Bandi Chhor Divas

Bandi Chhor Divas (Punjabi: ਬੰਦੀ ਛੋੜ ਦਿਵਸ (Gurmukhi); meaning "Day of Liberation" or "Release of Prisoners Day"), also known as Bandi Chhor Dihara, is a Sikhcelebration of Diwali commemorating the day when the sixth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Hargobind were released from Gwalior Fort, whom Sikhs believe also freed fifty-two Rajput rajas of the Hill Chieftainships alongside him, who had been imprisoned by Mughal EmperorJahangir.

Emperor Jahangir had held 52 Princes at the Gwalior Fort for several months. Gurdwara Data Bandi Chhor Sahib is located at the place of the Guru's internment in the Fort. The day falls in autumn and often overlaps with Hindu Diwali, the festival of lights celebrated across Punjab and the rest of India. Historically, from the time of the third Sikh Guru Amar Das, Sikhs and Hindus of the time used the occasion of Diwali, Vaisakhi and other such festivals to congregate at the seat of the Gurus. In 2003, Sikh religious leaders and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee led by Prof. Kirpal Singh Badungar formally adopted this day into the Nanakshahi calendar. Part of the reason of labelling the Sikh celebration of Diwali in the 2003 new Nanakshahi calendar under the term Bandi Chhor Divas was to emphasize the Sikh faith's independence from Hinduism.

The Bandi Chhor Divas is celebrated by the lighting up of homes and Gurdwaras, celebratory processions (nagar kirtan) and langar (community kitchen). It is an important Sikh celebration along with Vaisakhi, Hola Mohalla and Gurpurab. It is one of three Sikh celebrations still calculated using the traditional Bikrami calendar, alongside Vaisakhi and Guru Nanak Gurpurab, where as the rest are determined now as per the Nanakshahi calendar.