Sikhs are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a Dharmic 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'. 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.
A turban is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with prominent turban-wearing traditions can be found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, North Africa, West Africa, East Africa, and amongst some Turkic peoples in Russia as well as Ashkenazi Jews.
In Sikhism, the Five Ks are five items that Guru Gobind Singh, in 1699, commanded Khalsa Sikhs to wear at all times. They are: kesh, kangha, kara, kachera, and kirpan.
The kirpan is a curved, single-edged blade that Khalsa Sikhs are required to wear as part of their religious uniform, as prescribed by the Sikh Code of Conduct. Traditionally, the kirpan was a full-sized talwar sword around 76 cm in length; however, British colonial policies and laws introduced in the 19th century reduced the length of the blade, and in the modern day, the kirpan is typically manifested as a dagger or knife. According to the Sikh Rehat Maryada, "The length of the sword to be worn is not prescribed". It is part of a religious commandment given by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, founding the Khalsa order and introducing the five articles of faith which must be worn at all times, the kirpan being one of five Ks.
The Nihang or Akali, also known as Dal Khalsa, is an armed Sikh warrior order originating in the Indian subcontinent. Nihangs are believed to have originated either from Fateh Singh and the attire he wore or from the "Akal Sena" started by Guru Hargobind. Early Sikh military history was dominated by the Nihang, known for their victories where they were heavily outnumbered. Traditionally known for their bravery and ruthlessness in the battlefield, the Nihang once formed the irregular guerrilla squads of the armed forces of the Sikh Empire, the Sikh Khalsa Army.
The Akhand Kirtani Jatha, alternatively romanized as the Akhand Keertanee Jathaa and abbreviated as AKJ, is a jatha and sect of Sikhism dedicated to the Sikh lifestyle. The Jatha follows a strict discipline in keeping the Rehat of Guru Gobind Singh. They also enjoy an active style of Keertan recited by Sikhs in a collective manner in front of Guru Granth Sahib. This style of Keertan is relatively simple, and the entire congregation devotionally participates in singing along.
Multani v Commission scolaire Marguerite‑Bourgeoys, [2006] 1 S.C.R. 256, 2006 SCC 6 is a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in which the Court struck down an order of a Quebec school authority, that prohibited a Sikh child from wearing a kirpan to school, as a violation of freedom of religion under section 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This order could not be saved under section 1 of the Charter.
A dastār is an item of headwear associated with Sikhism, and is an important part of Sikh culture. The word is loaned from Persian through Punjabi. In Persian, the word dastār can refer to any kind of turban and replaced the original word for turban, dolband (دلبند), from which the English word is derived.
American Sikhs form the country's sixth-largest religious group. While the U.S. Census does not ask about religion, 70,697 Americans declared Sikh as their ethnicity in the 2020 census. In the 2021 Canadian census, 194,640 Canadians declared Sikh as their ethnicity while 771,790 Canadians declared Sikh as their religion, indicating that the Sikh American population may be around 280,329, or 0.08% of the total population. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the adult Sikh American population at 78,000 in 2008. The Pew Research Center estimated the Sikh American adult population to be 140,000 and the total population at 200,000 in 2012 while the World Religion Database at Boston University estimated the American Sikh population to be at 280,000 in 2012. Sikh organizations like the Sikh Coalition and American Sikh Congressional Caucus estimate the Sikh American population to be as high as 1,000,000, but do not provide any sources for these figures; 500,000 nevertheless remains the most cited Sikh American population size. With 1% of Asian Americans being Sikh, and 90.7% of Sikh Americans being Asian American, the American Sikh population can be estimated at around 200,000-300,000 in 2021. The largest Sikh populations in the U.S. are found in California (52%), New York (11%), and Washington (6%).
Jaswant Singh Khalra (1952–1995) was a prominent Sikh human rights activist.
Sikhism in Canada has nearly 800,000 adherents who account for 2.1% of Canada's population as of 2021, forming the country's fastest-growing and fourth-largest religious group. 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).
Terry Milewski is a Canadian journalist, who was the senior correspondent for CBC News until his retirement in 2016.
Religious clothing is clothing which is worn in accordance with religious practice, tradition or significance to a faith group. It includes clerical clothing such as cassocks, and religious habit, robes, and other vestments. Accessories include hats, wedding rings, crucifixes, etc.
Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, decoration, or for religious or cultural reasons, including social conventions.
Sikhs and Sikh Americans have served in the United States military since World War I through all subsequent wars. Since the 1980s, observant Sikhs have faced difficulty in serving due to a discontinuation of exemptions to uniform standards which previously allowed Sikhs to maintain their religiously mandated beards and turbans while in uniform.
Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) since 2017. Singh has sat as the member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby South since 2019. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 2011, representing Bramalea—Gore—Malton until his entry into federal politics. A practicing Sikh of Punjabi descent, Singh is an Indo-Canadian, making him the first Sikh and the first member of a visible minority group to be elected to lead a major federal political party in Canada.
Sikhism was founded in Punjab in 1469 by Guru Nanak on the foundations that everyone is equal, regardless of caste, age, or gender. Both men and women are supposed to follow the Five Ks: Kesh, Kangha (comb), Kara, Kachera and Kirpan, and there was never a distinction between what a woman should be allowed to do versus a man at theological level. Men and women are treated equally in the temple (gurdwara), and everyone eats and prays side-by-side. Both men and women are meant to carry the Kirpan with them as they are responsible for their own physical protection, and should not depend on others. Sikhs are strictly against the caste system and many chose to use Kaur or Singh as a last name to push against the problematic caste system in India. There is only one god (Waheguru) in Sikhism and they are without form or gender, and everyone is equal in the eyes of God. Many Sikh women believe that this absence of assignment of code of conduct for a woman versus a man proves that their religion is historically committed to gender equality. Presently, the culture does not always follow these traditions and equality is often more true in ideals rather than daily practice. According to Kiman Kaur: "It is essential to take into account the diverse Kaur narratives in order to critically understand the violence Sikh womxn experience due to religious, ethnic, and gender minoritization through enabling more intersectional conversations."
Sikhism in Greater Vancouver is one of the main religions across the region, especially among the Indo-Canadian population. The Sikh community in Vancouver is the oldest, largest and most influential across Canada, having begun in the late 19th century.
Gyani Sundar Singh Sagar, commonly known as Gyani Ji, was a Sikh scholar and social activist. He dedicated his life to various campaigns for Sikh rights to be recognised and respected in the United Kingdom. Principal among those were his fight for the turban including a seven year campaign for Sikh bus conductors in Manchester to be able to wear the turban as part of their uniform and his protest against The Motorcycle Crash Helmets Act of 1972 so Sikhs could legally be allowed to wear turbans instead of crash helmets.
