About 7,000 Sikhs paraded through the streets of Bradford on Sunday to mark the festival of Vaisakhi.

A procession started at the Gurdwara Amrit Parchar Dharmik Diwan in Peckover Street visited each of the city’s six Sikh temples for the annual celebration of the birth of the Sikh faith.

Pritpal Singh, a senior volunteer at the temple, said people had travelled from across the country and abroad for the parade.

He said: “This is a massive event for us every year. Vaisakhi was all about equality, regardless of what background or class you come from. It’s a celebration everyone can get involved in. It shows people we are still going strong.”

The procession was led by drummers from the Soul Asia Dohol Academy and members of the Houghton Le Spring Pipe Band.

Govi Bargota, 19, of Eccleshill, was one of the drummers. He said: “We are keeping people’s spirits high. We visit each temple to celebrate the birth of Khalsa and will be picking up our brothers and sisters along the way.”

Also at the front of the parade were five bearers of the Nishan Sahib, the Sikh holy flag, and a five-strong guard of honour.

The centrepiece of the procession, displayed on a float, was the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Sikh holy book.

  • Read the full story in Monday's T&A