Akal Takht releases Nanakshahi calendar for upcoming year

The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat for the Sikhs, released the Nanakshahi calendar for the upcoming year here on Thursday.

The calendar, a tropical solar calendar, was released in the presence of Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief secretary Kulwant Singh Mannan at the Akal Takht secretariat.

The Nanakshahi year begins with the traditional month of “Chet”.

Giani Raghbir Singh appealed to the Sikh community to observe all religious occasions as per the calendar, a modified version of the original Nanakshahi calendar of 2003.

The amended version was released in 2010, resulting in different dates of gurpurbs and some religious occasions.

While the SGPC follows the amended version of the calendar and observes religious occasions accordingly, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and several Sikh organisations of the United States and New Delhi follow the original calendar.