Revisiting Bandi Chhor Divas

A Lesson in Liberation or Modern India

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In the heart of Punjab history lies a moment that still reverberates across centuries—Bandi Chhor Divas.

It commemorates the day when Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji, the sixth Sikh Guru, refused to accept his own freedom from Gwalior Fort without securing the release of fifty-two imprisoned kings. His defiance was not just spiritual, it was political—a rejection of tyranny and a declaration that true leadership means standing for the voiceless against those who abuse power.

History remembers how a special robe was tailored with multiple tassels, each held by a captive ruler as they walked out of the fort together. That image—of a spiritual leader leading the oppressed into freedom—remains etched in our consciousness as a festival of light, justice, and shared dignity. Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji’s condition was simple, yet profound: no liberation is complete unless it is collective.