Festival
Bandi Chhor Divas 2026
Also known as The Day of Liberation · Sikh Diwali
Bandi Chhor Divas 2026 at a glance
Bandi Chhor Divas 2026 is on Sunday 8 November. Celebrations centre on the evening, when homes and gurdwaras are lit with lamps and candles in memory of Guru Hargobind's homecoming.
When it falls
Krishna Amavasya (new moon), Ashwin — coinciding with Diwali night
- 2026 · Sunday, 8 November 2026
- 2027 · Friday, 29 October 2027
Significance
Bandi Chhor Divas means, simply, "the day of release of the prisoners." It falls on the same night as Diwali, and the two celebrations have lit the same sky for four centuries — though they tell different stories.
The story goes that Guru Hargobind Sahib, the sixth Sikh Guru, was imprisoned in Gwalior Fort by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir around 1619. He had committed no crime; it was an act of power. During his confinement he befriended fifty-two Hindu chieftains who were also held there. When the Emperor finally agreed to release the Guru, the Guru refused to leave without the other prisoners. Jahangir, perhaps testing him, declared that only those who could hold on to the Guru's cloak as he walked out would be freed. The Guru had a special cloak made with fifty-two strips of fabric — one for each prisoner — and so every man walked free.
When the Guru reached Amritsar, the people of the city lit lamps to welcome him home. The Golden Temple, Harmandir Sahib, blazed with light. That homecoming is what Bandi Chhor Divas remembers: not just freedom from a fort, but the principle that one person's freedom is bound up with everyone else's.
How it’s observed
The centre of the celebration is the gurdwara (Sikh house of worship). Communities gather for kirtan (devotional singing), ardas (communal prayer) and langar — the free community meal open to all, regardless of background.
In the evening, gurdwaras and homes are decorated with lamps, candles and strings of lights, echoing the lights that greeted the Guru's return. At the Golden Temple in Amritsar the illuminations are spectacular and draw visitors from around the world.
For diaspora families in the UK, Canada, the US, Australia and beyond, the local gurdwara is the heart of the day. Many also light their homes, and families gather for shared meals. Because the date coincides with Diwali, Sikh and Hindu neighbours often celebrate alongside each other — the lights outside tell one story or the other, and sometimes both at once.
Some families observe a personal moment of reflection on the meaning of azadi — freedom — and the responsibility that comes with it.
The timing, explained
Bandi Chhor Divas falls on Krishna Amavasya, the amavasya (new-moon day) of the dark fortnight. In this almanac's Amanta reckoning — where lunar months run from new moon to new moon — that places it at the end of the month of Ashwin. Under the Purnimanta reckoning used in parts of north India, the same day is called Kartik Krishna Amavasya.
Because this is also the night of Diwali, the two festivals share their date every year. The day is identified by the rule of Pradosh Amavasya: the new moon must be running during the Pradosh window — the period after sunset — which is also how the Diwali date is fixed. The two commemorations have shared this sky since Guru Hargobind's time.
Questions people ask
Is Bandi Chhor Divas the same as Diwali?
They fall on the same night — both on the new moon of Ashwin — but they commemorate different events. Diwali marks Rama's return to Ayodhya and the welcoming of Lakshmi; Bandi Chhor Divas marks Guru Hargobind Sahib's release from Gwalior Fort. The lights outside may honour one story, the other, or both.
When does Bandi Chhor Divas usually fall?
Usually in October or November, on the same night as Diwali. Because the date follows the lunar calendar, it moves each year within that window.
How do Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas?
With kirtan (devotional singing) and ardas (prayer) at the gurdwara, langar (the free community meal), and the lighting of lamps and candles at home and at the gurdwara in memory of the Guru's homecoming.
Why did Guru Hargobind insist on freeing the other prisoners?
The story goes that the Guru refused to leave Gwalior Fort alone, seeing his own freedom as inseparable from that of the fifty-two kings imprisoned alongside him. He had a cloak made with fifty-two strips so each man could hold on and walk free with him.
Can non-Sikhs attend gurdwara celebrations on Bandi Chhor Divas?
Yes. Gurdwaras welcome everyone. Cover your head before entering, remove your shoes at the entrance, and you are welcome to join the kirtan, the ardas and the langar.
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