Sikhism

==History==
{{Main|History of Sikhism}}
[[File:Punjab map.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of Punjab, where Sikhism originated, against present-day borders]]
Sikhism originated around the 15th-century.<ref>Almasy, Steve. 2018 [2012]. "[https://edition-m.cnn.com/2012/08/05/us/religion-what-is-a-sikh/index.html Who are Sikhs and what do they believe?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503195520/https://edition-m.cnn.com/2012/08/05/us/religion-what-is-a-sikh/index.html |date=3 May 2019 }}" ''[[CNN International]]''. US: [[Turner Broadcasting System]].</ref><ref name="Nesbitt2005">{{cite book |last=Nesbitt |first=Eleanor M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fvTK_CfkeasC |title=Sikhism: a very short introduction |date=2005 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-280601-7 |pages=21–23 |access-date=15 May 2023 |archive-date=27 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927082839/https://books.google.com/books?id=fvTK_CfkeasC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Nirbhai Singh 1990 1–3">{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Nirbhai |url=https://archive.org/details/philosophyofsikh0000nirb/page/n26 |title=Philosophy of Sikhi: Reality and Its Manifestations |date=1990 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London--> |location=New Delhi |pages=1–3 |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="Opinderjit Kaur Takhar 2016 147">{{cite book |last=Takhar |first=Opinderjit Kaur |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UaeoDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT147 |title=Sikh Identity: An Exploration of Groups Among Sikhs |date=2016 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-1-351-90010-2 |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |page=147}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |year=2014 |title=Religions: Sikhism |url=http://www.bbc.com/religion/religions/sikhism/ |publisher=BBC |access-date=28 April 2018 |archive-date=14 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514182323/http://www.bbc.com/religion/religions/sikhism/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Cole">{{cite book |last1=Cole |first1=William Owen |title=Sikhism and Christianity: A Comparative Study |last2=Sambhi |first2=Piara Singh |date=1993 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-333-54107-4 |series="Themes in Comparative Religion" series |location=Wallingford, England |page=117}}</ref> Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the founder of Sikhism, was born in the village of ''Rāi Bhōi dī Talwandī'', now called [[Nankana Sahib]] (in present-day Pakistan).<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Khushwant |author-link=Khushwant Singh |date=2006|title=The Illustrated History of the Sikhs |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-0-19-567747-8 |pages=12–13}}</ref> His parents were [[Punjabi Khatri]] [[Hindu]]s.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA182|date=2014|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1|page=182}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Pritam |last=Singh |title=Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lQpswqcdDLIC&pg=PA21 |date=2008 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-134-04946-2 |pages=20–21}}</ref> According to the [[hagiography]] ''Puratan Janamsakhi'' composed more than two centuries after his death and probably based on [[oral tradition]],<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Puratan Janam Sakhi |via=LearnPunjabi.org |work=Encyclopedia of Sikhism |editor1-first=Harbans |editor1-last=Singh |editor2-first=W. H. |editor2-last=McLeod |date=2008 |access-date=9 April 2016 |archive-date=29 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729230458/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> Nanak as a boy was fascinated by religion and spiritual matters, spending time with wandering ascetics and holy men.<ref name=shacklexiii/> His friend was Mardana, a Muslim. Together they would sing devotional songs all night in front of the public, and bathe in the river in the morning. One day, at the usual bath, Nanak went missing and his family feared he had drowned. Three days later he returned home, and declared: "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" ("''nā kōi hindū nā kōi musalmān''"). Thereafter, Nanak started preaching his ideas that form the tenets of Sikhism. In 1526, Guru Nanak at age 50, started a small commune in Kartarpur and his disciples came to be known as ''Sikhs''.<ref name="shacklexiii">{{cite book |last1=Shackle |first1=Christopher |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind-Pal Singh |date=2005 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-26604-8 |pages=xiii–xiv}}</ref> Although the exact account of his itinerary is disputed, hagiographic accounts state he made five major journeys, spanning thousands of miles: the first tour being east towards [[Bengal]] and [[Assam]]; the second south towards [[Andhra Pradesh|Andhra]] and [[Tamil Nadu]]; the third north to [[Kashmir]], [[Ladakh]], and [[Mount Meru|Mount Sumeru]]<ref>McLeod, W. H.; ''Essays in Sikh History, Tradition and Society'', [[Oxford University Press]], {{ISBN|978-0-19-568274-8}}, pp. 40–44</ref> in [[Tibet]]; and the fourth to [[Baghdad]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Harjinder Singh |last=Dilgeer |date=2008 |title=Sikh Twareekh |publisher=The Sikh University Press}}</ref> In his last and final tour, he returned to the banks of the Ravi River to end his days.<ref>{{cite book |last=Finegan |first=Jack |title=The Archeology of World Religions: the Background of Primitivism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, Islam, and Sikhism |url= https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.44705 |date=1952 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]}}</ref>

