Sikhism in Pakistan
Encyclopedia
Sikhism in Pakistan has an extensive heritage and history, although Sikh
s form a very small community in the Islamic Republic
today. Most Sikhs live in the province of Punjab
, where the religion was born in the middle ages. Nankana Sahib
, the birthplace of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism
, is located in the Pakistani province.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Sikh community became a powerful political force, with Sikh leader Ranjit Singh
founding the first Sikh empire, which had its capital in Lahore
, the second-largest city in Pakistan today. Significant populations of Sikhs inhabited the largest cities in the Punjab such as Lahore, Rawalpindi
and Lyallpur
(now Faisalabad), as well as the neighbouring Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. However, when India
was partitioned
in 1947 to create the Muslim state of Pakistan
, a significant portion of the Punjab region became part of the new state. Ethnic cleansing of Hindus and Sikhs led to a major exodus of those communities from Pakistan into India; conversely Muslims in the Indian territory were subject to the same ethnic cleansing and forced migration to Pakistan. Large numbers of Sikh places of worship (gurdwara
s) were destroyed and hundreds of thousands of Sikhs were killed.
In the decades following Pakistan's creation, the Sikh community began to re-organise, forming the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
(PGPC) to represent the community and protect the holy sites and heritage of the Sikh religion in Pakistan. The Pakistani government has begun to allow Sikhs from India to make pilgrimage
s to Sikh places of worship in Pakistan and for Pakistani Sikhs to travel to India.
Pakistan's estimated population was 172,800,000 in July 2008, 96% Muslim
, with Christians (1.6%) and Hindus (1.85%) making up the largest minority faiths, according to the last census taken in 1998. Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Ahmadi Muslims and some adherents to animist religions make up the remainder.
Prior to the Partition of India
in 1947, which divided British India into its successor states of Pakistan and India
, Sikhs were spread all across the region of Punjab and played an important role in its economy as farmers, businessmen, and traders. Lahore
, the capital of (now in Pakistan) Punjab was then and still is today the location of many important religious and historical sites for Sikhs, including the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh
. The nearby town of Nankana Sahib
has nine gurdwara
s, and is the birthplace of Sikhism's founder, Guru Nanak Dev
. Each of Nankana Sahib's gurdwaras are associated with different events in Guru Nanak Dev's life. The town remains an important site of pilgrimage for Sikhs worldwide.
Nationwide, there are no reliable numerical figures for Sikhs in the country. Estimates vary, the US Department of State estimates 20,000. The largest Sikh population in Pakistan is found in Peshawar
, in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which was spared the scale of violence during partition that raged in Punjab.
There are small pockets of Sikhs in Lahore and Nankana Sahib in Punjab. The (West) Punjab and Sindh
provinces of Pakistan were mostly emptied of their Sikh and Hindu population in the communal massacres of partition, with nearly all fleeing for India. Today, segments of the populations of East Punjab
and Haryana
states and Delhi
in India can trace their ancestry back to towns and villages now in Pakistan, including current Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
.
There has been an influx in the population of Sikhs in Pakistan due to the turbulent civil war and conflicts that have ravaged neighboring Afghanistan
.
Afghanistan, like Pakistan, has had a very small Sikh and Hindu population. There has been a massive exodus of refugees from Afghanistan into Pakistan during the past 30 years of turmoil up to the reign of the Taliban and the subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan
in late 2001. Due to Pakistan's porous borders with Afghanistan, large numbers of Afghanistan's minority communities, based mainly around the cities of Kabul
, Kandahar
, and Jalalabad
have fled, and some Sikhs have joined their kinsmen in Peshawar and Lahore.
had professed an agenda of equality for minorities and promotion and protection of minority rights, however, the implementation of corrective measures has been slow.
The historical and holy sites of Sikhs are maintained by a Pakistani governmental body, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
, which is responsible for their upkeep and preservation. Nonetheless, many Sikh shrines have fallen into disrepair since 1947, as the remaining Sikh population and its corresponding manpower, economic power and political influence is minuscule compared to that of the pre-1947 community.
