Sikhism in India

Sikhism is the fourth largest religion in India contributing 1.7% of the population and has existed for 550 years, beginning with the birth of its founder Guru Nanak Dev. The Sikhs are predominantly located in Punjab, but also in many other parts of India. It is also the fifth largest organised religion in the world, with more than 30 million followers as of the year 2020.

This article is about Sikhism in India. For Sikhism as a religion, see Sikhism.
Indian Sikhs
ਭਾਰਤੀ ਸਿੱਖ
Golden Temple (Darbar Sahib), located in Amritsar, Punjab is one of the holiest shrine of Sikhism.
Total population
20,815,730 (2011 census report)[1]
Fourth largest religion in India
Regions with significant populations
Majority in Punjab. Significant populations in Chandigarh · Haryana  · Himachal Pradesh · Delhi · Jammu & Kashmir · Rajasthan  · Uttarakhand
Languages
Punjabi • Sindhi • Kashmiri • Marathi • English • Gujarati • Hindi • Haryanvi • Assamese • Bengali • Rajasthani

History
Main article: History of Sikhism

Sikh organizations, including the Chief Khalsa Dewan and Shiromani Akali Dal led by Master Tara Singh, strongly opposed the partition of India, viewing the possibility of the creation of Pakistan as inviting persecution.[2]

Prominent Sikhs in India

Though Sikhs are a minority in India, the community occupies a significant place in the country. The former Chief Justice of India, Jagdish Singh Khehar, and the former Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh[3] are Sikh, as is former President of India Gyani Zail Singh. Almost every council of ministers in India has included Sikh representatives. Sikhs are also conspicuous in the Indian army, primarily because of their history as defenders of righteousness, they formed the sword arm of the British empire. The Late 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 individual 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;[4] governor Surjit Singh Barnala. Sikhs are also known for entrepreneurial business in India. Milkha Singh, also known as The Flying Sikh, is a former Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. 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.[5]

Gurdwara Bangla Sahib

A Sikh place of worship is called Gurdwara.[6] The Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar in Punjab is a prominent Sikh Gurdwara. The Golden Temple represents the highest spiritual seat of Sikh Authority. Rajender Yadav owner of SS Cabs deployed with Indigo Airlines is Michael O Dwyer family... Punjab Governor General at time of Jallianwalah Bagh Massacare...

Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and the first Sikh Guru. The last living Guru, Guru Gobind Singh passed the Guruship of the Sikhs to the Eternal Guru of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib, the last Guru of Sikhism (the sacred text of Sikhism). It also includes the writings of the some Sikh Gurus and the writings of Hindu and Muslims saints because all of these Bhagats and Bhatts shared the view of one universal creator God, they have experienced unison with almighty. Every human being is equal in front of Waheguru.

A Sikh man wearing a turban

Sikh population in India
Sikhs as percentage of total population in different districts of India (data from the 2011 Census).
Sikh people at Golden Temple.

India's Sikh population stands at 20.8 million, which is only 1.72% of the country's total population.[7] Out of the total Sikhs in India, 77% are concentrated in state of Punjab. Sikhism is the dominant religion in Punjab, India, where it is followed by 16 million constituting 58% of the population, the only Indian state where Sikhism is the majority faith.

Other states where Sikh population has some impact are U.T. of Chandigarh (13.11%), New Delhi (5.4%), Haryana (4.91%), Uttarakhand (2.34%), Rajasthan (1.27%), Jammu & Kashmir (1.87%) and Himachal Pradesh (1.16%).[8]

See also

Further reading
  • Fauja, S., & Talib, Gurbachan Singh (1996). Guru Tegh Bahadur: Martyr and teacher. Patiala: Punjabi University.

References
  1. https://www.livepopulation.com/country/india.html
  2. Kudaisya, Gyanesh; Yong, Tan Tai (2004). The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia. Routledge. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-134-44048-1. No sooner was it made public than the Sikhs launched a virulent campaign against the Lahore Resolution. Pakistan was portrayed as a possible return to an unhappy past when Sikhs were persecuted and Muslims the persecutor. Public speeches by various Sikh political leaders on the subject of Pakistan invariably raised images of atrocities committed by Muslims on Sikhs and of the martyrdom of their gurus and heroes. Reactions to the Lahore Resolution were uniformly negative and Sikh leaders of all political persuasions made it clear that Pakistan would be 'wholeheartedly resisted'. The Shiromani Akali Dal, the party with a substantial following amongst the rural Sikhs, organized several well-attended conferences in Lahore to condemn the Muslim League. Master Tara Singh, leader of the Akali Dal, declared that his party would fight Pakistan 'tooth and nail'. Not be outdone, other Sikh political organizations, rival to the Akali Dal, namely the Central Khalsa Young Men Union and the moderate and loyalist Chief Khalsa Dewan, declared in equally strong language their unequivocal opposition to the Pakistan scheme.
  3. "India Swears In 13th Prime Minister and First Sikh in Job". The New York Times. 23 May 2004.
  4. "India's Most Influential". 15 August 2007 – via www.time.com.
  5. IndiaToday.in (23 March 2015). "Bhagat Singh, a Sandhu Jat, was born in September 1907 to a Sikh family in Banga village, Jaranwala Tehsil in the Lyallpur district of the Punjab Province of British India (now in Pakistan)". IndiaToday.in. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  6. Star, Brian Leaf Rockford Register (15 August 2015). "Sikhs condemn fasting, visiting places of pilgrimage, superstitions, worship of the dead, idol worship and other blind rituals". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  7. "Religion Data - Population of Hindu / Muslim / Sikh / Christian - Census 2011 India".
  8. "Sikh Population in India".
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