Sikh
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| Sikhs |
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| Total population |
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25 million |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Languages |
| Punjabi |
| Religions |
| Sikhism |
A Sikh (IPA: ['siːk] or ['sɪk]; Punjabi: ਿੱਸੱਖ, sikkh, IPA: ['sɪk.kʰ]) is an adherent to Sikhism. The term has its origin in the Sanskrit "shishya", which means disciple or learner. The sikh male and females can easily be recognized by his or her turban, beard, and a steel bracelet on the wrist. The women and men also adorn long hair underneath their turbans and many women also may choose not to wear a turban. All Sikh males have Singh in their name and women Kaur.
Most Sikhs come from the Punjab region of Pakistan and India, although significant communities exist around the world.
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[edit] Definition
A Sikh is one who believes in:
- One supreme god
- Ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh
- The Guru Granth Sahib
- Baptism with the amrit from Khande di Pahul
[edit] Basic philosophy
Guru Nanak, the founder of the faith, summed up the basis of Sikh lifestyle in three requirements: Naam Japo, Kirat Karni and Wand kay Shako,which means meditate on the holy name, Waheguru, work diligently and honestly and share ones fruits.
Sikh religion has some salient features which make it distinct from the other major world religions. The Guru Granth Sahib, is revered as the living Guru, not just a holy book. The Guru Granth Sahib, has been compiled entirely by the Sikh Guru's themselves, and is maintained in its original form. It can be truly described as the universal religion. In addition to the Guru's, it also includes the works of many saints of that period. The followers, with their turban and natural hair, are proud and definitely distinct, yet in their belief system are very humble, and include in their daily prayers the well being of the whole mankind. The concept of saint-soldier, introduced by the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, is another feature very unique to observers. Every Sikh is required to aspire to be a saint by his devotion to god, and service to mankind, but at the same time, according to the situation, adopt the role of the soldier. They aspire to be the best, but not get obsessed by the act. They want the best, but do not crave to accumulate. Seva(service) is an integral part of their worship. This is very easily observed in their Gurdwara(temple). Another interesting feature of their temple is that any visitor of any religious or socio-economic background is welcomed. Langar(food) is always served, and here again no distinction is made of the persons religious or socio-economic status.
[edit] Five Ks
The Five Ks, or panj kakaar/kakke, are five items of faith that some Sikhs wear at all times at the command of the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh who so ordered at the Baisakhi Amrit Sanchar in 1699. They are:-
- Kesh (uncut hair)
- Kanga (wooden comb)
- Kaccha (specially-designed underwear)
- Kara (iron bracelet)
- Kirpan (strapped sword).
They are mainly for identity and representation of the ideals of Sikhism, such as honesty, equality, fidelty, meditating on God and never bowing to tyranny.
[edit] Distribution
Numbering approximately 23 million worldwide; 90% live in India, and over 60 percent of Sikhs live in the Indian state of Punjab, where they form about two-thirds of the population. Large communities of Sikhs live in the neighbouring states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, and Delhi. Migration beginning from the late nineteenth century have found significant communities in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Middle East, East Africa, Southeast Asia, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In Canada, their numbers are significant and some are even MP's.
[edit] Representation
Despite their comparatively low percentage in India (2%), Sikhs are highly represented in Indian politics and other walks of life. The prime minister of India Manmohan Singh is a Sikh. They form a significant segment of India's military services and sports. They are especially well known for their world performance in field hockey, and cricket. They are outstanding engineers and doctors, such as Professor Piara Singh Gill famous Nuclear scientist who worked on the American Manhattan project. In USA politics, the first Asian American elected to the United States Congress was Dalip Singh Saund. In Malaysia, Tan Sri Dato' Seri Darshan Singh Gill is a renowned Sikh leader in Malaysia. He also been the President of the Asian Cycling Confederation and Management Board Member of International Cycling Union. Some Sikh intellectuals, sportsmen and artists include Khushwant Singh,writer, Monty Panesar,England cricketer, Jaspal Bhatti, Milkha Singh,world record holder(400m olympic games 1960), and Bishen Singh Bedi(cricketer),
Sikh community also enjoys comparatively greater economic prosperity. In India and across the world, Sikhs are an important mercantile class, as well as employed in skilled professions. They have close-knit community structure, and place emphasis on education. They are world class farmers, and the state of Punjab is known as the bread basket of India
They have amicable relations with all communities. However, during the 1980s there was political and religious conflicts in India with the majority Hindu government.
