Millions of Sikhs around the world are celebrating the centuries-old festival of Vaisakhi, one of the most important dates in the Sikh calendar. The festival marks several important dates, including the spring harvest festival, the Punjabi New Year and the year Sikhism was born as a collective faith in 1699.
In India, the main celebrations take place at Talwandi Sabo, the Gurudwara at Anandpur Sahib and at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
In Pakistan, Vaisakhi is celebrated by Sikhs at the shrines of Panja Sahib and Nankana Sahib, the birth place of Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev.
A Nihang (Sikh religious warrior) pays his respects at the Golden Temple in AmritsarNarinder Nanu/AFPA Nihang – a Sikh warrior – takes a dip in the water at the Golden Temple in AmritsarNarinder Nanu/AFPA man cleans the holy sarover (water tank) at the Golden Temple in AmritsarNarinder Nanu/AFPIndian Sikh devotees eat a communal vegetarian meal at Langar Ghar, a community hall at the Golden Temple in AmritsarNarinder Nanu/AFPA man puts sweets into plastic bags for free distribution to devotees during the Vaisakhi festival celebrations at the Golden Temple in AmritsarNarinder Nanu/AFPIndian Sikh pilgrims wave from a train bound for Pakistan, at a railway station in AmritsarNarinder Nanu/AFPIndian Sikh pilgrims arrive in Pakistan via the Wagah borderArif Ali/AFPA Sikh devotee throws petals as the procession passes by during the Vaisakhi festival at Panja Sahib shrine in Hassan AbdelCaren Firouz/ReutersA Sikh devotees watches the Vaisakhi festival procession at Panja Sahib shrine in Hassan Abdel, PakistanCaren Firouz/ReutersSikh devotees watch the Vaisakhi festival procession at Panja Sahib shrineCaren Firouz/ReutersSikh pilgrims gather at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib, one of Sikhism's holiest places, during the Vaisakhi festival in Hasan AbdelFarooq Naeem/AFPA Sikh devotee with Henna-decorated hands uses her mobile phone at Panja Sahib shrineCaren Firouz/ReutersA Sikh pilgrim dips his son in Gurdwara Panja Sahib, a shrine of the Sikh community's spiritual saint, in Hasan Abdel, PakistanFarooq Naeem/AFP
