Sikhs (Gurmukhi: ਸਿੱਖ, romanized: Sikkh, Punjabi pronunciation: [sɪkkʰ]) are followers of Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the teachings of Guru Nanak. The term Sikh has its origin in the Sanskrit word śiṣya, meaning 'seeker', 'disciple' or 'student'.
According to Article I of Chapter 1 of the Sikh Rehat Maryada ('code of conduct'), the definition of Sikh is: Any human being who faithfully believes in
Ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Sahib to Guru Gobind Singh Sahib
The utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus and
The initiation, known as the Amrit Sanchar, bequeathed by the tenth Guru and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion, is a Sikh.
Male Sikhs generally have Singh ('lion') as their last name, though not all Singhs are necessarily Sikhs; likewise, female Sikhs generally have Kaur ('princess') as their last name. These unique last names were given by the Gurus to allow Sikhs to stand out and also as an act of defiance to India's caste system, which the Gurus were always against. Sikhs strongly believe in the idea of sarbat da bhala ('welfare of all') and are often seen on the frontline to provide humanitarian aid across the world.
Sikhs who have undergone the Amrit Sanchar ('baptism by Khanda'), an initiation ceremony, are known as Khalsa from the day of their initiation and they must at all times have on their bodies the five Ks:
kesh, uncut hair usually kept covered by a dastār, also known as a turban;
kara, an iron or steel bracelet;
kirpan, a dagger-like sword tucked into a gatra strap or a kamar kasa waistband;
kachera, a cotton undergarment; and
The Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent has been the historic homeland of the Sikhs, having even been ruled by the Sikhs for significant parts of the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, Canada has the largest national Sikh proportion (2.1%) in the world, while the Punjab state in India has the largest Sikh proportion (60%) amongst all administrative divisions in the world. With a population of approximately 25 to 30 million, Sikhs represent about 0.3% to 0.4% of the total world population in 2024. Many countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, recognise Sikhs as a designated religion on their censuses and, as of 2020, Sikhs are considered as a separate ethnic group in the United States. The UK also considers Sikhs to be an ethno-religious people, as a direct result of the Mandla v Dowell-Lee case in 1982.
Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the founder of Sikhism, was born in a Hindu Khatri family to Mehta Kalu and Mata Tripta in the village of Talwandi, present-day Nankana Sahib, near Lahore. Throughout his life, Guru Nanak was a religious leader and social reformer. However, Sikh political history may be said to begin in 1606, with the death of the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan. Religious practices were formalised by Guru Gobind Singh on 30 March 1699, when the Guru initiated five people from a variety of social backgrounds known as the Panj Piare ('beloved five'), to form a collective body of initiated Sikhs known as the Khalsa ('pure').
The early followers of Guru Nanak were Khatris, but later a large number of Jats joined the Sikh faith. Khatris and Brahmins opposed "the demand that the Sikhs set aside the distinctive customs of their castes and families, including the older rituals."
Pashaura Singh analysed references made within the 11th ballad of the Varan of Bhai Gurdas to form a picture of the caste-makeup of the early Sikh community. At the time of the writing the Vaar, the early Sikh community was composed of various castes and backgrounds, such as:
Khatris (particularly the Sehgal, Ohri, Uppal, Julka, Bhalla, Passi, Khullar, Vohra, Vij, Kapur, Chaddha, Behl, Kohli, Marwah, Mehra, Soni, Jhanjhi, Sodhi, Beri, Nanda, Wadhawan, Tulli and Puri gotras)
Rajputs (such as Alam Singh Nachna, Bachittar Singh, Baj Singh, Uday Singh (Sikh warrior), Banda Singh Bahadur)
Brahmins (such as the Bhardwaj gotra)