Punjabi Sikhs

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Punjabi Sikhs
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਸਿੱਖ  ·پنجابی سکھ
A painting of a Sikh family, circa late 19th century.jpg
A painting of a Punjabi Sikh family, circa late 19th century
Total population
c.25-28 million approx.
(Worldwide) [1] [2] [3]
Regions with significant populations
Punjab, India 16,004,754 (2011 census) [4] [a]
Haryana 1,243,752 (2011) [4] [a]
Rajasthan 872,930 (2011) [4] [a]
Uttar Pradesh 643,500 (2011) [4] [a]
Delhi 570,581 (2011) [4] [a]
Uttarakhand 236,340 (2011) [4] [a]
Maharashtra 223,247 (2011) [4] [a]
Madhya Pradesh 151,412 (2011) [4] [a]
Chandigarh 138,329 (2011) [4] [a]
Himachal Pradesh 79,896 (2011) [4] [a]
Languages
Sacred language
Sant Bhasha

Ethnic language
Punjabi and its dialects
Code language
Khalsa bole

Contents

Other languages
Hindi, English
Religion
Sikhism
Related ethnic groups

Punjabi Sikhs are adherents of Sikhism who identify ethnically, linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. Punjabi Sikhs are the second-largest religious group of the Punjabis, after the Punjabi Muslims. They form the largest religious community in the Indian state of Punjab. Sikhism is an indigenous religion that originated in the Punjab region of South Asia during the 15th century. Mostly all of the world's Sikh population are Punjabis. [5]

Punjabi Sikhs primarily inhabit the Indian state of Punjab, the only Sikh-majority administrative division on Earth. Punjabi Sikhs make up 57.69% of the state’s population. [6] Many have ancestry from the greater Punjab region, an area that was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947. In the contemporary era, apart from Indian Punjab, Punjabi Sikhs are found in large numbers across the Indian states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Large numbers are also found in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain, due to various immigration waves over the centuries. [7]

History

The Sikh religion founder, Guru Nanak (1469–1539), was roughly a contemporary of the founder of Mughal Empire Babur in India. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born in a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family, which was initially a community of scribes and traders. [8] In un-divided Punjab region, the eldest son of every Punjabi Hindu families was nominated and was represented as Sardars and had protected their family and Indic communities from the tyrannies of Mughal rulers and their torture. [9] [10] [11] A huge number of peasants from Hindu and Muslim backgrounds in Punjab have converted to Sikhism for various motives (such as conviction, fear, or economic) since the starting of new faith. [12]

Martial race

Indian Punjabi Sikh armies during their military training Soldier Sikh LI INF of the Indian Army practices aim during MALABAR 2006.jpg
Indian Punjabi Sikh armies during their military training

The militarization of Punjabi Sikhs began after the execution of Guru Arjan Dev (5th Guru in Sikhism). Following his execution, a conflict erupted between the Mughal Empire and Sikhs which led to the last guru, Gobind Singh, establishing a militarized order known as the Khalsa, in 1699. [13] Punjabi Sikhs were regarded as one of the toughest and fiercest warriors by the British during their rule in the Indian subcontinent. Punjabi Sikh soldiers constituted a significant chunk of the British Indian Army due to their distinguished service in action. [14] [15] Despite being only around 2% of India's population, Punjabi Sikhs constitute around 20% of the Indian Armed Forces, with the Punjab province being the 2nd largest contributor for manpower after Uttar Pradesh. [16] [17]

Language

Punjabi Sikhs speak the Punjabi language as their mother tongue. Various dialects of the Punjabi language such as Bagri, Bilaspuri, Bhateali, Majhi, Doabi, Malwai, and Puadhi etc are spoken by Punjabi Sikhs across India and abroad as their mother tongue. In Indian Punjab, Punjabi is written in Gurmukhi script. In Pakistani Punjab, Shahmukhi script is used. [18] Gurmukhi is written from left to right, while Shahmukhi is written from right to left. [19] [20] The use of Gurmukhi script generally started and developed during the time of second Sikh guru, Guru Angad Dev (1504–1552) who standardized it. [21] It is commonly regarded as a Sikh script. The Shahmukhi script has been used by Punjabi Muslims since the 12th century, when it was used by Punjabi Sufi poets. Shahmukhi is a Perso-Arabic alphabet script. [22]

