Truth, Equality & Justice are at the very heart of what it means to be a Sikh. In 1710, one man led a band of heroic soldiers to march against the might of an empire to uphold these same values. Outnumbered, they successfully persuaded the tyrrany to relinquish control and brought into being the first Khalsa republic.
The Banda Singh Bahadur project was initiated in 2008 with the aims of celebrating and further exploring the establishment of the 1st Khalsa Republic. This is being achieved through annual seminars, academic research and published material.
As part of the seminar series throughout the eight year project, the SEC has and will be continuing to analyse various aspects of what took place and contrasting it to similar episodes from across the globe in recent history. To date, a seminar examining the abolition of slavery has been held at the Wills Memorial Building in Bristol, followed by a seminar examining the legal and constitutional perspectives of the Khalsa Republic held at the Cabinet War Rooms in London. A celebratory event marking the 300th anniversary itself was held at the House of Lords in May, 2010.