Sikhs and Related Topics

Sikhism

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Indian religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, around the end of the 15th century CE.

An Akali-Nihang Sikh Warrior at Harmandir Sahib, also called the Golden Temple

A rare Tanjore-style painting from the late 19th century depicting the ten Sikh Gurus with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana

Approximate Life Spans and Guruship Spans of the 10 Sikh Gurus

Gurū Granth Sāhib – the primary scripture of Sikhism

Mul Mantar written by Guru Har Rai, showing the Ik Onkar at top.

A group of Sikh musicians called Dhadi at the Golden Temple complex

The Dasam Granth is a Sikh scripture which contains texts attributed to Guru Gobind Singh, including his autobiography Bachittar Natak. The major narrative in the text is on Chaubis Avtar (24 Avatars of Hindu god Vishnu), Rudra, Brahma, the Hindu warrior goddess Chandi and a story of Rama in Bachittar Natak.

Sikh funeral procession, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh

Guru Nanak explaining Sikh teachings to Sadhus

Sikh Light Infantry personnel march past during the Republic day parade in New Delhi, India

Sikhs in London protesting against the Indian government

Namdhari Sikhs, also called the Kuka Sikhs are a sect of Sikhism known for their crisp white dress and horizontal pagari (turban). Above: Namdhari singer and musicians.

Sikhs celebrating Vaisakhi in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Delhi. The long window under the marble platform is the location where Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed by the Mughals.

Artistic rendering of the execution of Bhai Mati Das by the Mughals. This image is from a Sikh Ajaibghar near the towns of Mohali and Sirhind in Punjab, India.

Sculpture at Mehdiana Sahib of the execution of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1716 by the Mughals.

Some bodyguards of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the Sikh capital, Lahore, Punjab.

It is the most recently founded major organized faith and stands at fifth-largest worldwide, with about 25–30 million adherents (known as Sikhs).

Punjab, India

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State in northern India.

1,500 years old Bathinda Fort, pictured in 1906

A rare Tanjore style painting from the late 19th century depicting the ten Sikh Gurus and Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana

Darbar of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, showing people of all religions.

Wagah Border is situated between Amritsar and Lahore, became the main border crossing after partition of Punjab and is known for its elaborate ceremony

Town Hall of Amritsar is the world's only partition museum

Agricultural fields of Punjab during the monsoon

Districts of Punjab along with their headquarters (Before 14 May 2021, when Malerkotla was declared as 23rd district)

Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar

The Ranjit Singh Block at Guru Nanak Dev University

Guru Gobind Singh Bhawan at Punjabi University

Punjabi women using a traditional method of spinning

Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar is a major pilgrimage site in Punjab and is also widely visited for its unique architecture

The main ethnic groups are the Punjabis, with Sikhs and Hindus as the dominant religious groups.

Punjab

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Geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India.

Taxila in Pakistan is a World Heritage Site

Menander I Soter (165/155 – 130 BCE), conqueror of the Punjab, carved out a Greek kingdom in the Punjab and ruled the Punjab until his death in 130BC.

A section of the Lahore Fort built by the Mughal emperor Akbar

Dominant Mother Tongue in each Pakistani District as of the 2017 Pakistan Census

Punjabi Muslims are the majority in West Punjab (Pakistan), while Punjabi Sikhs and Punjabi Hindus are the majority in East Punjab (India).

Khalsa

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Nishan Sahib in blue, at Akali Phoola Singh di Burj in Amritsar

A 1999 stamp dedicated to the 300th anniversary of Khalsa

Keshgarh Sahib Gurudwara at Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, the birthplace of Khalsa

A fresco of Guru Gobind Singh and the Panj Piare.

Kanga, Kara and Kirpan – three of the five Ks

Khalsa principles of Deg to cook food (langar) in huge amount

Guru Nanak dev ji along with his devotees from different backgrounds

An inscription naming the five members of the Khalsa Panth, at Takht Keshgarh Sahib, the birthplace of Khalsa on Baisakh 1, 1756 Vikram Samvat.

The creation of the Khalsa; initiated by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru.

Khalsa (ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ,, ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith, as well as a special group of initiated Sikhs.

Lahore

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Capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab, is Pakistan's 2nd largest city after Karachi, and is the 26th largest city in the world.

The Lava Temple at the Lahore Fort dates from the Sikh period, and is dedicated to the Hindu deity Lava

The Data Darbar shrine, one of Pakistan's most important, was built to commemorate the patron saint of Lahore, Ali Hujwiri, who lived in the city during the Ghaznavid era in the 11th century.

The Neevin Mosque is one of Lahore's few remaining medieval era buildings.

Lahore's Wazir Khan Mosque is considered to be the most ornately decorated Mughal-era mosque.

