Nishan Sahib
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The Nishan Sahib is a Sikh holy flag made of cotton or silk cloth and is generally triangular in shape. (A rectangular version is displayed here: [1].) The background colour of the Nishan Sahib during the early phase of Sikh history was white. Its colour underwent a change, from white to saffron, in the hands of Guru Hargobind and it was hoisted for the first time at Akal Takhat Sahib in the year 1609 CE. It seems likely that the change in the color of the flag was meant to suggest the golden color of the holiest site of the Sikh religion, the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), which was completed in 1604 CE.
The Nishan Sahib is placed outside every Sikh Gurdwara and is supported by a pole of timber or metal. The Khanda, a Sikh symbol, is rendered in blue on the saffron background. The khanda is placed high up on a flagpole as a sign for all Sikhs and indeed any other people that they can come and pray in this building. Great respect is shown to this flag which is shown by its washing using milk and water every year in April at the festival of Vaisakhi.
This Nishan Sahib, as a matter of religious injunction or rule, must be hoisted at each and every building of the Gurdwara. The Nishan Sahib is changed every year. And it is very important to Sikhs. The Nishan Sahib is outside every Gurdwara may it be in the U.K, India or anywhere else.
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![[1]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Khanda.png){kind=link}