Sikh diaspora

Starting with this event, the rate of Sikh migration from Punjab has remained high and included a number of international destinations.

During the reign of the Sikh Empire, there was a net cultural immigration, with Napoleonic and British influences vying for the 'ear' of the then-Sikh maharajah Ranjit Singh.

[8] Sikh migration from Punjab began in earnest in the second half of the 19th century, when the British Raj had successfully completed its annexation of the region.

The pivotal action in the British annexation was the lifetime exile of the then-eleven-year-old maharaja, Duleep Singh, making him the first (albeit unwilling) member of the Sikh diaspora.

[11] Semiskilled artisans were transported from the Punjab to British East Africa to help in the building of railways, while many Sikhs found themselves in Australia, working as ghans, or cameleers, and as labourers on cane plantations.

Sikh agricultural and entrepreneurial skills brought prosperity to Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Jhelum, Multan, Sargodha, Gujrat, Ludhiana, Amritsar, and Jullundar.

Sikh communities were practically wiped out from Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot, Lyallpur, Jhelum, Gujrat, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, and other districts of West Punjab.

[18] Organisations such as the International Sikh Youth Federation, the Babbar Khalsa, and the Council of Khalistan emerged within the diaspora, and these agencies rallied against "Hindu imperialism" or "Indian nationalism" and lobbied to join the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, aligning the Sikh cause with other ethnic groups seeking freedom, citing cases of Jews, Palestinians, Kurds, Balochis, Kashmiris, and Sri Lankan Tamils.

The largest North American Sikh community is thought to be located in south Vancouver, British Columbia, and nearby Surrey.

[citation needed] In the post-9/11 era, the Sikh diaspora in Europe and North America stood out as a visible minority often confused with radical Islamic groups because of their turbans.

[citation needed] France banned turban-wearing Sikh students from publicly funded schools as part of a broader policy originally intended to restrict Muslim headscarves.

[citation needed] Western security think tanks have quoted the Air India bombing to justify profiling of Sikh travellers at airports.