Along with Guru Nanak, other Sikh gurus had also denounced the hierarchy of the caste system, however, they all belonged to the same caste, the Khatris. Most Sikhs belong to the Jat (Jatt), traditionally Agriculturist class in occupation. Despite being very small in numbers, the Khatri and Arora castes wield considerable influence within the Sikh community. Other common castes among the Sikhs include Ahluwalias (Brewers), Kambojs or Kambos (Rural caste), Ramgarhias (Carpenters), Brahmins (Priestly class), Rajputs (Kshatriyas – Warriors), Sainis, Rai Sikh (Ironsmiths), Labanas (Merchants), Kumhars (Potters), Mazhabi (Cleaners) and the Ramdasia/Ravidasias(Chamar – Tanners).

Some Sikhs, especially those belonging to the landowning dominant castes, have not shed all their prejudices against the Dalit castes such as the Mazhabi and Ravidasia. While Dalits were allowed entry into the village gurdwaras, in some gurdwaras, they were not permitted to cook or serve langar (communal meal). Therefore, wherever they could mobilise resources, the Sikh Dalits of Punjab have tried to construct their own gurdwara and other local level institutions in order to attain a certain degree of cultural autonomy. In 1953, Sikh leader and activist Master Tara Singh succeeded in persuading the Indian government to include Sikh castes of the converted untouchables in the list of scheduled castes. In the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, 20 of the 140 seats are reserved for low-caste Sikhs.

Diaspora

thumb|[[Nagar kirtan convoy passing over the bridge along Northern Relief Road (A124) in East London]]

As Sikhs wear turbans and keep beards, Sikh men in Western countries have been mistaken for Muslim, Arab and/or Afghan since the September 11 attacks and the Iraq War. Several days after the 9/11 attacks, Sikh-American gas station owner Balbir Singh Sodhi was murdered in Arizona by a man who took Sodhi to be a member of al-Qaeda, marking the first recorded hate-crime in America motivated by 9/11. CNN would go on to suggest an increase in hate crimes against Sikh men in the US and the UK after the 9/11 attacks. UK Sikhs are the second-wealthiest religious group in the UK (after the Jewish community), with a median total household wealth of .

In May 2019, the UK government exempted "Kirpan" from the list of banned knives. The U.K. government passed an amendment by which Sikhs in the country would be allowed to carry kirpans and use them during religious and cultural functions. The bill was amended to ensure that it would not impact the right of the British Sikh community to possess and supply kirpans or religious swords. Similarly, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund overturned a 1925 Oregon law banning the wearing of turbans by teachers and government officials in 2010.

Agriculture

Historically, most Indians have been farmers and 66 percent of the Indian population are engaged in agriculture. Indian Sikhs are employed in agriculture to a lesser extent; India's 2001 census found 39 per cent of the working population of the Punjab employed in this sector. According to the Swedish political scientist Ishtiaq Ahmad, a factor in the success of the Indian green revolution was the "Sikh cultivator, often the Jat and Kamboj or Kamboh, whose courage, perseverance, spirit of enterprise and muscle prowess proved crucial." However, Indian physicist Vandana Shiva wrote that the green revolution made the "negative and destructive impacts of science (i.e., the green revolution) on nature and society" invisible and was a catalyst for Punjabi Sikh and Hindu tensions despite a growth in material wealth.

Sikhs in modern history

thumb|[[Manmohan Singh, Indian politician and economist and the only Sikh Prime Minister of India, served from 2004 to 2014]]

thumb|[[Preet Chandi|Harpreet Kaur Chandi, a British Sikh and the first woman to reach the South Pole solo and unsupported]]

thumb|[[Jagmeet Singh, Canadian Sikh politician]]

thumb|American Sikhs

Manmohan Singh was an Indian economist, academic and politician who served as the 13th Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014. The first and only Sikh and non-Hindu in office, Singh was also the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.

Notable Sikhs in science include nuclear scientist Piara Singh Gill, fibre-optics pioneer Narinder Singh Kapany; and physicist, science writer and broadcaster Simon Singh.

In business, the UK-based clothing retailers New Look and the Thai-based JASPAL were founded by Sikhs. India's largest pharmaceutical company, Ranbaxy Laboratories, is headed by Sikhs. Apollo Tyres is headed by Onkar Singh Kanwar. In Singapore, Kartar Singh Thakral expanded his family's trading business, Thakral Holdings, into assets totalling almost and is Singapore's 25th-richest person. Sikh Bob Singh Dhillon is the first Indo-Canadian billionaire. Mastercard's CEO was a Sikh named Ajaypal Singh Banga.

In sports, Sikhs include England cricketer Monty Panesar; former 400-metre runner Milkha Singh; his son, professional golfer Jeev Milkha Singh; Indian wrestler and actor Dara Singh; former Indian hockey team captains Sandeep Singh, Ajitpal Singh and Balbir Singh Sr.; former Indian cricket captain Bishen Singh Bedi; Harbhajan Singh, India's most successful off spin cricket bowler; Yuvraj Singh, World Cup winning allrounder; Maninder Singh, World Cup winning off spinner; and Navjot Singh Sidhu, former Indian cricketer-turned-politician.