Recently the Sikh community within Pakistan has been making every effort possible to progress in Pakistan. For example Harcharan Singh
became the first Sikh to join the Pakistan army. For the first time in the 58 year history of Pakistan there has a Sikh been selected into Pakistan's army. Prior to Harcharan Singh's selection in the Pakistani army no individual person who was a member of the Hindu or the Sikh community were ever enrolled in the army, but there are reports which states that the Pakistani Christian community has served in the army and some had even reached into to the ranks of a Brigadier in the army. Moreover, members of the tiny Parsi community have some representation in the Armed Forces.
First time in the history of Pakistan as well as in the history of Lahore a Sikh person has been appointed as a traffic Sub Inspector. Dr. Gulab Singh who is just 25 years old, is a practising homeopathic doctor and he is from the same place as Harcharan Singh (Nankana Sahib). Gulab Singh is fluent in Urdu
, Punjabi
, Pashto, Seraiki
, Sindhi
, and little bit of English
. In yet another contribution to the Pakistani Sikh community, Pakistan Government enacted the Sikh marriage act, Anand Marriage act, in November 2007. This Sikh marriage act allows not only the Sikhs in Pakistan, but also Sikhs living in anywhere in the world to register in Pakistan with the Sikh marriage act. After the success of Harcharan Singh in Pakistan's army and Gulab Singh as a traffic inspector, now it's the turn of Kalyan Singh Kalyan who is the first Sikh Province Assembly Member in Pakistan and Kalyan is a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP). The first Sikh musician also emerged on the music industry in 2009, Jassi Lailpuria, launched his first song on independence day entitled, Sohna Pakistan.
Rupinder Singh Magon (Rup) from the band Josh
is also a superstar in Pakistan and is very popular among the youth of the country although he lives in Canada but travels to Pakistan a lot for Concerts and TV engagements. He, along with his band mate Qurram Hussain
, was part of Coke Studio
as well which is a big achievement.
and Canada
, there is also a growing Pakistani Sikh community in Dubai
. In the United Kingdom there are only a few hundred Pakistani Sikhs, 346 according to the 2001 census.
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
s form a very small community in the Islamic Republic
Islamic republic
Islamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...
today. Most Sikhs live in the province of Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
, where the religion was born in the middle ages. Nankana Sahib
Nankana Sahib
Nankana Sahib , earlier known as Rai-Bhoi-Di-Talwandi, is a city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak Dev, the central figure in Sikhism who was born here, so it is a city of high historic and religious value and is a popular pilgrimage site...
, the birthplace of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of 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 located in the Pakistani province.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Sikh community became a powerful political force, with Sikh leader Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
founding the first Sikh empire, which had its capital in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, the second-largest city in Pakistan today. Significant populations of Sikhs inhabited the largest cities in the Punjab such as Lahore, Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
and Lyallpur
Lyallpur
Lyallpur may refer to* the former name of Faisalabad city, Pakistan* Lyallpur Town, a municipal area of Faisalabad city, Pakistan...
(now Faisalabad), as well as the neighbouring Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. However, when India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
was partitioned
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
in 1947 to create the Muslim state of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, a significant portion of the Punjab region became part of the new state. Ethnic cleansing of Hindus and Sikhs led to a major exodus of those communities from Pakistan into India; conversely Muslims in the Indian territory were subject to the same ethnic cleansing and forced migration to Pakistan. Large numbers of Sikh places of worship (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 ....
s) were destroyed and hundreds of thousands of Sikhs were killed.
In the decades following Pakistan's creation, the Sikh community began to re-organise, forming the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee is a Sikh religious organisation in Pakistan. Its creation and organisation is sponsored by the Government of Pakistan...
(PGPC) to represent the community and protect the holy sites and heritage of the Sikh religion in Pakistan. The Pakistani government has begun to allow Sikhs from India to make pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
s to Sikh places of worship in Pakistan and for Pakistani Sikhs to travel to India.
Pakistan's estimated population was 172,800,000 in July 2008, 96% Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
, with Christians (1.6%) and Hindus (1.85%) making up the largest minority faiths, according to the last census taken in 1998. Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Ahmadi Muslims and some adherents to animist religions make up the remainder.
