History of Sikhism

Guru Nanak founded the Sikh religion in the Punjab region of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the 15th century and opposed many traditional practices like fasting, Upanayana, idolatry, caste system, ascetism, azan, economic materialism, and gender discrimination.

[1] Guru Gobind Singh, tenth of the ten Sikh Gurus, founded the Khalsa panth in the Punjab region of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the end of seventeenth century.

Historical theory and analysis suggests that Sikhism came into existence during the early Medieval period of the Bhakti movement and also after repeated invasions by Muslim rulers upon the Hindu community during Mughal rule, which lasted between (1526–1857 AD) especially in the region of North India.

Sikh organizations, including the Chief Khalsa Dewan and Shiromani Akali Dal led by Master Tara Singh, strongly opposed the partition of India, viewing the possibility of the creation of Pakistan as inviting persecution.

[21] Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1469–1539), founder of Sikhism, was born to Mehta Kalu and Mata Tripta, in the village of Talwandi, now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore.

Guru Amar Das constructed "Baoli" at Goindwal Sahib having eighty-four steps and made it a Sikh pilgrimage centre for the first time in the history of Sikhism.

[citation needed] His son, Ram Rai, tried to ease Aurangzeb's concerns about a line in Guru Nanak's verse, claiming the word "Mussalman" was a copyist's error.

He stayed at Anandpur Sahib for most of his life and the Hindu Hill Chieftains were jealous of his riches so the Kingdoms of Kahlur, Bilaspur, Garhwal and common Hindus made an alliance to fight him.

They allied with Wazir Khan of Sirhind and the Subedar of Lahore and together they still lost and one day Guruji started retreating from Anandpur Sahib and he got separated with his two sons aged 5 and 9 due to the cold Sirsa River.

The Guru Granth Sahib is particularly unique among sacred texts in that it is written in Gurmukhi script but contains many languages including Punjabi, Hindustani, Sanskrit, Bhojpuri, Arabic and Persian.

[66] Banda Singh came out and captured Kalanaur and Batala[67] which rebuked Farrukh Siyar to issue Mughal and Hindu officials and chiefs to proceed with their troops to Lahore to reinforce his army.

[68] In March 1715, Banda Singh Bahadur was in the village of Gurdas Nangal, Gurdaspur, Punjab, when the army under the rule of Samad Khan,[69] the Mogual king of Delhi laid siege to the Sikh forces.

Every day, 100 Sikhs were brought out of the fort and murdered in public daily,[77] which went on approximately seven days.After 3 months of confinement[78] On 9 June 1716, Banda Singh’s eyes were gouged, his limbs were severed, his skin removed, and then he was killed.

[90] When the forces of government tried to punish the outlaws, they were unable to contact them, as the Sikhs did not live in houses or forts, but ran away to their rendezvous in forests or other places difficult to access.

[94] The Khalsa held a meeting to make plans to respond to the state repression against the people of the region and they decided to take possession of government money and weapons in order to weaken the administration, and to equip themselves to face the everyday attacks.

[97] The following measures were established by Nawab Kapur Singh:[101] The Taruna Dal quickly increased to more than 12,000 recruits and it soon became difficult to manage the house and feeding of such a large number of people at one place.

[117] When Kapur Singh learned of this, he decided to warn Nader Shah that if not the local rulers, then the Sikhs would protect the innocent women of Muslims and Hindus from being sold as slaves.

In 1747 Salabat Khan, a newly appointed Mughal commander, placed police around Amritsar and built observation posts to spot and kill Sikhs coming to the Amrit Sarovar for a holy dip.

Adina Beg, the Faujdar (garrison commander) of Jalandhar, sent a message to the Dal Khalsa chief to cooperate with him in the civil administration, and he wanted a meeting to discuss the matter.

[151] In May 1757, the Afghan Durrani general of Ahmad Shah Abdali, Jahan Khan attacked Amritsar with a huge army and the Sikhs because of their small numbers decided to withdraw to the forests.

Hari Singh Nalwa is considered one of the best commanders in history and is compared to Napoleon and Genghis Khan and for conquering and controlling the Khyber Pass, the United States of America wanted to build a statue in his praise.

Sikhs were increasingly incorporated into the Indian army because they were not only seen as 'loyal', but because the colonial government believed that they were a 'martial race' whose religious traditions and popular customs made them skilled fighters.

[225] Bela Singh Jain an informer and agent of Inspector William Hopkinson, pulled out two guns and started shooting at the Khalsa Diwan Society Gurdwara Sahib on West 2nd Avenue.

On 21 October 1914, Bhai Mewa Singh, Granthi of Khalsa Diwan Society shot William Hopkinson in the Assize court corridor with two revolvers because he believed him to be unscrupulous and corrupt, using informers to spy on Indian immigrants.

An early advocate of what we today refer to as the 'Green Revolution', Bhagat Puran Singh was spreading awareness about environmental pollution, and increasing soil erosion long before such ideas became popular.

On 13 April 1978, a Sant Nirankari convention led by Gurbachan Singh in Amritsar, approved by the Akali-led Punjab government, sparked violent clashes with orthodox Sikhs.

In the interest of us all, their identity and whereabouts must always be disclosed.- Indira Gandhi during Operation Woodrose[239] This led to the Sarbat Khalsa advocating the creation of a Sikh autonomous homeland, Khalistan.

[240] Many Sikhs still are campaigning for justice for victims; only one person has gone to jail in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, of the violence and the political and economic needs of the Punjab espoused in the Khalistan movement.

[citation needed] Many members joined the resistance after being radicalized by the army dragnet of the summer of 1984, designated Operation Woodrose, in which youths aged 15–24 were taken away from their homes in large numbers.

[citation needed] In 1996 the Special Rapporteur for the Commission on Human Rights on freedom of religion or belief, Abdelfattah Amor (Tunisia, 1993–2004), visited India in order to compose a report on religious discrimination.