There are two competing theories on Guru Nanak's teachings.<ref name="arvindmandair131">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |date=2013 |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |pages=131–134}}</ref> One, according to Cole and Sambhi, is based on hagiographical [[Janamsakhis]],<ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, pp. 9–12</ref> and states that Nanak's teachings and Sikhism were a revelation from God, and not a social protest movement nor any attempt to reconcile Hinduism and Islam in the 15th century.<ref name="Cole_Sambhi_Dic">{{cite book |title=A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |first1=W. Owen |last1=Cole |first2=Piara Singh |last2=Sambhi |date=1997 |page=71 |isbn=978-0-203-98609-7}}</ref> The other states that Nanak was a [[guru]]. According to Singha, "Sikhism does not subscribe to the theory of incarnation or the concept of prophethood. But it has a pivotal concept of Guru. He is not an incarnation of God, not even a prophet. He is an illumined soul."<ref name="HS Singha 2009 page 104">{{cite book |first=H. S. |last=Singha |date=2009 |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |page=104}}</ref> The second theory continues that hagiographical ''Janamsakhis'' were not written by Nanak, but by later followers without regard for historical accuracy, and contain numerous legends and myths created to show respect for Nanak.<ref>Kaur Singh, Nikky-Guninder  (2011), ''Sikhism: An Introduction''; London / New York: [[I.B. Tauris]], {{ISBN|978-1-84885-321-8}}, pp. 2–8</ref> The term ''revelation'', clarify Cole and Sambhi, in Sikhism is not limited to the teachings of Nanak, but is extended to all Sikh gurus, as well as the words of past, present and future men and women, who possess divine knowledge intuitively through meditation. The Sikh revelations include the words of non-Sikh [[bhagat]]s, some who lived and died before the birth of Nanak, and whose teachings are part of the Sikh scriptures.<ref>Cole, William Owen; Sambhi, Piara Singh (1995), ''The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1-898723-13-4}}, pp. 52–53, 46, 95–96, 159</ref> The Adi Granth and successive Sikh gurus repeatedly emphasised, states Mandair, that Sikhism is "not about hearing voices from God, but it is about changing the nature of the human mind, and anyone can achieve direct experience and spiritual perfection at any time".<ref name="arvindmandair131" />

===Historical influences===
The roots of the Sikh tradition are, states Louis Fenech, perhaps in the [[Sant (religion)|Sant]]-tradition of India whose ideology grew to become the Bhakti tradition.<ref name="Louis Fenech 2014 page 35" group="lower-roman" /> Furthermore, adds Fenech:<ref>{{cite book |first=Louis |last=Fenech |date=2014 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |editor1-first=Pashaura |editor1-last=Singh |editor2-first=Louis E. |editor2-last=Fenech |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |page=36}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Few Sikhs would mention these Indic texts and ideologies in the same breadth as the Sikh tradition, let alone trace elements of their tradition to this chronological and ideological point, {{em|despite the fact}} that the Indic mythology permeates the Sikh sacred canon, the ''Guru Granth Sahib'', and the secondary canon, the ''Dasam Granth''&nbsp;... and adds delicate nuance and substance to the sacred symbolic universe of the Sikhs of today and of their past ancestors.}}