Culture

Festivals

The Punjabi Sikhs observe historic festivals such as Lohri, Basant and Vaisakhi as seasonal and cultural festivals in Punjab and outside of it. Other seasonal Punjabi festivals in India include Maghi and Teeyan respectively. Teeyan is also known as festival of females, as women enjoy it with their close friends. On the day of maghi, people fly kites and eat their traditional dish Punjabi dish khichdi. [23] Other festivals observed by Punjabi Sikhs includes the festivals of Sikhism like- Gurupurab, Bandi Chhor Divas, etc.

Homeland demand

The demand for Khalistan as a separate homeland for Sikhs is championed by a segment of the Punjabi Sikh population, various advocacy groups, and certain Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who demand secession of Indian Punjab from India. This movement, rooted in historical, political, and religious factors, emerged prominently in the 1970s and 1980s. Key advocates include local organizations in Punjab and Sikhs abroad, particularly in Canada, the UK, and the US. They seek to safeguard Sikh identity, achieve political autonomy, and address historical grievances such as Operation Blue Star and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. However, not all Sikhs support this idea, with many preferring integration within India to address issues through democratic means. While the Khalistan movement does not dominate mainstream Sikh politics today, it remains a contentious issue with varying levels of support. [24]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Figure is total Sikh population on census.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurmukhi</span> Script used to write Punjabi language

Gurmukhī is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). Commonly regarded as a Sikh script, Gurmukhi is used in Punjab, India as the official script of the Punjabi language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikhism</span> Religion originating in Punjab, India

Sikhism, also known as Sikhi, is an Indian religion and philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religions and among the largest in the world with about 25–30 million adherents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guru Angad</span> Second Sikh guru from 1539 to 1552

Guru Angad was the second of the ten Sikh gurus of Sikhism. After meeting Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, becoming a Sikh, and serving and working with Nanak for many years, Nanak gave Lehna the name Angad, and chose Angad as the second Sikh Guru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guru Granth Sahib</span> Primary scripture of Sikhism

The Guru Granth Sahib is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth, its first rendition, was compiled by the fifth guru, Guru Arjan (1564–1606). Its compilation was completed on 29 August 1604 and first installed inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar on 1 September 1604. Baba Buddha was appointed the first Granthi of the Golden Temple. Shortly afterwards Guru Hargobind added Ramkali Ki Vaar. Later, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, added hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur to the Adi Granth and affirmed the text as his successor. This second rendition became known as the Guru Granth Sahib and is also sometimes referred to as the Adi Granth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shahmukhi</span> Script used to write the Punjabi language

Shahmukhi is the right-to-left abjad-based script developed from the Perso-Arabic alphabet used for the Punjabi language varieties, predominantly in Punjab, Pakistan. It is generally written in the Nastaʿlīq calligraphic hand, which is also used for Persian and Urdu. Shahmukhi is one of the two standard scripts used for Punjabi, the other being Gurmukhi used mainly in Punjab, India.

The following outline is provides an overview of Sikhism, or Sikhi.

The Punjabis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region, comprising areas of northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. They generally speak Standard Punjabi or various Punjabi dialects on both sides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Muktsar Sahib district</span> District of Punjab in India

Sri Muktsar Sahib district is one of the 23 districts in the Indian state of Punjab. The capital city of district is Sri Muktsar Sahib. The district itself was historically referred to as Khidrane Di Dhaab. There are four tehsils in the district, which consists of a total of 234 villages. The tehsils are Sri Muktsar Sahib, Lambi, Giddarbaha and Malout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikh scriptures</span> Holy books of the Sikh religion

The principal Sikh scripture is the Adi Granth, more commonly called the Guru Granth Sahib. The second most important scripture of the Sikhs is the Dasam Granth. Both of these consist of text which was written or authorised by the Sikh Gurus.

