TheSikhs are adherents toSikhism, the fifth largest organized religion in the world, with around 25 million adherents.[1] Sikh History is around 500 years and in that time the Sikhs have developed unique expressions of art and culture which are influenced by their faith and synthesize traditions from many other cultures depending on the locality of the adherents of the religion. Sikhism is the only religion that originated in thePunjab region with all other religions coming from outside Punjab (with the possible exception of Punjabi Hinduism since the oldest Hindu scripture – theRig Veda – was composed in thePunjab region. Some other religions, likeJainism, may also claim to have originated in Punjab since Jain symbolism has been found among artifacts of the Indus Valley Civilization). All the Sikh gurus, many saints, and many of the martyrs in Sikh history were from Punjab and from thePunjabi people (as well as other parts of theIndian Subcontinent).
Punjabi culture and Sikhism are mistakenly considered inseparably intertwined. "Sikh" properly refers to adherents of Sikhism as a religion, strictly not an ethnic group. However, because Sikhism has seldom sought converts, most Sikhs share strongethno-religious ties, therefore it is a common stereotype that allSikhs share the sameethnicity. Many countries, such as theU.K., therefore misconcievingly recognize Sikh as a designated ethnicity on their censuses.[2] The American non-profit organizationUnited Sikhs has fought to have Sikhs included on theU.S. census as well, arguing that Sikhs "self-identify as an 'ethnic minority'" and believe "that they are more than just a religion".[3]
There is a common misconception that all Sikhs belong to thePunjab region. The religion's birthplace of Punjab itself has been called "India’s melting pot",[4] and many other parts ofNorthern India due to the heavy influence of invading cultures, such asMughal andPersian, that mirrors the confluence of rivers from which the region gets its name (fromPersian, "panj" پنج meaning "five" and "-āb" آب meaning water thus meaning land of the five waters). Thus, Sikh culture is to a large extent a result of groups of various cultures uniting together, thus forming a unique one.
Sikhism has forged a unique form ofarchitecture which Bhatti describes as being "inspired byGuru Nanak’s creative mysticism" such thatSikh architecture "is a mute harbinger of holistic humanism based on pragmatic spirituality".[5] The keynote of Sikh architecture is theGurdwara which is the personification of the "melting pot" ofIndian cultures, full ofMughal,Aryan andPersian influences.The reign of theSikh Empire was the single biggest catalyst in the creation of a uniquely Sikh form of expression, with MaharajahRanjit Singh patronising the building of forts, palaces, bungs (residential places), colleges, etc. that can be said to be of theSikh Style. The "jewel in the crown" of theSikh Style is theHarmandir Sahib.
Sikh culture and identity are heavily influenced by militaristic motifs, withKhanda being the most obvious; thus it is no surprise that the majority of Sikh artifacts, independent of the relics of theGurus, have a military theme. This motif is again evident in the Sikh festivals ofHola Mohalla andVasakhi which feature marching and practicing displays of valor, respectively.
The art, culture, identity, and society of theSikhs have been merged with the different localities and ethnicities of different Sikhs into categories such as 'Agrahari Sikhs', 'Dakhni Sikhs' and 'Assamese Sikhs'; however there has emerged a niche cultural phenomenon that can be described as 'Political Sikh'. The art of prominentdiaspora Sikhs such as Amarjeet Kaur Nandhra,[6] and Amrit and Rabindra Kaur Singh (The Singh Twins),[7] is partly informed by their Sikh spirituality and influence.
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Physical fitness is a major part of Sikhism, having been a major part of the religion in the context of military preparedness from the time of the gurus.[8] This saw the community become termed as amartial race by the British during the colonial era (see also:Sikhism and the British Empire).[9]
Dusenbery (2014) states that Punjabi Sikhs form the majority of the Sikh population. He notes that "some Sindhis and other South Asians have been affiliated at the margins asNanakpanthis (‘followers of Nanak’s path’) orSehajdhari (‘slow adopter’) Sikhs" but in the main, "the Sikh Panth has remained largely a Punjabi affair".[10] However, the Sikh community is varied and includes people who speak thePashto language, theSindhi language, theTelugu language and many more. The many communities following Sikhism are detailed below.
The Sikhs ofAfghanistan have a unique culture which has elements of theculture of Afghanistan. Tatla (2014) states that there were 3,000 Sikhs in Afghanistan in his book The Sikh Diaspora which was published in 2014.[11]
Yogi Bhajan is credited withraising awareness of Sikhism amongst the non-Asian community of the United States of America. This community is known as the white Sikh community which practices Sikhism and maintains a distinct culture.[12]
The presence ofSikhism has existed inAssam[13] for over 200 years. The community traces its origins to the times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who took his army to Assam and put some influence of the religion towards the locals. According to the 2001 census, there were 22,519Sikhs inAssam,[14] out of which 4,000 are Assamese Sikhs.[15]
Assamese Sikhs follow the Sikh religion and celebrate Sikh festivals. They also celebrate cultural festivals such asMagh Bihu and wear traditional Assamese dress. Their language is theAssamese language.[15][16]
Agrahari Sikh is aSikh community found ineastern India including the states ofWest Bengal,Bihar andJharkhand. Agrahari Sikhs, also known asBihari Sikhs, have existed for centuries inBihar andJharkhand.[17]
Bihari Sikhs share their culture with the local Bihari community. The men generally wear the local dhoti and women wear the sari. They also celebrate cultural festivals such as theChath festival.[18]
Dakhni Sikhs are from theDeccan Plateau in India located within the states ofMaharashtra,Telegana andAndhra Pradesh.[19] The traditional dress of women is thesari. The native languages of Dakhni Sikhs includeMarathi andTelugu.[20]
Ethnic Kashmiri Sikhs speak theKashmiri language and observe Kashmiri culture. They trace their religious heritage to the influence of Sikh soldiers who settled inKashmir under Maharaja Ranjit Singh's rule in 1819. However, the soldiers permanently settled inKashmir.[21]
Punjabi Sikhs follow thePunjabi culture. Their traditional dress includes thePunjabi Salwar Suit,Punjabi Tamba and Kurta,Punjabi juti andPatiala salwar.
