Sikhs are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a Dharmic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term Sikh has its origin in the Sanskrit word śiṣya, meaning ‘seeker’, 'disciple' or 'student'. According to Article I of Chapter 1 of the Sikh Rehat Maryada, the definition of Sikh is: Any human being who faithfully believes in
- One Immortal Being
- Ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Sahib to Guru Gobind Singh Sahib
- The Guru Granth Sahib
- The utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus and
- The baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru
The Khalistan movement is a separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno‐religious sovereign state called Khalistan in the Punjab region. The proposed boundaries of Khalistan vary between different groups; some suggest the entirety of the Sikh-majority Indian state of Punjab, while larger claims include Pakistani Punjab and other parts of North India such as Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Shimla and Lahore have been proposed as the capital of Khalistan.
Freedom of religion in Afghanistan changed during the Islamic Republic installed in 2002 following a U.S.-led invasion that displaced the former Taliban government.
Freedom of religion in India is a fundamental right guaranteed by Article 25-28 of the Constitution of India. Modern India came into existence in 1947 and the Indian constitution's preamble was amended in 1976 to state that India is a secular state. Supreme Court of India ruled that India was already a secular state from the time it adopted its constitution, what actually was done through this amendment is to state explicitly what was earlier contained implicitly under article 25 to 28. Every citizen of India has a right to practice and promote their religion peacefully. However, there have been numerous incidents of religious intolerance that resulted in riots and violence, notably, the 1984 Anti-Sikh Massacre in Delhi, 1990 Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir, the 2008 Anti-Christian riots in Odisha. Some perpetrators of the 1984 Anti-Sikh Massacre in Delhi have not been brought to justice despite widespread condemnation.
Human rights in India is an issue complicated by the country's large size and population as well as its diverse culture, despite its status as the world's largest sovereign, secular, democratic republic. The Constitution of India provides for fundamental rights, which include freedom of religion. Clauses also provide for freedom of speech, as well as separation of executive and judiciary and freedom of movement within the country and abroad. The country also has an independent judiciary as well as bodies to look into issues of human rights.
British Sikhs number over 520,000 people and account for 0.85% of the British population as of 2021, forming the United Kingdom's fourth-largest religious group. According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, British Sikhs numbered 524,529, with 520,092 in England, 4,048 in Wales, and 389 in Northern Ireland. The largest Sikh populations in the United Kingdom are in the West Midlands and Greater London.
Sardarji jokes or Sardar jokes are a class of ethnic jokes based on stereotypes of Sikhs. Although jokes about other ethnic and linguistic communities are found in various regions of India, Sardarji jokes are the most widely circulated ethnic jokes and found across the country. Sardarji jokes are generally considered tasteless and inappropriate by members of the Sikh community, and have elicited protests as well as leading to arrests for hurting religious sentiments.
Religious violence in India includes acts of violence by followers of one religious group against followers and institutions of another religious group, often in the form of rioting. Religious violence in India has generally involved Hindus and Muslims.
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh massacre, was a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs were killed in Delhi and 3,350 nationwide, whilst other sources estimate the number of deaths at about 8,000–17,000.
Religious discrimination in Pakistan is a serious issue for the human rights situation in modern-day Pakistan. Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Shias, and Ahmadis among other religious minorities often face discrimination and at times are even subjected to violence. In some cases Christian churches and the worshippers themselves have been attacked. Khawaja Nazimuddin, the 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated: "I do not agree that religion is a private affair of the individual nor do I agree that in an Islamic state every citizen has identical rights, no matter what his caste, creed or faith be".
Rana Ayyub is an Indian journalist and opinion columnist with The Washington Post. She is author of the investigative book Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up.
The 2020 Delhi riots, or North East Delhi riots, were multiple waves of bloodshed, property destruction, and rioting in North East Delhi, beginning on 23 February 2020 and brought about chiefly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims. Of the 53 people killed, two-thirds were Muslims who were shot, slashed with repeated blows, or set on fire. The dead also included over a dozen Hindus, who were shot or assaulted. More than a week after the violence had ended, hundreds of wounded were languishing in inadequately staffed medical facilities and corpses were being found in open drains. By mid-March many Muslims had remained missing.
Arfa Khanum Sherwani is an Indian journalist, and the senior editor of The Wire. She was the only Indian journalist to cover the 2014 Afghan presidential elections. She is an alumna of Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia. She has received the Red Ink Award and the Chameli Devi Jain Award.
ShinyHunters is a criminal black-hat hacker group that is believed to have formed in 2020 and is said to have been involved in numerous data breaches. The stolen information is often sold on the dark web.
Editors Guild of India (EGI) is a non-profit organisation of journalists, particularly the Editors, based in India. The organization has declared "objectives of protecting press freedom and for raising the standards of editorial leadership of newspapers and magazines". It was founded in 1978, by Kuldip Nayar. EGI has represented Indian newspapers in communications to the government.
"Sulli Deals" was an open-source app which contained photographs and personal information of some 100 Muslim women online. An FIR was filed by the Delhi Police with National Commission for Women India taking suo moto cognisance of the matter on 8 July 2021. The creator of the app was a BCA Student from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. On 9 January 2022, Thakur, who created the app to "defame" Muslim women, was arrested by the Delhi Police. Thakur was granted bail on 29 March by the court.
Events in the year 2022 in India.
Tek Fog was a hoax news Propaganda story reported by Indian news and opinion website The Wire. Tek Fog was supposedly an application used by the India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). After various experts and journalists raised questions about the authenticity of the story, The Wire suspended, and later formally retracted it, citing discrepancies in the material used. The Wire also issued a formal apology to its readers.
The 2022 Muhammad remarks row began on 27 May 2022, when Nupur Sharma, a spokeswoman of India's ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), made controversial remarks about the Islamic prophet Muhammad, on a Times Now debate on the Gyanvapi Mosque dispute, against the counterparty called the disputed Shivalinga as Fountain. The comments were in reference to Muhammad (53) and age of his third wife, Aisha (6), at the time of their marriage and the consummation of the marriage when Aisha was 9. However, she was quoting from the Sahih al-Bukhari. The controversy escalated on 1 June, when Naveen Kumar Jindal, the Delhi BJP media chief, made similar remarks on Twitter. By 4 June, the remarks had been widely shared on social media, and were trending among the top 10 hashtags in all the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Turkey.