Guru Nanak founded the Sikh religion in the Punjab region of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the 15th century and opposed many traditional practices like fasting, Upanayana, idolatry, caste system, ascetism, azan, economic materialism, and gender discrimination.

Vaisakh is the second month in the Nanakshahi calendar and the Punjabi calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Muktsar Sahib</span> City in Punjab, India

Sri Muktsar Sahib, often referred to as simply Muktsar, is a historical city and district headquarters in Punjab, India. The 2011 census of India put the total population of Sri Muktsar Sahib municipality at 117,085, making it the 14th largest city of Punjab, in terms of population. The second Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Angad was born in the village Matte-di-Sarai (Sarainaga) in the same district. Earlier the city was called Khidrana/Khidrane di dhab, the city was named Muktsar after the Battle of Muktsar in 1705 and the district headquarters in 1995. The government officially changed the name of the city to Sri Muktsar Sahib in 2012, though the city is still primarily referred to by its unofficial name – Muktsar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurbachan Singh Talib</span>

Sardar Gurbachan Singh was a Sikh scholar, professor, and author. He was born in Moonak, Sangrur district. He was a lecturer at the Sikh National College at Lahore. At the Banaras Hindu University he held the Guru Nanak Chair of Sikh Studies. He received the Padma Bhushan in 1985. He received in 1985 the National fellowship by the Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi.

Martyrdom is a fundamental institution of Sikhism. Sikh festivals are largely focused on the lives of the Sikh gurus and Sikh martyrs. Their martyrdoms are regarded as instructional ideals for Sikhs, and have greatly influenced Sikh culture and practices.

Punjabi festivals are various festive celebrations observed by the Punjabis, originating in the Punjab region. The Punjabis are religiously a diverse and that affects the festivals they observe. According to a 2007 estimate, a total of ∼75% percent of the Punjabi population is Muslim, accounting about 90 million people, with 97% of Punjabis who live in Pakistan following Islam, in contrast to the remaining 30 million Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus who predominantly live in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punjabiyat</span> Punjabi language revitalisation movement

Punjabiyat, meaning "Punjabiness", is a movement amongst Punjabis that supports closer links with their cultural traditions and lifestyle. It also supports language revitalization of Punjabi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banda Singh Bahadur</span> Sikh warrior and general

Banda Singh Bahadur; born Lachman Dev;, was a Sikh warrior and a general of the Khalsa Army. At age 15, he left home to become an ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Bairagi. He established a monastery at Nānded, on the bank of the river Godāvarī. In 1707, Guru Gobind Singh accepted an invitation to meet Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I in southern India, he visited Banda Singh Bahadur in 1708. Banda became disciple of Guru Gobind Singh and was given a new name, Gurbaksh Singh(as written in Mahan Kosh), after the baptism ceremony. He is popularly known as Banda Singh Bahadur. He was given five arrows by the Guru as a blessing for the battles ahead. He came to Khanda, Sonipat and assembled a fighting force and led the struggle against the Mughal Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Writers of the Guru Granth Sahib</span>

The Guru Granth Sahib, is the central religious text of Sikhism, considered by Sikhs to be the final sovereign Guru of the religion. It contains 1430 Angs, containing 5,894 hymns of 36 saint mystics which includes Sikh gurus, Bhagats, Bhatts and Gursikhs. It is notable among foundational religious scriptures for including hymns from writers of other religions, namely Hindus and Muslims. It also contains teachings of the Sikh gurus themselves.

Punjabi nationalism is an ideology which emphasizes that the Punjabis are one nation and promotes the cultural unity of Punjabis around the world. The demands of the Punjabi nationalist movement are linguistic, cultural, economic and political rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Punjab, India</span> Overview of and topical guide to Punjab, India

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Punjab:

References

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Further reading