Millions of Indian Sikhs Tuesday held special prayers and staged religious processions to mark the 15th century birthday of the faith's founder, Guru Nanak. Devotees flocked to Sikh temples, or gurudwaras, to hear hymns from the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, and take part in festivities honouring Guru Nanak.
The Sikh faith began in the 15th century in the city of Lahore, which is now part of Pakistan, when Guru Nanak, who was born in 1469, began teaching a faith that preached equality between all men.
Nine gurus followed Nanak and developed the Sikh faith and community over the next centuries.
There are now more than 20 million Sikhs world-wide, the vast majority in the northern Indian state of the Punjab, which is the site of their holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar.