Concept

Sikhs

Overview

Sikhs (Gurmukhi: ਸਿੱਖ, romanized: Sikkh, Punjabi pronunciation: [sɪkkʰ]) are followers of Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the teachings 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 ('code of conduct'), 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 initiation, known as the Amrit Sanchar, bequeathed by the tenth Guru and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion, is a Sikh.

Male Sikhs generally have Singh ('lion') as their last name, though not all Singhs are necessarily Sikhs; likewise, female Sikhs generally have Kaur ('princess') as their last name. These unique last names were given by the Gurus to allow Sikhs to stand out and also as an act of defiance to India's caste system, which the Gurus were always against. Sikhs strongly believe in the idea of sarbat da bhala ('welfare of all') and are often seen on the frontline to provide humanitarian aid across the world.

Sikhs who have undergone the Amrit Sanchar ('baptism by Khanda'), an initiation ceremony, are known as Khalsa from the day of their initiation and they must at all times have on their bodies the five Ks:

kesh, uncut hair usually kept covered by a dastār, also known as a turban;

kara, an iron or steel bracelet;

kirpan, a dagger-like sword tucked into a gatra strap or a kamar kasa waistband;

kachera, a cotton undergarment; and

kanga, a small wooden comb.

The Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent has been the historic homeland of the Sikhs, having even been ruled by the Sikhs for significant parts of the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, Canada has the largest national Sikh proportion (2.1%) in the world, while the Punjab state in India has the largest Sikh proportion (60%) amongst all administrative divisions in the world. With a population of approximately 25 to 30 million, Sikhs represent about 0.3% to 0.4% of the total world population in 2024. Many countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, recognise Sikhs as a designated religion on their censuses and, as of 2020, Sikhs are considered as a separate ethnic group in the United States. The UK also considers Sikhs to be an ethno-religious people, as a direct result of the Mandla v Dowell-Lee case in 1982.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Possible passages

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To live by hand-spinning and hand-weaving is any day more _manly_ than to live by killing. Aurangzeb was not the less a soldier for sewing caps. What we prize in the Sikhs is not their ability to kill. The late Sardar Lachman Singh will go down to posterity as a hero, because he knew how to die. The Mahant of Nankhana Saheb will go down to posterity as a murderer.
Mahatma Gandhi, The Wheel of Fortune
States what Sikhs is; names Sikhs.
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Other methods of deliverance from evil are in the excessive acts of penance performed by the Indians, to which a retreat within themselves is added. Now when the Indian thus internally collects himself, and retreats within his own thoughts, the moment of such pure concentration is called Brahma, the one and the clearly supersensuous state, which the understanding calls the highest possible existence. When this is so…
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Hegel's Lectures on the History of Philosophy
States what Sikhs is.
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Considered in these terms the first stage in Non-co-operation is the simplest and the easiest state. If the title-holders of India consider that India is suffering from a grievous wrong both as regards the Punjab and the Khilafat is it any suffering on their part to renounce their titles to-day? What is the measure of the suffering awaiting the lawyers who are called upon to suspend practice when compared to the…
Mahatma Gandhi, Freedom's Battle Being a Comprehensive Collection of Writings and Speeches on the Present Situation
States what Sikhs is.
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Sikhs

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