Sikhism

Sikhism History Sikhs are followers of Sikhism, an Indian religion that originated in the Punjab in northwest India. In 1995, India had approximately 18.7 million Sikhs, 1.9% of the population. Small communities of Sikhs also exist in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Malaysia, and East Africa. The movement was founded in the Punjab by Guru Nanak (1469-1539), who sought to combine Hindu and Muslim elements in a single religious creed. He taught "the unity of God, brotherhood of man, rejection of caste and the futility of idol worship." He was followed by nine masters, the last of whom was Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708; guru 1675-1708), who involved his followers in an unsuccessful martial struggle against Mogul rule. After Guru Gobind's assassination, the Muslim Mogul rulers persecuted the Sikhs until 1799 when, under Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), they laid claim to a large part of northwest India. After Ranjit's death his Sikh kingdom disintegrated into anarchy. The British moved into the Punjab, and the Sikh Wars followed (1845-46, 1848-49). The Sikhs were defeated, and the British annexed the Punjab. Sikhism did not recover until the 20th century, when the Sikhs were given control of their holy places (gurdwaras). When guru, sikh, sikhs, granth, sikhism, gurus, singh, punjab, gobind, five, sahib, two, god, india, temple, hair, book, arjan, religion, das, amritsar, water, ten, reading, muslim, har, form, first, famous, became, under, teg, shrines, saints, ram