Bandi Chorh Diwas is a day on which Guru Hargobind Sahib was released with 52 Kings from Gwalior Prison.. It is celebrate with great joy as it was a time when "right" prevailed over "wrong".
The death of his father Satguru Guru Arjan Dev Ji, at the hands of Mughal emperor Jahangir prompted Hargobind to emphasize the military dimension of the Sikh community. He symbolically wore two swords, which represented miri and piri (temporal power and spiritual authority). He built a fort to defend Ramdaspur (Amritsar) and created a formal court, Akal Takht When Murtaja Khan, Nawab of Lahore, noticed that Guru Ji had constructed the Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, 'The Throne of the Almighty', at Amritsar, and was also strengthening his army, he informed the Mughal Emperor Jahangir about this. He also, incorrectly, emphasized that the Sikh Guru was making preparations to take revenge for his father's torture and martyrdom. When Jahangir heard about this he at once sent Wazir Khan and Guncha Beg to Amritsar in order to arrest Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji.
But Wazir Khan, who happened to be an admirer of Guru Hargobind, rather than arresting him, requested the Guru to accompany them to Delhi telling him that Emperor Jahangir wanted to meet him. Guru Sahib accepted the invitation and soon reached Delhi.
The Mughals had held many hundreds of prisoners who were effectively "political prisoners" and were otherwise innocent leaders of their communities. They had been held without trial or any other legal process; jailed by brute force; held against their wishes. These aggressive moves prompted Jahangir to jail Guru Hargobind Ji at Gwalior Fort.
, After finding Guru Hargobind Ji innocent and harmless, he ordered his release The Guru had found a way to get 52 of these innocent leaders released from the prison without a battle. It had been a long process as the Guru spent many years in custody. However, in the end the unjust government of the day had to "give in" to the Guru's just demands. An unlikely victory in a period of history when those in power were completely corrupt and injustice was the order of the day. . The lives of 52 local kings had been saved without a single shot and without a battle! During October/November, the worldwide Sikh community celebrates the safe return to Amritsar of the sixth Nanak, Guru Hargobind from detention from Gwalior Fort in about October 1619 .
Several days later, when Guru Hargobind reached Amritsar, the Hindu festival of light, Divali, was being celebrated. In their joy at seeing their Guru again, the people lit up the whole city with candles, lights, and lamps. After almost four hundred years, this tradition continues in Amritsar, and on this day the Harimandir Sahib is aglow with thousands of candles and floating lamps, strings of lights decorate the domes, and fireworks burst in the sky.