Sikhism in India
Encyclopedia
Sikhism
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...

is India's fourth-largest religion
Religion in India
Indian religions is a classification for religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent; namely Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. These religions are also classified as Eastern religions...

 and has existed for over 500 years, beginning with the birth of its founder Guru Nanak Dev ji. The Sikhs are predominately located in Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

, but also in many other parts of India.

The birth of the Sikh religion

About 2% of India's population are Sikhs. Traditionally the men keep their hair and do not shave their beard or moustache. They gather the hair on their head in a turban.
Sikhism is comparatively a new religion in India. This religion was established by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Nanak ji was born into a Hindu family in 1469 in the Punjab region
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...

. Since childhood he loved to travel, learn and preach humanity. In those days people who taught and preached were titled Guru meaning teacher, his followers became to be known as Sikhs meaning learners.
The creators of Sikhism tried to abolish some of the Indian customs such as the caste system and Sati (practice)
Sati (practice)
For other uses, see Sati .Satī was a religious funeral practice among some Indian communities in which a recently widowed woman either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion would have immolated herself on her husband’s funeral pyre...

 - burning of the widow. In Sikhism everyone has equal rights irrespective of caste, creed, color, race, sex or religion. Sikhism rejects pilgrimage, fasting, superstitions and other such rituals. Sikhism does not have a clergy class as it considers this as a gateway to corruption. However, they have readers and singers in their temples.

Prominent Sikhs in India

Though Sikhs are a small minority in India, the community occupies a significant place in the country. The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...

 is a Sikh; while a Sikh, Giani Zail Singh, has occupied the position of President of India. Almost every council of ministers in India has had representation from among the Sikhs. Sikhs are also conspicuous in the Indian army, primarily because they formed the sword arm of the British empire. The only living Indian officer with a 5 star rank Arjan Singh
Arjan Singh
Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC is the only officer of the Indian Air Force to be promoted to five-star rank, equal to a Field Marshal, to which he was promoted in 2002. He was born in the Punjab town of Lyallpur, British India, into a Aulakh family...

 is a Sikh. Sikhs have also led the Indian army JJ Singh and the Indian Air Force Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh.Chief of Air general in India Sikhs are also seen in Indian sports, with the only Indian gold medalist in Olympics, Abhinav Bindra
Abhinav Bindra
Abhinav Singh Bindra is an Indian shooter from Zirakpur, Mohali, Punjab and is the current World and Olympic champion in the 10 m Air Rifle event...

, being a Sikh. Similarly they occupy important official positions, like Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Montek Singh Ahluwalia is an Indian economist and civil servant. He is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of the Republic of India. He was previously the first Director of the Independent Evaluation Office at the International Monetary Fund.-Early life and education:Montek...

; governor Surjit Singh Barnala
Surjit Singh Barnala
Surjit Singh Barnala is an Indian politician from Punjab. During his career in Indian politics, he has been Governor of four states, Chief Minister of Punjab, a minister in the union cabinet twice and a vice-presidential candidate once.-Early life:Barnala was born in Ateli village, which was then...

. Sikhs are also known for entrepreneurial business in India. In the entertainment industry, singer Daler Mehndi
Daler Mehndi
Daler Mehndi , born August 18, 1967, is an Indian Bhangra pop singer.Mehndi was a student of traditional Punjabi music and his first album broke sales records in India. Since 1995 he has recorded several highly successful albums in India, and also sung as a playback singer for several Hindi movies...

 and Rabbi Shergill
Rabbi Shergill
Rabbi Shergill in Jatt Sikh family is an Indian musician well known for his debut album Rabbi and the chart-topper song of 2005, "Bulla Ki Jaana"...

 are Sikhs.
One reason for visibility of Sikhs in the Indian spectrum is the disproportionate role played by the Sikh community during the Indian freedom struggle, with Bhagat Singh remaining a youth icon to Indian youth.
With migration of Sikhs abroad, Sikhs are no longer uniquely identified with India.

The Sikh Gurdwara Sahib

A Sikh place of worship is called Gurdwara
Gurdwara
A Gurdwara , meaning the Gateway to the Guru, is the place of worship for Sikhs, the followers of Sikhism. A Gurdwara can be identified from a distance by tall flagpoles bearing the Nishan Sahib ....

. Sikhism does not support pilgrimage to holy sites because according to Sikhism, God is everywhere and not in any certain place. But Sikhism has a few important sites, of which, the Harminder Sahib, also known as the 'Golden Temple
Harmandir Sahib
The Harmandir Sahib also Darbar Sahib , also referred to as the Golden Temple, is a prominent Sikh gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab . Construction of the gurdwara was begun by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru, and completed by his successor, Guru Arjan Dev...

' in Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...

 in Punjab is the most important site and is considered the holiest shrine of Sikhism. Additional shrines include the Five Takhts, or thrones; and the Anandpur Sahib.

