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          Amritsar: Thousands of Sikhs visited holy shrines across the country on the occasion of the 534th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism. Devotees in Amritsar paid obeisance at the world famous Golden temple. In New Delhi, Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani alongwith his family members offered prayers at the famous Rakab Ganj shrine. The day is also celebrated as "Prakash Divas", an equivalent of Diwali or festival of lights.

          Guru Nanak was born in 1469 in the then Punjab region of undivided Indian subcontinent. Troubled by frequent conflicts between Hindu and Muslim communities, he tried to work out a synthesis of the two religions. His mission gained popularity among the masses and eventually evolved into the Sikh religion. After his death in 1539, he was succeeded by his disciples, who became Gurus in their turn. The tenth and last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, converted the Sikhs into a militant community to combat the then Muslim rulers of the country. Members of the then Sikh community were baptised in water stirred by a dagger. Those baptised were known as "Khalsa" (pure) with the designation of Singh (Lion).

          Majority of the Sikhs forming two per cent of the country's more than one billion population, live in northern India, particularly in Punjab and in Delhi.
-Nov 8, 2003