The Sikh community, is comprised of many diverse sets of peoples. These include different ethnic peoples, tribal and socio-economic groups. Main peoples and tribes include Jat, Ramgharia, Kalal/Ahluwalia, Kamboj, Rajput and Labana. Urban mercantile Sikh communities include Khatri, Arora, Bhatia and Sood. There are also Sikhs of Brahmin (mostly Mohyal) and Dalit extraction/ancestry. The bulk of Sikhs are of Jat origin.
There has also emerged a specialized group of Sikhs calling themselves Akalis, which have existed since Maharaja Ranjit Singh's. Under their leader General Akali Phula Singh, in the early 1800s, they won many battles for the Sikh Empire. The Akali and Prasadis, have recently become more vocal.
needs sources
[edit] Sikhism in the Western World
Due to the turbans Sikhs wear, people in Western countries have sometimes confused Sikhs with Middle Eastern men or Muslims. This has affected Sikhs in times of conflict with elements of the Middle East. For example, during the Iranian hostage crisis when the government of Iran held Americans hostages in its own country, some people in Western countries misunderstood the Sikh turban as a turban worn by all Middle Eastern men, they did not understand it is also worn in India. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, some people associated Sikhs with terrorists or members of the Taliban. A few days after the attack, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh man, was gunned down by a person who thought that the victim had ties to Al-Qaeda. CNN suggests that there has been an increase in hate-crimes against Sikh men in the United States and the UK.[1][2]
[edit] Highly Distinguished Sikhs (modern era)
Sikhs in the modern era which have made contribution at the international or world class level include:
- Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh.
- Master Tara Singh - celebrated Sikh hero leader and famous Sikh Indian independence movement leader.
- Baldev Singh - famous Sikh Indian independence movement leader.
- Sardul Singh Caveeshar - famous Sikh Indian independence movement leader.
- Pratap Singh Kairon - celebrated Sikh political leader and famous Sikh Indian independence movement leader.
- Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh - Former Chief of the Air Force Staff, and first and only five star rank officer of the Indian Air Force (the highest rank ever given in the history of the Indian Air force).
- General Joginder Jaswant Singh - the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian army.
- Harbhajan Singh - Internationally famous Indian cricketer who was nicknamed "The turbanator" by the Australian team after his killing bowling spell against the Aussies.
- Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany - Internationally famous scientist and considered the Father of fiber optics.[3]
- Milkha Singh (the flying Sikh) - Winner of Padma Shri, 1960 Olympic Games 400m record holder at Rome Olympics - (Olympic record). Gold medal Champion 1958 Commonwealth Games, Gold medal Asian Games 1958 (200 & 400 metres) and Gold medal Asian Games 1962 (200 metres).
- Bishen Singh Bedi - Indian former cricketer who specialised in slow left-arm orthodox bowling.
- Kanwar Singh Bhutani, president of Tupperware North America
[edit] Sikhs in World War I & II and other Wars
Sikhs fought in both World Wars, such as, fighting in disproportionately large numbers, approximately 10 fold,[4] in both World War One and World War Two for the allies in the liberation of Europe and displaying exceptional gallantry and heroism. This resulted in them winning one of the highest per capita number of Victoria crosses for bravery, heroism and gallantry.[5]
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- Captain Ishar Singh - The first Sikh who received the Victoria Cross.
- Lance Karam Singh - awarded the Military Medal in World War II and awarded Param Vir Chakra (the second person to receive Param Vir Chakra).
- Joginder Singh (Subedar) - awarded Param Vir Chakra.
- Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria - awarded Param Vir Chakra.
- Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon - awarded Param Vir Chakra (the only officer of the Indian Air Force to be awarded Param Vir Chakra).
- Nand Singh - awarded the Victoria Cross.
- Gian Singh - awarded the Victoria Cross.
- Lieutenant Karamjit Singh Judge - awarded the Victoria Cross.
- Major Havildar Parkash Singh - awarded the Victoria Cross.
- Bana Singh - awarded the Param Vir Chakra.
