 | |
 Dr. Manmohan Singh at Palácio da Alvorada, Brazil | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 300 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Rio de Janeiro · São Paulo | |
| Languages | |
| Brazilian Portuguese · Punjabi • Hindi • Urdu |
Sikhs in Brazil are a religious minority and there are estimated to be around 300 Sikhs living in the country. [1] [2] [3]
Brazilian Sikhs started with the arrival of the first Sikh immigrants in the early 20th century. These immigrants came to Brazil seeking better economic opportunities, and they settled primarily in the southern part of the country, in the Brazilian state of Paraná. However, most Sikhs went to Brazil to reach Argentina. [4]
Sikhs in Latin America, including Brazil, have been the subject of academic research as well. In his book "Sikhs in Latin America: Travels Among the Sikh Diaspora," Swaran Singh provides a comprehensive overview of the history and culture of Sikhs in the region. Singh's research highlights the challenges that Sikhs in Latin America face in preserving their religious and cultural traditions while also integrating into their host societies. [5]
Sikhism is known for its commitment to equality and social justice, and the Sikh community in Brazil has worked to promote these values within their own community and in the wider Brazilian society. In 2018, a delegation of Brazilian Sikhs visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, to plead for gender equality within the Sikh community. The delegation included both men and women, and they called for the removal of restrictions on women's participation in some Sikh religious ceremonies. [6] [7]
Most Sikhs in Brazil belong to the 3HO community or Punjabi migrants, who have come for business opportunities. The descendants of earlier immigrant generation have largely married outside of the culture and religion due to the lack of a large Sikh population. [1]
The Sikh community in Brazil has established several gurdwaras, or places of worship, throughout the country. One of the most well-known gurdwaras is the Shri Arjun Dev Sahib Gurdwara in the city of Curitiba, which was inaugurated in 1980. This gurdwara is the first and largest Sikh temple in Brazil and has become a symbol of the Sikh community's presence in the country. [8]
Sikhs are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term Sikh has its origin in the Sanskrit word śiṣya, meaning 'seeker', 'disciple' or 'student'.
Vaisakhi, also known as Baisakhi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April. It is seen as a spring harvest celebration primarily in Punjab and Northern India. Whilst it is culturally significant as a festival of harvest, in many parts of India, Vaisakhi is also the date for the Indian Solar New Year.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee is an organization in India responsible for the management of gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship, in the states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the union territory of Chandigarh. SGPC also administers Darbar Sahib in Amritsar.
Anandpur Sahib, also referred simply as Anandpur, is a city in Rupnagar district (Ropar), on the edge of Shivalik Hills, in the Indian state of Punjab. Located near the Sutlej River, the city is one of the most sacred religious places in Sikhism, being the place where the last two Sikh Gurus, Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh, lived. It is also the place where Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth in 1699. The city is home to Takhat Sri Kesgarh Sahib, the third of the five Takhts in Sikhism.
The principles of Sikhism state that women have the same souls as men and thus possess an equal right to cultivate their spirituality with equal chances of achieving salvation. Women participate in all Sikh religious, cultural, social, and secular activities including lead religious congregations, take part in the Akhand Path, perform Kirtan, perform Gatka and work as a Granthis.
Sikhism is the fourth-largest religious group in Canada, with nearly 800,000 adherents, or 2.1% of Canada's population, as of 2021. The largest Sikh populations in Canada are found in Ontario, followed by British Columbia and Alberta. As of the 2021 Census, more than half of Canada's Sikhs can be found in one of four cities: Brampton (163,260), Surrey (154,415), Calgary (49,465), and Edmonton (41,385).
The Khalsa Diwan Society Vancouver is a Sikh gurdwara organization in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Italian Sikhs are a growing religious minority in Italy, which has the second biggest Sikh population in Europe after the United Kingdom (525,000) and sixth largest number of Sikhs in the world. It is estimated that there are 220,000 Sikhs in Italy, constituting 0.3% of the total Italian population.
Malaysian Sikhs are known to be the fourth largest Malaysian Indian ethnic group. It is estimated that there are around 100,000 Sikhs in Malaysia.
Gurdwara Janam Asthan, also referred to as Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, is a highly revered gurdwara that is situated at the site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, was born. The shrine is located in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan.
The Golden Temple (also known as the Harmandir Sahib, or the Darbār Sahib, is a gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the pre-eminent spiritual site of Sikhism. It is one of the holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Kartarpur, and Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib.
A takht, or taḵẖat, literally means a throne or seat of authority and is a spiritual and temporal centre of Sikhism. There are five takhts, which are five gurudwaras that have a very special significance for the Sikh community. Three are located in Punjab whilst the remaining two are located outside of it.
Sikhism prohibits idolatry, in accordance with mainstream Khalsa norms and the teachings of the Sikh Gurus, a position that has been accepted as orthodox.
Sikhism in Bangladesh has an extensive heritage and history, although Sikhs had always been a minority community in Bengal. Their founder, Guru Nanak visited a number of places in Bengal in the early sixteenth century where he introduced Sikhism to locals and founded numerous establishments. In its early history, the Sikh gurus despatched their followers to propagate Sikh teachings in Bengal and issued hukamnamas to that region. Guru Tegh Bahadur lived in Bengal for two years, and his successor Guru Gobind Singh also visited the region. Sikhism in Bengal continued to exist during the colonial period as Sikhs found employment in the region, but it declined after the partition in 1947. Among the eighteen historical gurdwaras in Bangladesh, only five are extant. The Gurdwara Nanak Shahi of Dhaka is the principal and largest gurdwara in the country. The Sikh population in the country almost entirely consists of businessmen and government officials from the neighbouring Republic of India.
Sikhism in Japan is a small, minority religion. There are gurdwaras located in Tokyo, Ibaraki and Kobe.
Sikhism in China is a minority religion in the People's Republic of China. Sikhism originated from the Punjab region of the northern Indian subcontinent.
Sikhs in Argentina are a religious minority in Argentina and there are estimated to be around 300 Sikhs living in the country.
Sikhs in Chile are a religious minority in Chile. There is no demographic data on the Sikh population living in the country but it is estimated to be less than 1,000.
Sikhs in Mexico are a religious minority in Mexico. There is estimated to be no more than 1,000 Sikhs living in Mexico, with most residing in Mexico City and the Naucalpan region.
Sikhism is a minority religion in South America, which is estimated to be less than 0.1% of the total continent's population.
Dr Gurusangat Kaur Khalsa said, "We have a community of more than 300 Sikhs in Brazil, out of which around 10 are 'amritdharis' whereas the rest are 'sehajdhari' Sikhs.
We have a network of 2,000 people
When groups of Sikhs did reach the shores of South America it was not always at Buenos Aires. Some had to travel further, overland through Chile or Brazil.