To mark the festival of Baisakhi, the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation has conferred the 'Sewa Award 2006' on the Smithsonian Institution and the Sikh Heritage Foundation for creating a permanent exhibit on ''Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab'' at the Museum of Natural History in Washington.

The awards were given in recognition of the 'tireless work' in projecting a positive image of the Sikhs and having contributed for the betterment of the community, sources said.

One more award in recognition of the entire American Sikh movement for its contribution in spreading Guru Nanak's message through various projects such as SikhNet.com and Miri-Piri Academy, was given to Bibi Inderjit Kaur, wife of late Harbhajan Singh [Images] Yogi, a respected leader of the American Sikh community.

The Smithsonian Institution is funded by the government of the United States and is one of the largest museums in the world. It created the Sikh Exhibit in collaboration with the Sikh Heritage Foundation, which was inaugurated in 2004.

Millions of Americans and tourists from other parts of the world have been visiting the Smithsonian museums.

Harbhajan Singh Yogi founded the American Sikh movement known as the 'Sikh Dharma' in 1973 and it currently has numerous centers all over the world.

The movement also established various educational institutions, which are serving the community worldwide.

Amrit Kaur, Secretary, Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, said, ''Kirat, Simran [Images] and Sewa, are corner stones of the Sikh Faith and conferring the Sewa Award, GGSF tends to highlight the endeavors of those great individuals or institutions who have made Sewa their top priority.''

Smithsonian Institution director Lawrence Small and Amrik Singh Chatha of Sikh Heritage Foundation were also honored during the celebrations.