The development of Sikhism was influenced by the [[Bhakti movement]];<ref name="David Lorenzen 1995 pages 1-2" group="lower-roman">"Historically, Sikh religion derives from this nirguni current of bhakti religion." (Lorenzen 1995, pp. 1–2).</ref><ref name="Louis Fenech 2014 page 35" group="lower-roman">"Technically this would place the Sikh community's origins at a much further remove than 1469, perhaps to the dawning of the Sant movement, which possesses clear affinities to Guru Nanak's thought sometime in the tenth century. The predominant ideology of the Sant ''parampara'' in turn corresponds in many respects to the much wider devotional Bhakti tradition in northern India. (Pashaura and Fenech 2014, p. 35).</ref><ref name="encyclobritannicasikh" group="lower-roman">"In its earliest stage Sikhism was clearly a movement within the Hindu tradition; Nanak was raised a Hindu and eventually belonged to the Sant tradition of northern India." (McLeod 2019/1998).</ref><ref name="Kitagawa2013">{{cite book |first=Joseph |last=Kitagawa |title=The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kfyzAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA111|date=5 September 2013|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-136-87597-7|pages=111–}}</ref> however, Sikhism was not simply an extension of the Bhakti movement.<ref name="Singha" /><ref name="Pruthi">{{cite book |isbn=978-81-7141-879-4 |title=Sikhism and Indian Civilization |publisher=Discovery Publishing House |last=Pruthi |first=R. K. |date=2004 |location=New Delhi |pages=202–203}}</ref> Sikhism, for instance, disagreed with some of the views of Bhakti saints Kabir and Ravidas.<ref group="lower-roman">These views include Sikhs believing in achieving blissful mukhti while alive, Sikhs placing emphasis on the path of the householder, Sikhs disbelief in [[Ahinsa]], and the Sikhs afterlife aspect of merging with God rather than a physical heaven.</ref><ref name="Pruthi" /> Sikhism developed while the region was being ruled by the [[Mughal Empire]]. Two of the Sikh Gurus, [[Guru Arjan]] and [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]], refused to convert to Islam and were tortured and executed by the Mughal rulers.<ref name=pashauraarjan>Pashaura Singh (2005), Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan, Journal of Punjab Studies, 12(1), pp. 29–62</ref><ref>Gandhi, Surjit (2008), ''History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1606–1708''; New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London.-->; {{ISBN|978-81-269-0858-5}}, pp. 689–690</ref> The Islamic era persecution of Sikhs triggered the founding of the [[Khalsa]], as an order for freedom of conscience and religion.<ref name=pashauraarjan/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Johar|first1=Surinder|title=Guru Gobind Singh: A Multi-faceted Personality|date=1999|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. |isbn=978-81-7533-093-1|page=89}}</ref><ref name="Gandhi">{{cite book |title=History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1606–1708 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers<!--NOT Atlantic Books, of London--> |location=New Delhi |last=Gandhi |first=Surjit Singh |date=1 February 2008 |pages=676–677 |isbn=978-81-269-0857-8}}</ref> A Sikh is expected to embody the qualities of a "Sant-Sipāhī"{{spaced ndash}} a [[Sant Sipahi|saint-soldier]].<ref name="Chanchreek 2007 142">{{cite book |last=Chanchreek |first=Jain |title=Encyclopaedia of Great Festivals |date=2007 |publisher=Shree Publishers |isbn=978-81-8329-191-0 |page=142}}</ref><ref name="Dugga 2001 33">{{cite book |last=Dugga|first=Kartar|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh: The Last to Lay Arms|date=2001|publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-410-3|page=33}}</ref>

===Growth of Sikhism===
[[File:Guru.Nanak.with.Hindu.holymen-b.JPG|thumb|[[Guru Nanak]] explaining [[Sikh beliefs|Sikh teachings]] to [[Sadhu]]s]]
After its inception, Sikhism grew as it gained converts among Hindus and Muslims in the Punjab region.<ref name="Singh2008"/><ref name="Singh1989">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Teja |last2=Singh |first2=Ganda |title=A Short History of the Sikhs: 1469–1765 |date=1989 |publisher=[[Punjabi University]] |isbn=978-81-7380-007-8 |page=41 |language=en |quote=He made many converts to Sikhism from the Hindus and the Muslims. In Kashmir particularly he converted thousands who had gone over to Islam.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Sikhism and Indian Society |date=1967 |publisher=[[Indian Institute of Advanced Study]] |page=197 |language=en |quote=Thus the social barriers between various castes and creeds were broken and intermarriages took place not only between the Sikhs coming from various castes but there were marriages even between Muslim converts to Sikhism with Hindu converts.}}</ref><ref name="Singh1996">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Darshan |title=Sikhism: Issues and Institutions|date=1996 |publisher=Sehgal Book Distributors |isbn=978-81-86023-03-7 |page=14 |language=en |quote=During the time of Guru Nanak, a number of Hindus, Muslims and Dalits joined the fold of Guru Nanak.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U3rXAAAAMAAJ&q=%22During+the+time+of+Guru+Nanak,+a+number+of+Hindus,+Muslims+and+Dalits+joined+the+fold+of+Guru+Nanak.%22}}</ref> In 1539, Guru Nanak chose his disciple Lahiṇā as a successor to the Guruship rather than either of his sons. Lahiṇā was named [[Guru Angad]] and became the second Guru of the Sikhs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shackle |first1=Christopher |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind-Pal Singh |date=2005 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-26604-8 |page=xv}}</ref><ref name="Fenech2014p36">{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA36 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |page=36}}</ref> Nanak conferred his choice at the town of [[Kartarpur (Pakistan)|Kartarpur]] on the banks of the river [[Ravi River|Ravi]]. [[Sri Chand]], Guru Nanak's son was also a religious man, and continued his own commune of Sikhs. His followers came to be known as the [[Udasi]] Sikhs, the first parallel sect of Sikhism that formed in Sikh history.<ref name="Oberoi1994p78">{{cite book |first=Harjot |last=Oberoi |title=The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1NKC9g2ayJEC&pg=PA78 |date=1994 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-61592-9 |pages=78–80}}</ref> The Udasis believe that the Guruship should have gone to Sri Chand, since he was a man of pious habits in addition to being Nanak's son.<ref name="Oberoi1994p78" />