- Lt. General Jagjit Singh Aurora - Lt. General Jagjit Singh Aurora supervised the surrender of more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
[edit] Battle of Saragarhi
UNESCO has described the Battle of Saragarhi, and the Sikh officers and soldiers (British Empire Army) who fought in it (listed below), as one of eight all time stories of collective bravery in human history.[6] The contingent of the twenty one Sikhs was led by Havildar Ishar Singh, and all chose to fight to the death instead of surrendering. In recognition of their supreme sacrifice, the British Parliament rose to pay them respect, and each one of them was awarded the Indian Order of Merit. In the West, it has been compared to the Battle of Thermopylae. Sikh military personnel and Sikh non-military people commemorate the battle around the World every year on September 12th, it is referred to as "Saragarhi Day".
[edit] Sikh Victoria Cross winners
- Captain Ishar Singh.
- Lieutenant Karamjit Singh Judge.
- Nand Singh.
- Major Havildar Parkash Singh.
- Gian Singh.
[edit] Sikh Martyrs (modern era)
- Bhagat Singh - Freedom fighter.
- Udham Singh - Freedom fighter.
- Kartar Singh Sarabha- Freedom fighter.
- Jaswant Singh Khalra - Human rights defender.
- Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale-Sikh rights defender
- Bhai Sukhwinder Singh - Achieved Martyrdom for respect of Sikhs
- Bhai Harjinder Singh Jinda - Achieved Martyrdom for respect of Sikhs
[edit] Sikh role in Indian National Army
- General Mohan Singh Deb - was the person who came up with the idea of organising an army from the POWs and went from prison to prison in Japan to encourage the POWs of the British India Army to come together and form an independent army to fight for the cause of ousting the British Rule from India.
- Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon - was one of the three officers of the INA to be tried in the Red Fort Trials of 1945.
[edit] References
- ^ CNN, America, "Hate crime reports up in wake of terrorist attacks" 17 September 2001
- ^ Sikhs urging action on faith hate BBC News Online, 5 November 2006.
- ^ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040119/biz.htm#1
- ^ http://www.sikhs.nl/Main/World%20War%201%20&%202/WorldwarII.htm
- ^ http://www.asht.info/Sikhs+&+British+Empire
- ^ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040911/edit.htm#6
[edit] External links
- The Sikhism Home Page - General resource site introducing the main concepts of Sikhism.
- The Sikh Missionary Society (UK) - Non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the Sikh religion, culture and history.
- Sikh Videos Gurbani Kirtan - Exclusive Videos site on Sikh Religion.
- All About Sikhs - Sikhism resource site.
- Sri Granth - Guru Granth Sahib search engine with additional scriptural resources.
- Sikh History Portal - Definitive Sikh History Site.
- SikhNet - Popular Sikh community website.
- Sikhs Vote Support for Gandhi - Movie clip shot at Lahore
- First Sikh of Pakistan Army
- Sikhs: Smithsonian Exhibit - A video of the beautiful exhibition on Sikhs in the Smithsonian Washington DC.
- Gurudwara Sri Sher Gah Sahib(Paonta Sahib)
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This article contains Indic text. Without rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes or other symbols instead of Indic characters; or irregular vowel positioning and a lack of conjuncts. |
| Gurus: | Nanak Dev | Angad Dev | Amar Das | Ram Das | Arjun Dev | Har Gobind | Har Rai | Har Krishan | Teg Bahadur | Gobind Singh | Guru Granth Sahib | Sikh Bhagats |
| Philosophy: | Beliefs and principles | Underlying values | Prohibitions | Technique and methods | Other observations |
| Practices: | Ardās | Amrit Sanskar | Chaṛdī Kalā | Dasvand | Five Ks | Kirat Karō | Kirtan | Langar | Nām Japō | Simran | Three Pillars | Vaṇḍ Chakkō |
| Scripture: | Guru Granth Sahib | Adi Granth | Dasam Granth | Bani | Chaupai | Jaap Sahib | Japji Sahib | Mool Mantar | Rehras | Sukhmani | Tav-Prasad Savaiye |
| More: | History | Ek Onkar | Gurdwara | Harmandir Sahib | History | Khalsa | Khanda | Literature | Music | Names | Places | Politics | Satguru | Sikhs | Waheguru | Bhagat Farid | Bhagat Kabir | History of the Punjab | Sardar | Takhat |
