Sikh Calander....

In present times, Sikh community use Nanakshahi Calendar and have left the use of Bikrami calendar which is said have lot of flaws. Starting from in 1999, all religious holidays for Sikh is observed according to the newly modified Nanakshahi Calendar. The years of the Nanakshahi calendar start with the birth of Guru Nanak Dev in 1469. Year 1998, is therefore, considered Nanakshahi 530. The modified calendar is based on the length of the tropical solar year instead of the lunar cycle. This ensures that the dates will not fluctuate from year to year, as was the case with the previously used Bikrami Calendar. Hence, the calendar helps Sikhs to correctly represent their historic events and move forward with a calendar of their own.

According to the Nanakshahi Calendar, Sikh New Year begins with Chet 1. This corresponds to March 14 in Gregorian or Common Era calendar. Nanakshahi calendar is gaining popularity in the Sikh diaspora and is likely to become the de facto standard of the Sikhs worldwide just as Christians have Gregorian calendar, Muslims have Hijri calendar, Hindus have Bikrami and Saka calendars and Bahais have their own distinct calendar.

In a Nanakshahi calendar or Sikh Calendar, the first day of each month is known as Sangrand, and correlates to dates on Common Era calendar as shown below.

Date in Nanakshahi ---------------- Date in Common Era

Chet 1 ------------------------------ March 14
Vaisakh 1 --------------------------- April 14
Jeth 1 ------------------------------- May 15
Harh 1 ------------------------------ June 15
Sawan 1 ---------------------------- July 16
Bhadon 1 --------------------------- August 16
Asu 1 -------------------------------- September 15
Katik 1 ------------------------------ October 15
Maghar 1 ---------------------------- November 14
Poh 1 -------------------------------- December 14
Magh 1 ------------------------------ January 13
Phagan 1 ---------------------------- February 12

So as it is seen, Sikh new year begins on March 14 and not on Baisakhi April the 14th.