Guru Angad, before joining Guru Nanak's commune, worked as a ''[[pujari]]'' (priest) and religious teacher centered around Hindu goddess [[Durga]].<ref name="Fenech2014p36" /><ref name="ColeSambhi1995p18" /> On Nanak's advice, Guru Angad moved from Kartarpur to Khadur, where his wife [[Mata Khivi|Khivi]] and children were living, until he was able to bridge the divide between his followers and the Udasis. Guru Angad continued the work started by Guru Nanak and is widely credited for standardising the [[Gurmukhī script]] as used in the sacred scripture of the Sikhs.<ref name="ColeSambhi1995p18">{{cite book |first1=William Owen |last1=Cole |first2=Piara Singh |last2=Sambhi |title=The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zIC_MgJ5RMUC&pg=PA18 |date=1995 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-898723-13-4|pages=18–20}}</ref>

[[Guru Amar Das]] became the third Sikh Guru in 1552 at the age of 73. He adhered to the [[Vaishnavism]] tradition of Hinduism for much of his life, before joining the commune of Guru Angad.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29">{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |pages=29–30 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=28 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528215151/https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA29%2F |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Eileen |last=Osborne |title=Founders and Leaders|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GMnpUthHyvEC&pg=PA24|date=2005|publisher=Dublin: Folens Limited |isbn=978-1-84303-622-7|page=24}}</ref> [[Goindval]] became an important centre for Sikhism during the Guruship of Guru Amar Das. He was a reformer, and discouraged veiling of women's faces (a Muslim custom) as well as [[sati (practice)|sati]] (a Hindu custom).<ref name=eosamardas>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Amar Das, Guru (1479–1574) |last1=Kushwant Singh |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjab University Patiala |access-date=9 April 2016 |archive-date=29 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729230458/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Nikky-Guninder |last=Kaur Singh |title=Sikhism |date=2004 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-1-4381-1779-9|page=120}}</ref> He encouraged the [[Kshatriya]] people to fight in order to protect people and for the sake of justice, stating this is [[Dharma]].<ref name="Sambhi2005p29">{{cite book |first1=W. Owen |last1=Cole |first2=Piara Singh |last2=Sambhi |title=A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vcSRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 |date=2005 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-135-79760-7|pages=29–30}}</ref> Guru Amar Das started the tradition of appointing [[Manji (Sikhism)|''manji'']] (zones of religious administration with an appointed chief called ''sangatias''),<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29" /> introduced the ''[[dasvandh]]'' (tithe) system of revenue collection in the name of Guru and as pooled community religious resource,<ref name="Farhadian2015p342">{{cite book |first=Charles E. |last=Farhadian |title=Introducing World Religions |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5VV-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT342 |date=2015|publisher=Baker Academic |isbn=978-1-4412-4650-9|pages=342}}</ref> and the famed ''[[Langar (Sikhism)|langar]]'' tradition of Sikhism where anyone, without discrimination of any kind, could get a free meal in a communal seating. The collection of revenue from Sikhs through regional appointees helped Sikhism grow.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p29" /><ref name="HaarKalsi2009p21">{{cite book |first1=Kristen |last1=Haar |first2=Sewa Singh |last2=Kalsi |title=Sikhism |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YOI1nB_zTyAC&pg=PA21 |date=2009 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-1-4381-0647-2 |pages=21–22}}</ref>