Sikhs in Bollywood, in the arts in general, include poet and lyricist Rajkavi Inderjeet Singh Tulsi; Gulzar; Jagjit Singh; Dharmendra; Sunny Deol; Diljit Dosanjh writer Khushwant Singh; actresses Neetu Singh, Simran Judge, Poonam Dhillon, Mahi Gill, Esha Deol, Parminder Nagra, Gul Panag, Mona Singh, Namrata Singh Gujral; and directors Gurinder Chadha and Parminder Gill.

Sikhs in Punjabi Music industry include Sidhu Moose Wala, Diljit Dosanjh, Babu Singh Maan, Surjit Bindrakhia, Ammy Virk, Karan Aujla, Jazzy B, Sukha, Shubh, Miss Pooja.

In December 2022, the U.S. Marine Corps was compelled by a court order to allow two Sikhs to wear the turban and grow beards. This was a milestone for religious freedom and in the prevention of employment discrimination against Sikhs.

In the Indian and British armies

According to a 1994 estimate, Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus comprised 10 to 15% of all ranks in the Indian Army. The Indian government does not release religious or ethnic origins of a military personnel, but a 1991 report by Tim McGirk estimated that 20% of Indian Army officers were Sikhs. Together with the Gurkhas recruited from Nepal, the Maratha Light Infantry from Maharashtra and the Jat Regiment, the Sikhs are one of the few communities to have exclusive regiments in the Indian Army. 21 first-class Indian Orders of Merit (equivalent to the Victoria Cross), 15 Theatre Honours, 5 COAS Unit Citations, two Param Vir Chakras, 14 Maha Vir Chakras, 5 Kirti Chakras, 67 Vir Chakras and 1,596 other awards. The highest-ranking general in the history of the Indian Air Force is a Punjabi Sikh, Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh. Plans by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence for a Sikh infantry regiment were scrapped in June 2007.

Sikhs supported the British during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. By the beginning of World War I, Sikhs in the British Indian Army totaled over 100,000 (20 per cent of the force). Until 1945, fourteen Victoria Crosses (VC) were awarded to Sikhs, a per-capita regimental record. on Constitution Hill, next to Buckingham Palace. Chanan Singh Dhillon was instrumental in campaigning for the memorial.

During World War I, Sikh battalions fought in Egypt, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Gallipoli and France. Six battalions of the Sikh Regiment were raised during World War II, serving in the Second Battle of El Alamein, the Burma and Italian campaigns and in Iraq, receiving 27 battle honours. Around the world, Sikhs are commemorated in Commonwealth cemeteries.

<gallery widths="150" heights="100">

File:Sikhs in the First World War Q24777.jpg|Sikhs in the First World War, marching with their scripture, Guru Granth Sahib

File:SikhsInFrancePostcard.jpg|alt=Postcard of marching Sikhs with rifles|French postcard depicting the arrival of the 15th Sikh Regiment in France during World War I. The bilingual postcard reads, "Gentlemen of India marching to chasten the German hooligans."

File:Indian sikh soldiers in Italian campaign.jpg|Indian Sikh soldiers in the Italian campaign

File:Sikh soldier with captured Swastika flag.jpg|Sikh soldier with captured Swastika flag of Nazi Germany

File:Japanese shooting blindfolded Sikh prisoners.jpg|alt=See caption|Japanese soldiers shooting blindfolded Sikh prisoners in World War II

</gallery>

See also

  • History of Punjab
  • Sikhism in Jammu and Kashmir
  • Ganga Sagar (urn)
  • Jat Sikh
  • Sikh diaspora
  • Sikh Empire
  • List of British Sikhs
  • Mazhabi Sikh
  • Sects of Sikhism
  • Sikhism by country
  • Sikhism in India
  • Turban training centre

Notes

References

Citations

General and cited sources

Further reading

  • The Sikhs in History: A Millennium Study by Sangat Singh, Noel Quinton King. New York, 1995. .
  • A History of the Sikhs: Volume 1: 1469–1838 by Khushwant Singh. Oxford India Paperbacks (2005). .
  • The Sikhs by Patwant Singh. Image (2001).
  • The Sikhs of the Punjab by J.&nbsp;S. Grewal. Published by Cambridge University Press (1998). .
  • The Sikhs: History, Religion, and Society by W.&nbsp;H. McLeod. Published by Columbia University Press (1989).
  • The Sikh Diaspora: Tradition and Change in an Immigrant Community (Asian Americans&nbsp;– Reconceptualising Culture, History, Politics) by Michael Angelo. Published by Routledge (1997). .
  • Glory of Sikhism by R.&nbsp;M. Chopra, Sanbun Publishers, 2001, , .
  • The Philosophical and Religious Thought of Sikhism by R.&nbsp;M. Chopra, 2014, Sparrow Publication, Kolkata, .
  • The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition – H Oberoi – 1994 University of Chicago Press, .
  • Architectural Heritage of a Sikh State: Faridkot by Subhash Parihar, Delhi: Aryan Books International, 2009, .
  • A Study of Religions by R.&nbsp;M. Chopra, Anuradha Prakashan, New Delhi, 2015. .
  • Sikhism at the BBC

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