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Punjabi Sikhs

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Punjabi Sikhs
A painting of a Punjabi Sikh family, circa late 19th century
Total population
c. 25-28 million approx.
(Worldwide)[1][2][3]
Regions with significant populations
Punjab, India16,004,754 (2011 census)[4][a]
Haryana1,243,752 (2011)[4][a]
Rajasthan872,930 (2011)[4][a]
Uttar Pradesh643,500 (2011)[4][a]
Delhi570,581 (2011)[4][a]
Uttarakhand236,340 (2011)[4][a]
Maharashtra223,247 (2011)[4][a]
Madhya Pradesh151,412 (2011)[4][a]
Chandigarh138,329 (2011)[4][a]
Himachal Pradesh79,896 (2011)[4][a]
Religions
Sikhism
Languages
Sacred language
Sant Bhasha

Ethnic language
Punjabi and its dialects
Code language
Khalsa bole

Other languages
Hindi, English

Punjabi Sikhs are an ethnoreligious group of Punjabis who adhere to Sikhism. The global Sikh population is primarily composed of Punjabis.[5] Punjabi Sikhs primarily inhabit and form the largest religious community in the Indian state of Punjab, the only Sikh-majority administrative division in the world. Punjabi Sikhs make up 57.69% of the state’s population.[6] Apart from Indian Punjab, Punjabi Sikhs are found in large numbers across the Indian states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Large numbers are also found in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain, due to various immigration waves over the centuries.[7]

History

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Indian Punjabi Sikh soldiers during their military training

The Sikh religion founder, Guru Nanak (1469–1539), was roughly a contemporary of the founder of Mughal Empire Babur in India. Guru Nanak was born in a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family, which was initially a community of scribes and traders.[8] In the Punjab region, the eldest son of every Punjabi Hindu families was nominated and was represented a sardar who protected his family and Indic communities from the tyrannies of Mughal rulers and their torture.[9][10][11] A large number of peasants from Hindu and Muslim backgrounds in Punjab have converted to Sikhism for various motives (such as conviction, fear, or economic) since the starting of new faith.[12] The militarization of Punjabi Sikhs began after the execution of Guru Arjan (5th guru in Sikhism). Following his execution, a conflict erupted between the Mughal Empire and Sikhs which led to the last guru, Gobind Singh, establishing a militarized order known as the Khalsa, in 1699.[13]

Due to persecution in the Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb in the 17th century, the Khalsa was formed. The region of Punjab was invaded by Nader Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali in the 18th-century. A Sikh kingdom formed in the Punjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1799.

After Ranjit Singh's death, the kingdom was annexed by the British Empire in India. Punjabi Sikh soldiers constituted a significant chunk of the British Indian Army due to their distinguished service in action.[14][15]

After the Second World War, India gained its independence in 1947. The independence was marked by the partition of India, which led many Sikhs in what would become Pakistan migrating eastward, leaving their properties behind.

In the 1980s, an insurgency over the Khalistan issue arose in the Punjab. The demand for Khalistan as a separate homeland for Sikhs is championed by a segment of the Punjabi Sikh population, various advocacy groups, and certain Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who demand secession of Indian Punjab from India. This movement, rooted in historical, political, and religious factors, emerged prominently in the 1970s and 1980s. Key advocates include local organizations in Punjab and Sikhs abroad, particularly in Canada, the UK, and the US. They seek to safeguard Sikh identity, achieve political autonomy, and address historical grievances such as Operation Blue Star and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. However, not all Sikhs support this idea, with many preferring integration within India to address issues through democratic means. While the Khalistan movement does not dominate mainstream Sikh politics today, it remains a contentious issue with varying levels of support.[16]

Despite being only around 2% of India's population, Punjabi Sikhs constitute around 20% of the Indian Armed Forces, with the Punjab state being the 2nd largest contributor for manpower after Uttar Pradesh.[17][18]

Language

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Punjabi Sikhs speak the Punjabi language as their mother tongue. Various dialects of the Punjabi language such as Bagri, Bilaspuri, Bhateali, Majhi, Doabi, Malwai, and Puadhi are spoken by Punjabi Sikhs across India and abroad as their mother tongue. In Indian Punjab, Punjabi is written in the Indic Gurmukhi script (the Perso-Arabic Shahmukhi script is used in Pakistani Punjab).[19][20][21] The use of Gurmukhi script generally started and developed during the time of second Sikh guru, Guru Angad Dev (1504–1552) who standardized it.[22] It is commonly regarded as a Sikh script.[23]

