24 Apr 2017

Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Dr Alfred Madigele has commended the Sikhs religion members for their continuing  contribution to the development of the country.
Officiating at the occasion to celebrate the Khalsa Sajna Diwas/Baisakhi festival recently, Dr Madigele said Baisakhi festival marked the time for harvest of rabi crops, adding that the celebration was marked throughout the world where there was significant Sikh population.

“Baisakhi is one of the major festivals of Sikhs and is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm and cheerfulness in the state of Punjab and all throughout the world where there is significant Sikh population,” he said.
He said having experienced good rains in the country, he was hopeful to see a lot of harvest at the festival as it was a tradition in the Sikh religion.
He further said Botswana as a country valued freedom of assembly and that Sikhs religion was one amongst the many that were there in the country.
“I am informed that there are quite a number of families of Sikhs religion in Botswana,” he said.

India High Commissioner to Botswana, Dr Ketan Shukla said Vaisakhi was one of the Hindu Festivals chosen by Guru Amar Das to be celebrated by Sikhs.
Dr Shukla said celebrations of the festival, among others, observed major events in the history of Sakhism and the Indian subcontinent that happened in the Punjab region.
He said the significance of the festival of Vaisakhi as a major Sikh festival also marked the birth of Sikh order that started after the persecution and execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur for refusing to convert to Islam under the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. ENDS