Sikh Community

Followers of the Sikhism are called Sikhs. The term Sikh is derived from Sanskrit word ‘Shishya’ means ‘a learner’ or ‘a student.’

It is said that a time comes when the world need a warrior and a saint. However, a warrior cannot be a saint and vice versa. That is when Guru Nanak, the first Guru of Sikhism founded Sikh. According to him a Sikh is an amalgamation of a saint and a warrior.

The Sikh religion originated in the 15 th century. The sacred text of Sikh is called as Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Nanak was a staunch believer of equality, and preached every human being must treat others equally. Even other Sikh gurus were against any hierarchical structure, but still there is some social stratification in the Sikh community.

About 60% of the Sikhs are Jat caste. The rest fall under Khatri, Arora, Sainis, Rajputs, Ramgarhias, Ahluwalias, Kambojs, Labanas, Kumhars and the two Dalit castes, known in Sikh terminology as the Mahabis (the Chuhras) and the Ramdasias.

The word Khalsa has two meaning, ‘Pure’ and ‘belonging to the king’. In Sikhism, Khalsa implies belonging to the King i.e. God.

Sikh stands out in the crowd because the initiated Sikh carries 5 items with them all the time. These 5 items of faith are:

• Kesh: An initiated Sikh does not cut the hair and keep it covered by a turban all the time. The main reason for this is the belief that they cannot alter anything which is given to them by the God. They take personal hygiene very seriously.
• Kara: A bracelet made of iron or steel.
• Kirpan: A sword tucked into the belt.
• Kachehra: A cotton undergarment.
• Kanga: A small wooden comb.

The initiated Sikh is called as Khalsa, and a Khalsa is exteremly commited to their cause. Throughout the history there are events and battles when Sikhs have fought till death for their cause. Few noteworthy

• The Battle of Saragarhi (1897):
  The Battle of Saragarhi is one of the supreme battles ever fought. This battle was fought by the Sikh Havildar Ishar Singh with 21 other soldiers with 10,000 Afridi tribesmen. This battle is taught in the France schools since many years as lesson of bravery and commandership.
• World War I and II:
  In both the world wars, Sikhs had an option to opt out, however, they fought and around 80,000 died fighting for British and Alliance force. For this many Sikhs even received Victoria Cross and the Param Vir Chakras.

All around the world, Sikh population is around 27 million which make up 0.39 percent of the world population. Out of this approximated 83 percent live in India.

Majority of the Sikhs live in Punjab, followed by Chandigarh, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.

Outside India, Sikhs are settled in Canada United Kingdom, the United States, Malaysia, East Africa, Australia, Singapore and Thailand.