Who are the Panj Piarae:

• Group of five baptised people
• Concept and tradition
• Founded by 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
• Guru Established the institution of Panj Piare while founding the Khalsa on the day of Baisakhi in 1699
• Addressing a large gathering, he asked for five heads for sacrifice.
• Five men responded to his call and the Guru baptised them and called them Panj Piare.
• Since then, every group of five baptised Sikhs is called Panj Piare and accorded the respect enjoyed by the first five Sikhs

Who were the first Panj Piare:

• The Panj Piare were from different castes and states of India.
• Bhai Daya Ram hailed from Lahore
• Bhai Dharam Rai was from Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh
• Bhai Himmat Rai came from Jagannath in Odisha
• Bhai Mohkam Rai from Gujarat
• Bhai Sahib Chand was from Bidar, Karnataka

What is in news :  Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat has apologised for comparing Punjab Congress chief Navjot Sidhu and his four advisers to the Panj Piare