Guru Amar Das named his disciple and son-in-law Jēṭhā as the next Guru, who came to be known as [[Guru Ram Das]]. The new Guru faced hostilities from the sons of Guru Amar Das and therefore shifted his official base to lands identified by Guru Amar Das as Guru-ka-Chak.<ref name="Mandair2013p38">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn_jBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38 |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4411-5366-1 |pages=38–40 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328171957/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn_jBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> He moved his commune of Sikhs there and the place then was called Ramdaspur, after him. This city grew and later became [[Amritsar]] – the holiest city of Sikhism.<ref name="McLeod1990p28">{{cite book |first=W. H. |last=McLeod |title=Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xIT7OMSJ44C&pg=PA28 |date=1990 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-56085-4 |pages=28–29 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328171958/https://books.google.com/books?id=7xIT7OMSJ44C&pg=PA28#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Guru Ram Das expanded the ''manji'' organization for clerical appointments in Sikh temples, and for revenue collections to theologically and economically support the Sikh movement.<ref name="Mandair2013p38" />

In 1581, [[Guru Arjan]] – the youngest son of [[Guru Ram Das]], became the fifth Guru of the Sikhs. The choice of successor, as throughout most of the history of Sikh Guru successions, led to disputes and internal divisions among the Sikhs.<ref name="ShackleMandair2013xv">{{cite book |last1=Shackle |first1=Christopher |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind-Pal Singh |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VvoJV8mw0LwC |date=2013 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-136-45101-0 |pages=xv–xvi |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308155950/https://books.google.com/books?id=VvoJV8mw0LwC |url-status=live }}</ref> The elder son of Guru Ram Das named [[Prithi Chand]] is remembered in the Sikh tradition as vehemently opposing Guru Arjan, creating a faction Sikh community which the Sikhs following Guru Arjan called as ''Minaas'' (literally, "scoundrels").<ref name=fenech39>{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |page=39 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817161136/https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="McLeod2009p20">{{cite book |first=W. H. |last=McLeod |title=The A to Z of Sikhism|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vgixwfeCyDAC&pg=PA86 |date=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6344-6|page=20}}</ref>

Guru Arjan is remembered in the Sikh for many things. He built the first [[Harimandir Sahib]] (later to become the [[Golden Temple]]). He was a poet and created the first edition of Sikh sacred text known as the [[Adi Granth|Ādi Granth]] (literally "the first book") and included the writings of the first five Gurus and other enlightened 13 Hindu and 2 Muslim Sufi saints. In 1606, he was tortured and killed by the [[Mughal emperors|Mughal emperor]] [[Jahangir]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shackle |first1=Christopher |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind-Pal Singh |date=2005 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-26604-8 |pages=xv–xvi}}</ref> for refusing to convert to Islam.<ref>{{cite book |first=Pashaura |last=Singh |title=Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbPXAAAAMAAJ |date=2006 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-567921-2 |pages=23, 217–218 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328171959/https://books.google.com/books?id=FbPXAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=pashauraarjan/><ref>Louis E. Fenech (2006), Martyrdom in the Sikh Tradition, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-567901-4}}, pp. 118–121</ref> His martyrdom is considered a watershed event in the history of Sikhism.<ref name=pashauraarjan/><ref>{{cite book |first=W. H. |last=McLeod |date=1989 |title=The Sikhs: History, Religion, and Society |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-06815-4 |pages=26–51}}</ref>

