Guru Gobind Singh was born in the year 1666 to the ninth guru of the Sikhs Guru Tegh Bahadur. He succeeded his father when he was just nine years old. His father had sacrificed his life to protect the religious freedom of the people. He lived in a period which was filled with political turmoil. During this period the Mughals had terrorised the people forcing them to convert to Islam. Guru Gobind Singh dedicated his life to help the helpless people against this exploitation and oppression by becoming both a saint and a soldier. He was a saint with great devotion to god and also a fearless soldier who followed Kshatriya Dharma to fight against oppression and injustice.
In the year 1699 he created Khalsa which is Order of the Pure to fight against all the injustice. He also appointed five men from lower caste and baptised them as his five beloved. These five men became models of the Khalsa and all the men were surnamed Singh which means lion. The members of Khalsa were to have great faith in God and were supposed to treat all the humans equally irrespective of their caste.
He was not only a saint and a soldier but also a poet and a philosopher. He authored many spiritual compositions including the Jaap Sahib to infuse the martial spirit in the people. All his compositions are compiled in a book called Dasam Granth Sahib.
It was he who declared the Guru Granth Sahib the Holy Scripture will be next the permanent Sikh guru.
This day is celebrated with great fervour and grandeur by the Sikhs. Like all guru purabs or the birth day celebrations of the Sikh guru during this occasion the Akhand Panth or the non-stop reading of Guru Granth Sahib is held for 48 hours which culminates on the birthday day. One day prior to the birthday a grand procession is taken out which is led by the five beloveds and the palanquin which carries the Guru Granth Sahib. The route of the procession is decorated with flags, flowers and banners and gatka teams and people singings hymns accompany the procession. On the day of the birthday celebrations begin as early as four in the morning with the singing of Asa-di-var and hymns from Guru Granth Sahib. On this day kirtan darbars and Katha or discourse is held in the gurudwaras. After the distribution of Karah Prasad or the sweet pudding, langar or community lunch is served for all in the gurudwaras round the clock. This day is celebrated with great religious fervour by the people who visit the gurudwaras to offers special prayers on this day.