Women devotees at Lahore s Gurdwara Panja Sahib.
Baisakhi, a spring harvest festival for Sikhs and Hindus, marks the Sikh new year and also commemorates the formation of Khalsa panth (saint warriors) under Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Around this time, many Sikh devotees travel to Lahore, Pakistan, to visit Gurdwara Panja Sahib on the last day of Baisakhi. This festival is celebrated with much enthusiasm and fervour in Punjab. But this year’s celebrations have had an unfortunate outcome. Many devotees, upon their return to India through the Wagah border near Amritsar, have tested positive for COVID-19. After the Kumbh Mela, this is another example of religious fervour leading to a spurt in COVID-19 cases in the country. At a time when the virus is still going around infecting millions of people, such devotion can be dangerous indeed.