===Political advancement===
After the martyrdom of Guru Arjan, his son [[Guru Hargobind]] at age eleven became the sixth Guru of the Sikhs, and Sikhism dramatically evolved to become a political movement in addition to being religious.<ref name=pashaura29>{{cite journal |first=Pashaura |last=Singh |year=2005 |url=http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal_12_1/3_singh.pdf |title=Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan |journal=Journal of Punjab Studies |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=29–62 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175032/http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal_12_1/3_singh.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Guru Hargobind carried two swords, calling one spiritual and the other for temporal purpose (known as ''mīrī'' and ''pīrī'' in Sikhism).<ref>{{cite book |last=Mahmood |first=Cynthia |date=2002 |title=A Sea of Orange |publisher=Xlibris |isbn=978-1-4010-2856-5 |page=16}}{{self-published source|date=December 2017}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2017}} According to the Sikh tradition, Guru Arjan asked his son Hargobind to start a military tradition to protect the Sikh people and always keep himself surrounded by armed Sikhs. The building of an armed Sikh militia began with Guru Hargobind.<ref name="pashaura29" /> Guru Hargobind was soon arrested by the Mughals and kept in jail in Gwalior. It is unclear how many years he served in prison, with different texts stating it to be between 2 and 12.<ref name="mandair48">{{cite book |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BEP0Ty-GuVEC&pg=PA48|publisher=[[A & C Black]] |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-4411-1708-3|page=48}}</ref> He married three women, built a fort to defend Ramdaspur and created a formal court called [[Akal Takht]], now the highest Khalsa Sikh religious authority.<ref name="Phyllis2004">{{cite book |title=Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia |volume=1 |first=Phyllis G. |last=Jestice |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=H5cQH17-HnMC&pg=PA345 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |date=2004 |isbn=978-1-57607-355-1 |pages=345, 346}}</ref>

In 1644, Guru Hargobind named his grandson [[Guru Har Rai|Har Rai]] as the Guru. The Mughal Emperor [[Shah Jahan]] attempted political means to undermine the Sikh tradition, by dividing and influencing the succession.<ref name="mandair49" /> The Mughal ruler gave land grants to Dhir Mal, a grandson of Guru Hargobind living in Kartarpur, and attempted to encourage Sikhs to recognise Dhir Mal as the rightful successor to Guru Hargobind.<ref name="mandair49" /> Dhir Mal issued statements in favour of the Mughal state, and critical of his grandfather [[Guru Arjan]]. Guru Hargobind rejected Dhir Mal, the latter refused to give up the original version of the Adi Granth he had, and the Sikh community was divided.<ref name="mandair49">{{cite book |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BEP0Ty-GuVEC&pg=PA49 |publisher=[[A & C Black]] |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-4411-1708-3 |pages=48–49}}</ref>

Guru Har Rai is famed to have met Dara Shikoh during a time Dara Shikoh and his younger brother Aurangzeb were in a bitter succession fight. Aurangzeb summoned Guru Har Rai, who refused to go and sent his elder son Ram Rai instead.<ref name="McLeod2014p260" /> The emperor found a verse in the Sikh scripture insulting to Muslims, and Ram Rai agreed it was a mistake then changed it. Ram Rai thus pleased Aurangzeb, but displeased Guru Har Rai who excommunicated his elder son. He nominated his younger son [[Guru Har Krishan]] to succeed him in 1661. Aurangzeb responded by granting Ram Rai a [[jagir]] (land grant). Ram Rai founded a town there and enjoyed Aurangzeb's patronage; the town came to be known as Dehradun, after ''Dehra'' referring to Ram Rai's shrine. Sikhs who followed Ram Rai came to be known as [[Ramraiya]] Sikhs.<ref name="McLeod2014p260">{{cite book |first1=Louis E. |last1=Fenech |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeod |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |pages=260–261 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817161136/https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Britannica|490354|Rām Rāiyā}}</ref> However, according to rough estimates, there are around 120–150 million (12–15 [[crore]])<ref>[http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx Ram Rai] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729230458/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |date=29 July 2017 }}, ''Encyclopedia of Sikhism''. Harbans, Singh (ed.). Punjab University.</ref> Guru Har Krishan became the eighth Guru at the age of five, and died of smallpox before reaching the age of eight. No hymns composed by these three Gurus are included in the Guru Granth Sahib.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shackle |first1=Christopher |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind-Pal Singh |date=2005 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-26604-8 |page=xvi}}</ref>

