Guru who introduced brotherhood commemorated

Sikh devotees in India have just celebrated the 342nd birth anniversary of the tenth and last guru, Guru Gobind Singh, the warrior-martyr who created the concept of brotherhood (khalsa).

In Patna, the birthplace of the guru, the celebrations included processions and free meals (langars) and the distribution of holy food (prasad).

Guru Gobind Singh was a social reformer who shaped the Sikh religion as we know it today with the formation of the khalsa.

Its members have to possess the five Ks – Kes (long hair), Kangha (comb), Kirpan (dagger), Kachha (shorts) and Kara (steel bracelet).

The guru’s anniversary commemorates his military prowess in combating the might of the Mughals in the late 1600s and early 1700s as well as his idea of brotherhood.