Source: The Houston Chronicle

On April 14, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that this year 1,000 Sikhs are expected to gather at the Sikh Center in northwest Houston for observances of the 302-year-old harvest festival of Vaisakhi. The event also commemorates the formation of an order of Sikhs called the Khalsa, who are "regarded as the army of God for the protection of the downtrodden." The order formed against the backdrop of conflict between Muslims and Hindus in India. About 5,000 Sikhs are estimated to live in the Houston area.