[[Guru Tegh Bahadur]], the uncle of Guru Har Krishan, became Guru in 1665. Tegh Bahadur resisted the forced conversions of [[Kashmir]]i [[Pandit]]s<ref>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=236–445}}, Quote:"This is the reputed place where several Kashmiri pandits came seeking protection from Auranzeb's army.", Quote:"this second martyrdom helped to make 'human rights and freedom of conscience' central to its identity."</ref> and non-Muslims<ref name="Mandair2013p53">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA53 |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |pages=53–54 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=11 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811005234/https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA53 |url-status=live }}, Quote: "The Guru's stance was a clear and unambiguous challenge, not to the sovereignty of the Mughal state, but to the state's policy of not recognizing the sovereign existence of non-Muslims, their traditions and ways of life".</ref> to [[Islam]], and was publicly beheaded in 1675 on the orders of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal emperor]] [[Aurangzeb]] in [[Delhi]] for refusing to convert to Islam.<ref name=cs2013>{{cite book |last=Seiple |first=Chris |title=The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Security |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |date=2013 |isbn=978-0-415-66744-9 |page=96}}</ref><ref name="pashauraarjan" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Pashaura |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |last2=Fenech |first2=Louis E. |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=236–238 |access-date=4 July 2017 |archive-date=11 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811005306/https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Fenech |first=Louis E. |year=2001 |title=Martyrdom and the Execution of Guru Arjan in Early Sikh Sources |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=121 |issue=1 |pages=20–31 |doi=10.2307/606726 |jstor=606726}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Fenech |first=Louis E. |year=1997 |title=Martyrdom and the Sikh Tradition |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=117 |issue=4 |pages=623–642 |doi=10.2307/606445 |jstor=606445}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=McLeod |first=Hew |author-link=William Hewat McLeod |year=1999 |title=Sikhs and Muslims in the Punjab |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=22 |issue=sup001 |pages=155–165 |doi=10.1080/00856408708723379}}</ref><ref name=fenech4>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=236–238 |access-date=4 July 2017 |archive-date=11 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811005306/https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }};<br />{{cite journal |last=Fenech |first=Louis E. |title=Martyrdom and the Execution of Guru Arjan in Early Sikh Sources |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=121 |issue=1 |year=2001 |doi=10.2307/606726 |pages=20–31 |jstor=606726}};<br />{{cite journal |last=Fenech |first=Louis E. |title=Martyrdom and the Sikh Tradition |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=117 |issue=4 |year=1997 |doi=10.2307/606445 |pages=623–642 |jstor=606445}};<br />{{cite journal |last=McLeod |first=Hew |title=Sikhs and Muslims in the Punjab |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=22 |issue=sup001 |year=1999 |issn=0085-6401 |doi=10.1080/00856408708723379 |pages=155–165}}</ref> His beheading traumatized the Sikhs. His body was cremated in Delhi, the head was carried secretively by Sikhs and cremated in [[Anandpur Sahib|Anandpur]]. He was succeeded by his son, Gobind Rai, who militarised his followers by creating the [[Khalsa]] in 1699, and baptising the ''[[Panj Piare|Pañj Piārē]]''.<ref name="MandairShackle2013p25">{{cite book |first1=Arvind-Pal Singh |last1=Mandair |first2=Christopher |last2=Shackle |first3=Gurharpal |last3=Singh |title=Sikh Religion, Culture and Ethnicity |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=D8xdAgAAQBAJ |date=2013 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-136-84627-4 |pages=25–28}}</ref> From then on, he was known as [[Guru Gobind Singh]], and Sikh identity was redefined into a political force resisting religious persecution.<ref name=ws1981>{{cite book |first=Wilfred |last=Smith |date=1981 |page=191 |title=On Understanding Islam: Selected Studies |publisher=Walter De Gruyter |isbn=978-90-279-3448-2 |url= https://archive.org/details/onunderstandingi0000smit/page/191}}</ref>
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Interior-view-Gurudwara-Sis-Ganj-Sahib.jpg|[[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.
File:Bhai Mati Das.jpg|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. 
</gallery>

====Sikh confederacy and the rise of the Khalsa====
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
Mehdiana 5.jpg|Sculpture at [[Mehdiana Sahib]] of the execution of [[Banda Singh Bahadur]] in 1716 by the Mughals.
Bodyguard of Ranjit Singh.jpg|Some bodyguards of [[Ranjit Singh|Maharaja Ranjit Singh]] at the Sikh capital, Lahore, Punjab.
</gallery>
[[Guru Gobind Singh]] inaugurated the [[Khalsa]] (the collective body of all [[Amrit Sanskar|initiated Sikhs]]) as the Sikh temporal authority in the year 1699. It created a community that combines its spiritual purpose and goals with political and military duties.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shani |first=Giorgio |title=Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age |date=2008 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-0-415-42190-4 |page=24}}</ref><ref name="granthfinalguru" /><ref name="parrinderp259" /> Shortly before his death, