Sikhism in India

Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and the first Sikh Guru. The last living Guru, Guru Gobind Singh passed the Guruship of the Sikhs to the Eternal Guru of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib, the last Guru of Sikhism (the sacred text of Sikhism). It also includes the writings of the some Sikh Gurus and the writings of Hindu and Muslims saints because all of these Bhagats and Bhatts shared the view of one universal creator God, they have experienced unison with almighty. Every human being is equal in front of Waheguru.

A Sikh man wearing a turban

The Sikhs of Afghanistan are primarily Punjabi merchants and immigrants.[13][14] They speak the Punjabi language within themselves but are usually fluent in Dari and occasionally Pashto as well.[15]

Sikhism in Bengal region dates back to 1504 but has declined after the partition.[16] Sikhism first emerged in Bengal when Guru Nanak visited Bangladesh in 1504 and established a number of Gurdwaras.[17] Gurdwara Nanak Shahi is the principal Sikh Gurdwara (prayer hall) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is located at the campus of the University of Dhaka and considered to be the biggest of the 7 Gurdwaras in the country. After the Partition of India, the Sikh community left for India.[17] After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and Bangladesh Liberation War, Indian Sikh soldiers helped renovate the Gudwaras left in Bangladesh. Tegh Bahadur visited Dhaka. There is another Sikh temple known as the Gurudwara Sangat Tola. Many Sikhs also used to visit a well at the ruins of Jafarabad which they believed has waters with curative powers.[18]

There was a presence of Sikhism in Sylhet Division after Guru Nanak's visit in 1508. Kahn Singh Nabha has stated that in memory of Nanak's visit, Gurdwara Sahib Sylhet was established. This Gurdwara was visited twice by Tegh Bahadur and many hukamnamas were issued to this temple by Guru Gobind Singh. In 1897, the gurdwara fell down after the earthquake. Nearly all the Sikhs of Sylhet in the early 18th century were found in North Cachar where they used to work for the Assam Bengal Railway.[19] There are around 1 lakh Bengali people who follow Sikhism as their religion in both West Bengal and Bangladesh.[20]

The presence of Sikhism has been existing in Assam[21] for over 200 years. The community traces its origins to the times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who took his army to Assam and put some influence of the religion towards the locals. According to the 2001 census, there were 22,519 Sikhs in Assam,[22] out of which 4,000 are Assamese Sikhs.[23]

Assamese Sikhs follow the Sikh religion and celebrate Sikh festivals as they also celebrate cultural festivals such as Magh Bihu and wear traditional Assamese dress. Their language is the Assamese language.[23][24]

Agrahari Sikh is a Sikh community found in eastern India including state West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. Agrahari Sikhs, also known as Bihari Sikhs, have existed for centuries in Bihar and Jharkhand.[25]

Bihari Sikhs share their culture with the local Bihari community. The men generally wear the local dhoti and women wear the Sari. They also celebrate cultural festivals such as the Chath festival.[26]

Dakhni Sikhs are from the Deccan Plateau in India located within the states of Telegana and Andhra Pradesh.[27] The traditional dress of women is the sari. The native language of Dakhni Sikhs is the Telugu language.[28]

Ethnic Kashmiri Sikhs speak the Kashmiri language and observe Kashmiri culture. They trace their religious heritage to the influence of Sikh soldiers who settled in Kashmir under the Maharaja Ranjit Singh rule in 1819. However, the soldiers permanently settled in Kashmir.[29]

Punjabi Sikhs follow the Punjabi culture. Their traditional dress includes the Punjabi Salwar Suit, Punjabi Tamba and Kurta, Punjabi juti and Patiala salwar.

In addition to the Sikh festivals using the Nanakshahi calendar, Punjabi Sikhs observe traditional Punjabi festivals using the Punjabi calendar.

In addition to celebrating Sikh festivals, Sindhi Sikhs celebrate cultural festivals such as Cheti Chand, the Sindhi new year. Sindhi Sikhs speak the Sindhi language. Most of the Sindhi Hindus are Nanak Panthis who believe in 10 Sikh Gurus and regularly go to guru dwara and most of the Marriage also takes place in Gurudwara.[30]

There are Sikh communities in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra who converted to Sikhism centuries ago.

The Sikhs comprise Banjara and Satnami. The process of blending the religion into southern India for the Sikligars began at the time of 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, who came to the Deccan and died in 1708 at Nanded (Maharashtra).

It all came by the Sikligars as they cane to southern India as expert arms-making camp followers of the tenth Guru. Sikligar is a compound of the Persian words `saiqal` and `gar` meaning a polisher of metal.[27] The traditional occupation of the Sikligars is crafting kitchen implements.

Banjaras are a nomadic tribe who traditionally travelled with merchandise and are found across a large swathe of northern India, as well as in the south. Sikh Banjaras too travelled with armies of the past supplying them with provisions.[27]

Other states then Punjab, where Sikh population has some impact are U.T. of Chandigarh (13.11%), New Delhi (3.4%), Haryana (4.91%), Uttarakhand (2.34%), Rajasthan (1.27%), Jammu & Kashmir (1.87%) and Himachal Pradesh (1.16%).[36]