By Sam Bennison

Community

Prince George celebrates the 325th anniversary of the Khalsa

May 18, 2024 | 4:04 PM

PRINCE GEORGE— Vaisakhi took place in Prince George on Saturday with hundreds of Sikh people coming to celebrate their faith and their culture.

“Vaisakhi for the Sikh faith is basically the birthday of Sikhism. In April in 1699 our faith was formalizing and we where given our identity,” explains Gurkirat Kaur Kandola, a volunteer for Vaisakhi.

While Vaisakhi technically happens in April, the community in Prince George holds it in May when it’s warmer and more people can come and learn about Sikhism. Part of the celebrations included the Nagar Kirtan- the parade- singing, martial arts performance, and sharing meals with the community. Gurkirat hopes that by coming together we can overcome the harmful stereotypes that affect her community.

“I think there can be a lot of stereotypes around, people, based on the way they look, especially people like me, like turbaned women,” says Gurkirat. “So, I think it’s an important event not only to celebrate the birth of our faith, but also, to allow the community to understand who the Sikh are.”

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According to Onkar Singh, a Sikh Priest, Sikh is the fifth largest religion in the world with about 1.2 million practitioners in North America. Sikhism is not a mix of Hinduism and Islam but rather an independent religion that celebrates helping individuals and communities to realize spiritual and political freedom.

The religion was laid out by 10 Gurus who developed Khalsa Panth, the body of collective Sikh leadership.

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Email: sam.bennison@pattisonmedia.com