Before the Partition of India and Pakistan
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Prior to the Partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
in 1947, which divided British India into its successor states of Pakistan and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Sikhs were spread all across the region of Punjab and played an important role in its economy as farmers, businessmen, and traders. Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, the capital of (now in Pakistan) Punjab was then and still is today the location of many important religious and historical sites for Sikhs, including the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh
Samadhi of Ranjit Singh
The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is the mausoleum of the Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It is located near the Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan...
. The nearby town of Nankana Sahib
Nankana Sahib
Nankana Sahib , earlier known as Rai-Bhoi-Di-Talwandi, is a city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak Dev, the central figure in Sikhism who was born here, so it is a city of high historic and religious value and is a popular pilgrimage site...
has nine 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 ....
s, and is the birthplace of Sikhism's founder, Guru Nanak Dev
Guru Nanak Dev
Guru Nanak was the founder of the religion of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. The Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak’s divinity and religious authority, and were named "Nanak" in the line of succession.-Early life:Guru Nanak was born on 15 April 1469, now...
. Each of Nankana Sahib's gurdwaras are associated with different events in Guru Nanak Dev's life. The town remains an important site of pilgrimage for Sikhs worldwide.
After the creation of Pakistan
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which was spared the scale of violence during partition that raged in Punjab.
There are small pockets of Sikhs in Lahore and Nankana Sahib in Punjab. The (West) Punjab and Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
provinces of Pakistan were mostly emptied of their Sikh and Hindu population in the communal massacres of partition, with nearly all fleeing for India. Today, segments of the populations of East Punjab
East Punjab
East Punjab was the part of the Punjab region that went to India following the Partition of the Punjab Province of British India between India and Pakistan in 1947...
and 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...
states and 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...
in India can trace their ancestry back to towns and villages now in Pakistan, including current Indian Prime Minister 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...
.
There has been an influx in the population of Sikhs in Pakistan due to the turbulent civil war and conflicts that have ravaged neighboring Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
Afghanistan, like Pakistan, has had a very small Sikh and Hindu population. There has been a massive exodus of refugees from Afghanistan into Pakistan during the past 30 years of turmoil up to the reign of the Taliban and the subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
in late 2001. Due to Pakistan's porous borders with Afghanistan, large numbers of Afghanistan's minority communities, based mainly around the cities of Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
, and Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
have fled, and some Sikhs have joined their kinsmen in Peshawar and Lahore.
The Sikh community in Pakistan in modern times
Until today, Sikhs have mainly kept a low profile within the monolithic population of Pakistan. Though, Pakistan maintains the title of Islamic state, the articles twenty, twenty-one and twenty-two in chapter two of its constitution guarantees religious freedom to the non-Muslim residents. Since indepdence in 1947, relations between Pakistan's minorities and the Muslim majority have remained fairly and politically stable. Until 2002, Pakistan held a system of separate electorates for all its national legislative assemblies, with only a handful of parliamentary seats reserved for minority members. Minorities were legally only permitted to vote for designated minority candidates in general elections. The regime of former President General Pervez MusharrafPervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
had professed an agenda of equality for minorities and promotion and protection of minority rights, however, the implementation of corrective measures has been slow.
The historical and holy sites of Sikhs are maintained by a Pakistani governmental body, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee is a Sikh religious organisation in Pakistan. Its creation and organisation is sponsored by the Government of Pakistan...
, which is responsible for their upkeep and preservation. Nonetheless, many Sikh shrines have fallen into disrepair since 1947, as the remaining Sikh population and its corresponding manpower, economic power and political influence is minuscule compared to that of the pre-1947 community.
