Bandi Chhor Divas

Culture of origin: Sikh · Cultural

Holiday sources: Sikhism

Bandi Chhor Divas, the 'day of release of the prisoners', remembers the release of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru, from the Mughal fort of Gwalior; Sikhs believe he also freed 52 Rajput hill rajas whom the emperor Jahangir had imprisoned. On the new moon of Kattak the Golden Temple is lit with thousands of lights and the Akal Takht's jathedar gives an annual address to the Sikhs. The SGPC keeps the evening of the new moon, a day after Hindu Diwali when the new moon lasts into the second evening, as in 2024 (November 1) and 2025 (October 21). In 2024 the Akal Takht's jathedar asked Sikhs to light only ghee lamps, as the fortieth anniversary of the 1984 massacre, which began on the same date, was marked.