Culture

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Festivals

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Punjabi Sikhs observe historic festivals such as Lohri, Basant and Vaisakhi as seasonal and cultural festivals in Punjab and outside of it. Other seasonal Punjabi festivals in India include Maghi and Teeyan respectively. Teeyan is also known as festival of females, as women enjoy it with their close friends. On the day of maghi, people fly kites and eat the traditional dish khichdi.[24] Other festivals observed by Punjabi Sikhs includes the festivals of Sikhism like- Gurupurab, Bandi Chhor Divas, etc.

Notes

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Figure is total Sikh population on census.

References

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  1. ↑ "Who are Sikhs and what do they believe?". 5 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "Indianapolis Shootout: The US Has Long Lacked Understanding on Who Sikh People Are".
  3. ↑ "Behind the decline". frontline.thehindu.com. 16 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  5. ↑ "Sikhism | History, Doctrines, Practice, & Literature | Britannica".
  6. ↑ "Census 2011: %age of Sikhs drops in Punjab; migration to blame?". The Times of India. 27 August 2015.
  7. ↑ George, Usha, and Ferzana Chaze. "Punjabis/Sikhs in Canada." Mobility and Multiple Affiliations (2016): 91-104.
  8. ↑ "India - the Sikhs in the Punjab | Britannica".
  9. ↑ "From Guru Hargobind to Guru Gobind Singh: How the Sikh community militarised to take on the Mughals".
  10. ↑ Why was the first son made a Sikh
  11. ↑ "Sikhism | History, Doctrines, Practice, & Literature | Britannica".
  12. ↑ Singh, Pritam (2008). Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy. Routledge. ISBN 9781134049455. A lot of Hindu and Muslim peasants converted to Sikhism from conviction, fear, economic motives, or a combination of the three (Khushwant Singh 1999: 106; Ganda Singh 1935: 73).
  13. ↑ https://theprint.in/feature/guru-arjan-dev-the-martyr-whose-death-changed-the-course-of-sikhism/401897/
  14. ↑ https://scroll.in/article/1045152/how-punjab-came-to-dominate-the-british-indian-army
  15. ↑ https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/how-british-idolised-the-loyal-sikh-soldier-and-inspired-conflict-in-indian-army/1559249/
  16. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/place/India/Sikh-separatism
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-second-among-all-states-in-contributing-to-armys-rank-and-file-225565
  19. ↑ "Shahmukhi: The window to Punjabi culture". The Times of India.
  20. ↑ Sharma, Saurabh; Gupta, Vishal (May 2013). "Punjabi Documents Clustering System" (PDF). Journal of Emerging Technologies in Web Intelligence. 5 (2): 174. doi:10.4304/JETWI.5.2.171-187. S2CID 55699784. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  21. ↑ Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography. Springer. 2019. p. 142. ISBN 978-3030059774.
  22. ↑ "Guru Angad | Second Sikh Guru, Achievements, & Facts | Britannica".
  23. ↑ "Punjabi language | Britannica".
  24. ↑ Punjab Tourism https://punjabtourism.punjab.gov.in › ...PDF FESTIVALS IN PUNJAB 2021-22

Further reading

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  • Benson, Heather Lené. "In Place/Out of Place: Punjabi-Sikhs in Reno, Nevada" (PhD dissertation, University of Nevada, Reno, 2022) online.
  • Bhachu, Parminder. "Culture, ethnicity and class among Punjabi Sikh women in 1990s Britain." Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 17.3 (1991): 401-412.
  • Banerjee, Himadri. "The Other Sikhs: Punjabi-Sikhs of Kolkata." Studies in History 28.2 (2012): 271-300.
  • Grewal, Jagtar Singh. The Sikhs of the Punjab (Cambridge University Press, 1998).
  • Usha, George, and Ferzana Chaze. "Punjabis/Sikhs in Canada." in Mobility and Multiple Affiliations (2016): 91-104.
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