Langar (the communal meal)

Sikhism emphasises community services and helping the needy. One of the distinct features of Sikhism is the common kitchen called Langar. In every Gurdwara there is a Langar. Every Sikh is supposed to contribute in preparing the meals in the free kitchen. The meals are served to all and are eaten sitting on the floor, as this is to emphasise the point that all who are there are equals. Sikhism does not believe in holding fasts, for the body is God's present to the human being; and therefore humans must foster, maintain and preserve it in good, sound condition, unless fasting is done to foster the human body like healthy diets.

The Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Guru Nanak Dev Ji who established Sikhism was its first Guru. After him there he gave leadership to nine more Gurus who were the highest religious authority. The last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth and last Sikh guru in a sacred lineage of ten Sikh gurus. Born in Patna, Bihar in India, he was also a warrior, poet and philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the leader of Sikhs at a young age of nine...

, proclaimed that after him the Guru of the Sikhs would be the only one to be bowed to.
Guru Granth Sahib ji is written in Gurmukhi script. It includes the writings of the Sikh Gurus and the writings of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 and Muslims saints. But out of humility Guru Gobind Singh Ji did not include his own writings in Guru Granth Sahib ji . His writings appear in Dasam Granth
Dasam Granth
Dasven Patshah Da Granth or Dasam Granth , often called Sri Dasam Granth Sahib with respect, is a scripture of Sikhism, containing some of the texts attributed to 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Although the Dasam Granth is commonly confused with the Guru Granth Sahib, there is no overlap in...

. Guru Gobind Singh Ji is also the Guru behind the unique appearance of Sikh men.

Sikhs combat with the Mughals

During Guru Gobind's term as the Guru of the Sikhs and also before him, the ruling empire of Punjab region was the Mughal Empire. The Mughals were Islamic. Some of the Mughul emperors, like Aurangazeb were fanatics who harassed the non-Muslims, mainly Hindus and tried to convert them to Islam. Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib saved Hindus from Muslims and was named as Hind Di Chadar. In order to stop their persecutions, Guru Gobind decided to make his followers, the Sikhs (meaning learners), a community of fighters. He changed his surname to Singh
Singh
Also see SinhaSingh is a common title, middle name, or surname in Northern India and South India used by sikhs warriors and kings. eg. Man Singh I, Maharana Pratap Singh. It is derived from the Sanskrit word Siṃha meaning "lion and used by Ahir kings of Nepal". It is also used in Sri Lanka by...

, which means lion. His followers also changed their surname to Singh. Since then a ceremony of baptizing was established among the Sikhs in which the boys were given the title Singh and the girls were titled Kaur
Kaur
Kaur in Sikhism is a mandatory middle name for female Sikhs.-History:Kaur is a name used by Sikh women either as the middle name, or as a last name. It cannot be regarded as a true surname or family name...

 meaning princess. In those days "Singh" as a surname was very popular among a famous warrior caste of north India, the Rajputs. A large number of these warrior Sikhs were originally Rajput Hindus who voluntarily converted for battling against the Mughals.

Creating an identity for the Sikhs

In order to make it easier for his followers to recognize each other, Guru Gobind Singh, chose five marks, some of which even today symbolize the Sikhs. The five signs were, uncut hair Kesh
Kesh (Sikhism)
In Sikhism, Kesh is the practice of allowing one's hair to grow naturally as a symbol of respect for the perfection of God's creation. The practice is one of the Five Ks, the outward symbols ordered by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 as a means to profess the Sikh faith...

; bracelet on the right hand wrist Kara
Kara (Sikhism)
A kara , is a steel or iron bracelet, worn by both male and female initiated Sikhs. It is one of the five kakars or 5Ks — external articles of faith — that identify a Sikh as dedicated to their religious order. The kara was instituted by the tenth Sikh guru Gobind Singh at the Baisakhi...

; comb Kanga
Kanga (Sikhism)
The Sikhs were commanded by Guru Gobind Singh at the Baisakhi Amrit Sanchar in 1699 to wear a small comb called a Kanga at all times. Kanga must be worn by all baptised Sikhs , after a mandatory religious commandment given by Guru Gobind Singh in AD 1699.This was one of five articles of faith,...

  shorts Kaccha
Kaccha
Kacchera or Kaccha are specially designed short, shalwar-like) loose undergarments with a tie-knot worn by baptized Sikhs. It is one of the five Sikh articles of faith called the Five Ks , and was given as a "gift of love" by Gobind Singh at the Baisakhi Amrit Sanskar in 1699...

  and sword or dagger Kirpan
Kirpan
The kirpan is a ceremonial sword or dagger carried by orthodox Sikhs. It is a religious commandment given by Guru Gobind Singh at the Baisakhi Amrit Sanchar in CE 1699, all baptised Sikhs must wear a kirpan at all times....

