Sikh Devotees Gather at Golden Temple as Baisakhi Pilgrimage Continues Across Borders
Thousands of Sikh devotees have gathered at the Golden Temple, the holiest site in Sikhism, to offer prayers during the festival of Baisakhi, one of the most important dates in the Sikh religious calendar.
The celebrations come alongside large-scale pilgrimages across the border in Pakistan, where key Sikh shrines are located. Despite decades of political tensions between India and Pakistan, religious travel has continued under a 1974 bilateral agreement that allows access to sacred sites.
One of the focal points of the pilgrimage is Gurdwara Panja Sahib, which hosts one of the largest annual Sikh gatherings in Pakistan. This year, around 2,800 Indian pilgrims crossed the Attari-Wagah border to take part in the celebrations, joining thousands of devotees from other countries.
For many Sikhs, the journey holds deep spiritual meaning, as several of their most revered sites, including Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, and Kartarpur Sahib, are located in present-day Pakistan.
Authorities from both countries coordinated security and logistics for the مراسم, reflecting a rare area of cooperation amid otherwise strained relations. Baisakhi, which marks the founding of the Khalsa in 1699, is both a harvest festival and a powerful expression of Sikh identity.
The annual pilgrimage continues to serve as a symbolic bridge between the two nations, offering a moment of shared heritage and faith even as broader political dialogue remains limited.