In addition to theSikh festivals using theNanakshahi calendar, Punjabi Sikhs observe traditionalPunjabi festivals using thePunjabi calendar.
In addition to celebrating Sikh festivals, Sindhi Sikhs celebrate cultural festivals such asCheti Chand, the Sindhi new year. Sindhi Sikhs speak theSindhi language.Khalsa Sikhs historically had a stronghold in Kandhra,Khairpur during the reign of theTalpur Mirs (1775–1955).[22] However, most Sikhs in Sindh are followers of theUdasi,Sewapanthi, andNanakpanthi sects.[23][24] Only around 8,000–10,000 people in present-day Sindh are mainstream, orthodox Khalsa Sikh. The vast majority belong to the aforementioned sects whom may practice varying degrees of religious kinship and syncretism with Hinduism and Sufism.[25][26][27][28] Udasis are generally concentrated in northern Sindh whilst Nanakpanthis can be found throughout the region except in areas of theRajasthani cultural sphere (Dhatki-speaking areas) who practice a more mainstream, non-syncretic, and differentiated form of Hinduism.[29] Nanakpanth and Udasipanth are different sects of Sikhism, with a major difference being that Udasis adopt a life-hood of celibacy whilst Nanakpanthis freely marry and bear children.[24] Another Sikh sect, the Jagiasi, who claim to have been founded by the younger son of Guru Nanak named Lakhmi Das, were also historically prevalent in Sindh, especially during the period of Baba Gurupat, who was a descendant of Guru Nanak.[30][31][32][33] Baba Gurupat conducted missionary works in Sindh and founded many Jagiasutikanas (seats; a term for a place of worship in manySikh sects) in the region, specifically inKhairpur,Hyderabad, Halani, andKandyaro.[30][31][32][33] Sindhis may have been converting to Sikhism ever since the time of Guru Nanak, who traveled to the region.[34]Janamsakhi literature narrate that Guru Nanak traveled toShikarpur, possibly as far asSukkur.[34] Sindhi women learnt the Gurmukhi script in-order to understand the Guru Granth Sahib.[34] A lot of converts to Sikhism came from theAmil caste.[34] TheChief Khalsa Diwan sent out orthodox Sikh missionaries to Sindh in the 1930s to preach towardsSehajdharis (literally "slow adopters"), which dominated the landscape of Sikhism in Sindh.[34] The result was the number ofKeshdhari (those who keep uncut hair) Sikhs recorded increasing from 1,000 in the 1901 census to over 39,000 in the 1941 census.[34] Sant Thahriya Singh was a prominent Sindhi Sikh saint of the 20th century, and many gurdwaras are constructed in his name in the region.[34]
There areSikh communities inKarnataka,Andhra Pradesh andMaharashtra who converted to Sikhism centuries ago.
The Sikhs compriseBanjara andSatnami. The process of blending the religion into southern India for the Sikligars began at the time of the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, who came to the Deccan and died in 1708 at Nanded (Maharashtra).
It all came by the Sikligars as they came to southern India as expert arms-making camp followers of the tenth Guru. Sikligar is a compound of the Persian words `saiqal` and `gar` meaning a polisher of metal.[19] The traditional occupation of theSikligars is crafting kitchen implements.
Banjaras are a nomadic tribe who traditionally travelled with merchandise and are found across a large swathe of northern India, as well as in the south. Sikh Banjaras too travelled with armies of the past supplying them with provisions.[19]
Sewa Panthi Sampardai: Literally sewa panthi sampardai means fellowship of service. It was founded by Bhai Ghahnaiya, who during the siege of Anandpur toured the battlefield carrying water and serving it to friend and foe alike. Sewa Panthis are principally Sindhi Sikhs, celibate, and very few. They have established a big dera at Goniana Mandi in Bathinda district and now are mainly devoted to the cause of education in addition to preaching Sikhism.
Unlike Sufi shrines, the Sindhi mandir has escaped academic attention in the tracing of pre-partition syncretic traditions partially because of the geographical boundaries of Sikh and Panjab studies. The history of Sikhism in Sindh and the appeal of particular forms of Sikhism among Sindhi mandir can provide a glimpse into the co-existence of Sikh and Hindu practices in the Sindhi mandir. It was Richard F. Burton who, in his book Sindh & the Races that Inhabit the Valley of the Indus (1851), "describes the curious mix of Hindu and Sikh practices among Sindhi Hindus". He observes that "they show a general tendency towards the faith of Nanak Shah, and that many castes have so intermingled the religion of the Sikhs with their original Hinduism, that we can scarcely discern the line of demarcation (1851)." The historical reason for the prevalence of these syncretic practices in Sindh was due to the Sindhis being introduced to Sikhism by the Udasipanth popularized by Guru Nanak's son Sri Chand whose followers are known as Nanakpanthi Sikhs in Sindh. Nanakpanth refers to Sikhs who follow the teachings of Guru Nanak without observing the five Ks prescribed for Khalsa Sikhs and do not find Hinduism as conflictual with Sikhism. Unlike Nanakpanthis who follow the rituals of Hinduism, perform idol worship, and are Hindus except that they keep Guru Granth Sahib in their places of worship, new categories of Sikhs in Sindh who describe themselves as Gursikhs claim to bow their heads only in front of the Guru Granth Sahib.
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