;. The religious Sikhs dress according to Guru Gobind Singh's order, carrying a sword (kirpan). Most of the Sikhs even today have uncut hair and gather it in a turban. But some easygoing Sikhs cut their hair or they do not gather their uncut hair in a turban.

The emphasis on military tradition and community service in Sikhism continues even today and many Sikhs serve in the Indian army or police. The Sikhs also have a reputation as experts in steering, from cars to airplanes. They were among the first communities in India who dared to drive vehicles specially lorries. India being a vast country needed drivers who could also travel at nights. But many Indians believed in superstitions like ghosts and haunted places, while the Sikhs rejected these kinds of beliefs and therefore traveled at nights, since then their reputation as steering masters of India.

Punjabi Suba

A proposed state in northwest India. It was proposed by Shiromani Akali Dal in 1966.

Sikh population by each Indian state

Sikh population by each Indian state
# State Total Males Females
1 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 1,587 873 714
2 Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

30,998 17,264 13,734
3 Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...

1,865 1,475 390
4 Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

22,519 13,508 9,011
5 Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

20,780 11,057 9,723
6 Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...

145,175 76,000 69,175
7 Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....

69,621 36,662 32,959
8 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 123 96 27
9 Daman & Diu 145 92 53
10 Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

 
555,602 288,675 266,927
11 Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

970 590 380
12 Gujarat 45,587 24,987 20,600
13 Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

1,170,662 618,558 552,104
14 Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

72,355 38,118 34,237
15 Jammu & Kashmir 207,154 114,524 92,630
16 Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...

83,358 45,348 38,010
17 Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

15,326 8,811 6,515
18 Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

2,762 1,611 1,151
19 Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep , formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands, is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 km off the coast of the South West Indian state of Kerala...

6 6 0
20 Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....

150,772 80,122 70,650
21 Maharastra 215,337 117,736 97,601
22 Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...

1,653 1,091 562
23 Meghalaya
Meghalaya
Meghalaya is a state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means the Abode of Clouds in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi . The...

3,110 1,810 1,300
24 Mizoram
Mizoram
Mizoram is one of the Seven Sister States in North Eastern India, sharing borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma. Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987. Its capital is Aizawl. Mizoram is located in the...

326 251 75
25 Nagaland
Nagaland
Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...

1,152 774 378
26 Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

17,492 9,448 8,044
27 Pondicherry 108 70 38
28 Punjab 14,592,387 7,692,776 6,899,611
29 Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

818,420 432,534 385,886
30 Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

1,176 1,061 115
31 Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

9,545 5,515 4,030
32 Tripura
Tripura
Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...

1,182 1,074 108
33 Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

678,059 361,320 316,739
34 Uttaranchal 212,025 111,723 100,302
35 West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

66,391 36,738 29,653

Most populous

# State Total Males Females
1 Punjab 14,592,387 7,692,776 6,899,611
2 Haryana 1,170,662 618,558 552,104
3 Rajasthan 818,420 432,534 385,886
4 Uttar Pradesh 678,059 361,320 316,739
5 Delhi 555,602 288,675 266,927
6 Maharastra 215,337 117,736 97,601
7 Uttaranchal 212,025 111,723 100,302
8 Jammu & Kashmir 207,154 114,524 92,630
9 Madhya Pradesh 150,772 80,122 70,650
10 Chandigarh 145,175 76,000 69,175
11 Jharkhand 83,358 45,348 38,010
12 Himachal Pradesh 72,355 38,118 34,237
13 Chhattisgarh 69,621 36,662 32,959
14 West Bengal 66,391 36,738 29,653
15 Gujarat 45,587 24,987 20,600

See also

  • List of famous Sikhs

  • Sikhs in Bollywood
    Sikhs in bollywood
    List of famous sikh individual artists who have worked in Bollywood:*Ajay Devgan*Arya Babbar*Harman Baweja*Dharmendra*Sunny Deol*Bobby Deol*Abhay Deol*Simi Garewal*Kanwaljit Singh *Kabir Bedi*Kirron Kher*Mangal Dhillon*Sonu Walia...

  • Religion in India
    Religion in India
    Indian religions is a classification for religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent; namely Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. These religions are also classified as Eastern religions...

  • Khalistan movement
    Khalistan movement
    Khalistan refers to a global political secessionist movement to create a separate Sikh state, called Khālistān , carved out of parts mostly consisting of the Punjab region of India, depending on definition....

    , a Sikh separatist movement for Punjabi speaking areas of India, at its height in the 1970s, 80s and 90s
  • 1984 anti-Sikh riots
    1984 anti-Sikh riots
    The 1984 Anti-Sikh pogroms / riots or the 1984 Sikh Massacre was a sikh genocide there was four days of violence in northern India, particularly Delhi, during which armed mobs killed Sikhs, looted and set fire to Sikh homes, businesses and schools, and attacked gurdwaras, in response to the...

    , triggered by the assassination of Indira Gandhi by two of her Sikh bodyguards

External links

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