Sikhism in India

Indian Sikhs

Manmohan Singh, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Arjan Singh Jeev Milkha Singh, Mandira Bedi Khushwant Singh, Rabbi Shergill, Harbhajan Singh
Total population
19,215,730 (2001) 1.9% of the Indian Population
Regions with significant populations
Chandigarh · Delhi · Haryana · Jammu & Kashmir · Madhya Pradesh · Maharashtra · Punjab · Rajasthan · Uttar Pradesh · Uttarakhand
Languages
Punjabi

Sikhism is India's fourth-largest religion 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, but also in many other parts of India.

Prominent Sikhs in India

Though Sikhs are a small minority in India, the community occupies a significant place in the country. The current Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh is a Sikh, as is former President of India Giani Zail Singh. Almost every council of ministers in India has included Sikh representatives. 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 is a Sikh. Sikhs have also led the Indian army through JJ Singh and the Indian Air Force was led by Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh. Sikhs have been prominent in Indian sports, with the only Indian gold medalist in Olympics, Abhinav Bindra, being a Sikh. Similarly they occupy important official positions, like Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia; governor Surjit Singh Barnala. Sikhs are also known for entrepreneurial business in India. In the entertainment industry, singer Daler Mehndi and Rabbi Shergill 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.

Gurdwara Bangla Sahib

A Sikh place of worship is called Gurdwara. 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' in Amritsar 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 a communal meal in the free kitchen. The meals are served to all and are eaten sitting on the floor, as this is to emphasize 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.

Gurdwara Sri Guru Sis Ganj Sahib

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, proclaimed that after him the Guru of the Sikhs would be the only one to be bowed to.

A Sikh man wearing a turban

Guru Granth Sahib ji is written in Gurmukhi script. It includes the writings of the Sikh Gurus and the writings of Hindu and Muslims saints. But out of humility^{[citation needed]} Guru Gobind Singh Ji did not include his own writings in Guru Granth Sahib ji . His writings appear in Dasam Granth. Guru Gobind Singh Ji is also the Guru behind the unique appearance of Sikh men^{[citation needed]}.

Sikhs combat with the Mughals

Up through Guru Gobind's term as the Guru of the Sikhs, the ruling empire of Punjab region was the Mughal Empire. Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib saved Hindus from Mughals and was named as Hind Di Chadar. In order to stop their persecution, Guru Gobind decided to make his followers, the Sikhs (meaning learners), a community of fighters. He changed his surname to Singh, 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 meaning princess. There is a popular misconception that large numbers of Sikhs were originally Rajputs because of the common surname but, in fact, the Guru Gobind Singh fought his first few battles against the Rajput Kings of the Hills. The Rajput king Harichand was defeated and killed in the Battle of Bhangani. This was the Guru's first battle. Rajputs did convert to sikhism like Hindus from every caste but the majority of the converts came from the so-called low castes. A fact to substantiate it is that 4 out of five Panj Piyaras (beloved ones) came from these low castes.

Creating an identity for the Sikhs

Kanga, Kara and Kirpan—three of the five articles of faith endowed to the Sikhs.

In order to make it easier for his followers to recognize each other, Guru Gobind Singh chose five marks or Five Ks, some of which even today symbolize the Sikhs. The five signs were: uncut hair Kesh; bracelet on the right hand wrist Kara; comb Kanga; shorts? Kacchara; and sword or dagger Kirpan. The religious Sikhs dress according to Guru Gobind Singh's order, carrying a sword (kirpan).

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.^{[citation needed]} They were among the first communities in India who dared to drive vehicles, especially lorries. India, being a vast country, needed drivers who could also travel at night. But many Indians believed in superstitions like ghosts and haunted places, while the Sikhs rejected these kinds of beliefs and therefore traveled at night. Since then they have had a reputation as steering masters of India.

Punjabi Suba

Main article: 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	30,998	17,264	13,734
3	Arunachal Pradesh	1,865	1,475	390
4	Assam	22,519	13,508	9,011
5	Bihar	20,780	11,057	9,723
6	Chandigarh	145,175	76,000	69,175
7	Chhattisgarh	69,621	36,662	32,959
8	Dadra & Nagar Haveli	123	96	27
9	Daman & Diu	145	92	53
10	Delhi	555,602	288,675	266,927
11	Goa	970	590	380
12	Gujarat	45,587	24,987	20,600
13	Haryana	1,170,662	618,558	552,104
14	Himachal Pradesh	72,355	38,118	34,237
15	Jammu & Kashmir	207,154	114,524	92,630
16	Jharkhand	83,358	45,348	38,010
17	Karnataka	15,326	8,811	6,515
18	Kerala	2,762	1,611	1,151
19	Lakshadweep	6	6	0
20	Madhya Pradesh	150,772	80,122	70,650
21	Maharastra	215,337	117,736	97,601
22	Manipur	1,653	1,091	562
23	Meghalaya	3,110	1,810	1,300
24	Mizoram	326	251	75
25	Nagaland	1,152	774	378
26	Orissa	17,492	9,448	8,044
27	Puducherry	108	70	38
28	Punjab	14,592,387	7,692,776	6,899,611
29	Rajasthan	818,420	432,534	385,886
30	Sikkim	1,176	1,061	115
31	Tamil Nadu	9,545	5,515	4,030
32	Tripura	1,182	1,074	108
33	Uttar Pradesh	678,059	361,320	316,739
34	Uttarakhand	212,025	111,723	100,302
35	West Bengal	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	678,060	361,320	316,739
5	Delhi	555,602	288,675	266,927
6	Maharastra	215,337	117,736	97,601
7	Uttarakhand	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
• Religion in India
• Khalistan movement, a Sikh separatist movement for Punjabi speaking areas of India, at its height in the 1970s, 80s and 90s
• 1984 anti-Sikh riots, triggered by the assassination of Indira Gandhi by two of her Sikh bodyguards
• Cochin Sikhs

External links

• Live Sikh Kirtan Videos Live Sikh broadcasting and audio video sharing community
• Sikh Photography Images of Indian Sikhs by photographer Charles Meacham
• Sikhism in India