The emergence of the Sikh community within Pakistan
After the creation of Pakistan the Sikh community's rights were diminished.Recently the Sikh community within Pakistan has been making every effort possible to progress in Pakistan. For example Harcharan Singh
Harcharan Singh
Harcharan Singh , is the first Sikh officer to be recruited in the Pakistan Army. He was born in Nankana Sahib, the birth place of Guru Nanak.-Early life:...
became the first Sikh to join the Pakistan army. For the first time in the 58 year history of Pakistan there has a Sikh been selected into Pakistan's army. Prior to Harcharan Singh's selection in the Pakistani army no individual person who was a member of the Hindu or the Sikh community were ever enrolled in the army, but there are reports which states that the Pakistani Christian community has served in the army and some had even reached into to the ranks of a Brigadier in the army. Moreover, members of the tiny Parsi community have some representation in the Armed Forces.
First time in the history of Pakistan as well as in the history of Lahore a Sikh person has been appointed as a traffic Sub Inspector. Dr. Gulab Singh who is just 25 years old, is a practising homeopathic doctor and he is from the same place as Harcharan Singh (Nankana Sahib). Gulab Singh is fluent in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
, Pashto, Seraiki
Saraiki language
Saraiki , transliterated as Sirāikī and sometimes spelled Seraiki and Saraiki, is a standardized written language of Pakistan belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages. It is a language spoken in the heart of Pakistan...
, Sindhi
Sindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
, and little bit of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. In yet another contribution to the Pakistani Sikh community, Pakistan Government enacted the Sikh marriage act, Anand Marriage act, in November 2007. This Sikh marriage act allows not only the Sikhs in Pakistan, but also Sikhs living in anywhere in the world to register in Pakistan with the Sikh marriage act. After the success of Harcharan Singh in Pakistan's army and Gulab Singh as a traffic inspector, now it's the turn of Kalyan Singh Kalyan who is the first Sikh Province Assembly Member in Pakistan and Kalyan is a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party
Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...
(PPP). The first Sikh musician also emerged on the music industry in 2009, Jassi Lailpuria, launched his first song on independence day entitled, Sohna Pakistan.
Rupinder Singh Magon (Rup) from the band Josh
JoSH (band)
Josh is a Montreal-based Indian/Pakistani fusion band. Present members are "Rup" and "q" . Their songs showcase both modern and traditional bhangra beats and music, but are strongly influenced by hip hop and pop music.JIn 2009 Josh Performed in coke studio along with Pakistani Leading artist...
is also a superstar in Pakistan and is very popular among the youth of the country although he lives in Canada but travels to Pakistan a lot for Concerts and TV engagements. He, along with his band mate Qurram Hussain
Qurram Hussain
Qurram Hussain, often called "q", is a Canadian musician of Pakistani descent and a member of Josh, a Montreal-based South Asian fusion band.-Career:...
, was part of Coke Studio
Coke Studio
Coke Studio is a Pakistani television series featuring live music performances. Although it is adapted from the original Brazilian show named Estúdio Coca-Cola, it is fundamentally different from the original version where the show was a concert style show whereas the Pakistani version records its...
as well which is a big achievement.
Pakistani Sikh diaspora
According to the Pakistani religious laws that Sikhism is a monotheistic religion and therefore secured from violence beside the government, some Pakistani Sikhs have migrated abroad to countries like the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, there is also a growing Pakistani Sikh community in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
. In the United Kingdom there are only a few hundred Pakistani Sikhs, 346 according to the 2001 census.
See also
- Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Punjab)Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Punjab)Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
- History of SikhismHistory of SikhismThe history of Sikhism is closely associated with the history of Punjab and the socio-political situation in medieval India. Sikh distinction was further enhanced by the establishment of the Khalsa , by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Sikhism was created by Guru Nanak Dev, a religious leader and a...
- Punjab ChiefsPunjab ChiefsThe Punjab Chiefs were various ruling families who held positions of authority in Punjab. Sir Robert Montgomery, Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab in the 1860s during British Rule, commissioned the histories of the Punjab Chiefs and notable families to be written and compiled. The intention of the...
- February 2010 Sikh beheadings by TalibanFebruary 2010 Sikh beheadings by TalibanThree Sikh men were said to have been beheaded by Taliban groups in the FATA area of Pakistan and their heads sent to a gurudwara in Peshawar. One of the Sikhs has been identified as Jaspal Singh...