A galaxy of senior political leaders turned out for the event. Former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gurcharan Singh Tohra and his associates were however conspicuous by their absence.

Vajpayee, accompanied by Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal, Union ministers L K Advani and Surjit Singh Barnala, senior BJP leaders Madan Lal Khurana, Congress leaders Sharad Pawar and Manmohan Singh, and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, landed at the Dashmesh Academy helipad, where they were presented siropas (robes of honour) by SGPC president Jagir Kaur.

Vajpayee later inaugurated an exhibition of Sikh relics at the Khalsa College and visited the site of the Khalsa heritage memorial complex.

Recalling the historyof the Khalsa, the prime minister said the sacrifices made by Guru Gobind Singh, his father, mother and four sons, were unparalleled. He also referred to the contributions made by the Sikh community to the freedom struggle, placing special emphasis on the message of positive secularism given by the Khalsa doctrine.

Punjab, the Prime Minister pointed out, which had endured a prolonged period of strife, was now on the right track. He assured ``full support'' to the state, but was non-committal about Central assistance for the widening of the Chandigarh-Anandpur Sahib highway.

The Prime Minister also released a book Khalsa - the Saga Of Excellence brought out by the Anandpur Sahib Foundation and gold and silver coins by the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation, dedicated to the tercentenary.

Badal for his part lauded the assistance extended to the state by the BJP government, at the same time maintaining that ``much needed to be done.''

His only demand -- setting up of a military academyat Anandpur Sahib -- proved to be an anti-climax after the expectations raised by the prime minister's visit.

Speaking about Punjab's struggle with militancy, Badal said the militant movement was a ``distortion'', which had led to the state's isolation.