Takht Shri Keshgarh Sahib is one of the five important Takhts for the Sikhs. Takht means a throne or seat of authority where all the political and military strategy of Sikhs used to be discussed. It is one of the holiest places for the Sikhs. It is located in the Anandpur Sahib district.
History: Shri Keshgarh Sahib is the birthplace of Khalsa, a way of identifying or differentiating the Sikhs. All the while from the first guru, Guru Nanak, the preaching was to eliminate the discrimination among the people and form a uniform body that promotes equality. Over course of time, many forces tried to dissolve this body and wars were fought by these brave men to protect their principles, values, towns and places of worship. However, with no clear way to differentiate between the way Sikhs looked and the men they fought against there rose several confusion. To avoid all these Khalsa was formed who are the Sikh warriors, the pure loyal followers of the Guru. It was initiated by the last living guru, Guru Gobind Singh on the day of Vaisakhi. From then on came the addressing of men as ‘Singh’ and women as ‘Kaur’. The dress code and code of conduct was also established along with forming Khalsa. The five K’s tradition – Kesh (uncut hair), Kangha (wooden comb that will be inside the turban), Kara (the bracelet), Kirpan (the sword) and the Kacchera (shorts) is followed till date by many Sikhs. If you think about it, it is a very convenient dress code for the warriors. you won’t be able to cut hair when you are away for long, you need a sword to fight and comfortable shorts to ride horses and move about. Every year during the day of Vaisakhi, Khalsa display their military skills in a festival called Holla Mohalla.