The long beard, the long hair and the traditional blue colored dress of Sikhs are inspired from Pashtuns !According to Siyar-ul-Mutakherin, once when Guru Gobind Singh (the founder of Khalsa) found it difficult to cross the territory of Sirhind, he hired Pashtun mountaineers in the vicinity of Sirhind to escort him to his family and promised gold for doing so. Those Pashtun mountaineers engaged him to let grow his whiskers and beard to certain length, and they dressed him in blue in the style of the Pashtuns of that region. They escorted him with perfect safety and honour. Whenever any one asked who he was, they would answer that he was a Pirzada of theirs. It left a great impression on Guru Gobind Singh and he left the Afghan garb in memory of that event, and he even made it henceforth the distinctive garb of his followers. He also directed his followers to grow their hair and beard. [See "Seir ul-Mutaqherin" (completed in 1780), English translation, vol-1, p-91]The blue colour is now mostly worn by Nihang/Akali Sikhs.This tradition is understandably not reported by Sikh writers of Runjeet Singh times as Sikh nation in 18th century and 19th century hated Muslims in general and Pashtuns in particular, and would have this tradition best forgotten. Mosques were insultingly called "Maitgarh" and Musalmans as "Musla" (a term akin to "Nigger") by Sikhs [" Studies in later Mughal history of the Panjab, 1707-1793", by Hari Ram Gupta, p-193].