The Begum Shahi Mosque was completed in 1614 in honour of Jahangir's mother, Mariam-uz-Zamani.

The iconic Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort was built in 1674, and faces Aurangzeb's Badshahi Mosque.

Wazir Khan Mosque painting by William Carpenter, 1866.

The Sunehri Mosque was built in the Walled City of Lahore in the early 18th century, when the Mughal Empire was in decline.

The Tomb of Asif Khan was one of several monuments plundered for its precious building materials during the Sikh period.

Lahore's Hazuri Bagh is at the centre of an ensemble of Mughal and Sikh era monuments, including the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort, Roshnai Gate, and the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh.

The marble Hazuri Bagh Baradari was built in 1818 to celebrate Ranjit Singh's acquisition of the Koh-i-Noor diamond.

The Shah Alami area of Lahore's Walled City in 1890

Having been constructed in the immediate aftermath of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, the design of the Lahore Railway Station was highly militarised in order to defend the structure from any further potential uprisings against British rule.

The Mall, Lahore's pre-independence commercial core, features many examples of colonial architecture.

Sections of the Walled City of Lahore have been under restoration since 2012 in conjunction with the Agha Khan Trust for Culture.

The area around the Wazir Khan Mosque exemplifies the Walled City's urban form

Built in 2012, Grand Jamia Mosque in Southern Lahore is a blend of Mughal and modern architecture.

A syncretic architectural style that blends Islamic, Hindu, and Western motifs took root during the colonial era, as shown at Aitchison College.

Much of old Lahore features colonial-era buildings, such as the Tollinton Market.

Lahore's Lawrence Garden was laid in 1862.

The Orange Line is Pakistan's first metro rail line.

The Azadi Chowk is located near the Badshahi Mosque.

Lahore Canal during the spring Basant festival

University of Engineering and Technology, Main Block.

Pakistan playing against Argentina in 2005.

Gaddafi Stadium is one of the largest stadiums of Pakistan with a capacity of 27,000 spectators.

The city also hosts much of Pakistan's tourist industry, with major attractions including the Walled City, the famous Badshahi and Wazir Khan mosques, as well as several Sikh and Sufi shrines.

Guru Gobind Singh

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The tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher.

Guru Gobind Singh's birthplace in Patna, Bihar.

From Bhai Rupa showing the Guru at the age of 23.

A Fresco of Guru Gobind Singh and The Panj Piare in Gurdwara Bhai Than Singh built in the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Anandpur Sahib gurdwara, Punjab, the birthplace of Khalsa

The Dasam Granth is attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. It incorporates among other things the warrior-saint mythologies of ancient India.

Gurudwara Parivar Vichora Sahib, Majri, Punjab where Guru's younger sahibzaade got separated from him.

Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, Nanded, built over the place where Guru Gobind Singh was cremated in 1708, the inner chamber is still called Angitha Sahib.

When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Singh was formally installed as the leader of the Sikhs at the age of nine, becoming the tenth and final human Sikh Guru.

Ranjit Singh

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The first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century.

Birthplace of Ranjit Singh in Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh's family genealogy

Maharaja Ranjit Singh with some of his wives.

Akali Phula Singh addressing Maharaja Ranjit Singh about his transgressions

"Maharaja Ranjit Singh " by Alfred de Dreux

Maharaja Ranjit Singh's throne, c. 1820–1830, Hafiz Muhammad Multani, now at V & A Museum.

In 1835, Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated 1 tonne of gold for plating the Kashi Vishwanath Temple's dome.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh listening to Guru Granth Sahib being recited near the Akal Takht and Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India.

2009 portrait of Ranjit Singh wearing the Koh-i-noor diamond as a armlet.

The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is located in Lahore, Pakistan, adjacent to the iconic Badshahi Mosque.

A lithograph by Emily Eden showing one of the favourite horses of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his collection of jewels, including the Koh-i-Noor

His Khalsa army and government included Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Europeans.

Illuminated Guru Granth Sahib folio with nisan (Mul Mantar) of Guru Nanak

The Guru Granth Sahib (ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion.

Punjabis

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Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group, associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent presently divided between Pakistan and India.

Punjabi-inhabited areas of Pakistan and India (brown)

One of the first known kings of ancient Punjab, King Porus who fought with Alexander the Great

Map showing the sites and extent of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Harappa was the center of one of the core regions of the Indus Valley Civilization, located in central Punjab. The Harappan architecture and Harrapan Civilization was one of the most developed in the old Bronze Age.

Sophia Duleep Singh, a prominent British Punjabi Suffragette and granddaughter of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab (1876–1948)

Sarson da saag, popular vegetable dish of the Punjabi people

In relative contemporary terms, Punjabis can be referred to in four most common subgroups; Punjabi Muslims, Punjabi Hindus, Punjabi Sikhs, and Punjabi Christians.