
7. Various of pilgrims bathing in holy pond
8. SOUNDBITE (Punjabi) Gurdas Singh, Indian pilgrim:
"This is a very sacred place, we came here to visit. Today is the Vaisakhi festival and this temple is very old from our ancestors. Our Gurus (religious leaders) came here for worship."
9. Various of pilgrims inside Gurduwara
STORYLINE:
More than ten-thousand Sikh pilgrims from around the world gathered on Sunday at a temple in the Pakistani city of Hasan Abdal, to celebrate the Vaisakhi harvest festival.

The festival of Vaisakhi, also known as Baisakhi, took place at Gurdwara Panja Shaib, in Punjab Province, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

The festival commemorates the day in 1699 when Sikh leader Guru Gobind Singh established certain customs for the Sikh religion - founded 200 years earlier - such as giving all men the name Singh and forbidding them from cutting their hair or beards.

To mark the celebrations, devotees attend the Gurdawara, a Sikh place of worship.

Pilgrims also flock to touch the imprint of a hand on a stone wall believed to be that of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion.

During the celebration, pilgrims also wash, and children pray in the sacred waters that surround the inner sanctum of the Gurdawara. The water has a special significance for the bathers.

Sikhs believe the spring that feeds the moat was created through a miracle performed by Guru Nanak by making an endless fountain of water spring up from barren land.

During their eight-day stay in Pakistan, the pilgrims will also visit several other Sikh temples.

Despite India's and Pakistan's complicated relationship, increasing numbers of people from both nations are now traveling to each other's countries to visit religious sites, meet with relatives and watch sporting events.

There are now an estimated 20 million Sikhs worldwide, the majority being in the Sikh homeland of the Punjab in India.

AP Video shot by Muhammad Yousaf

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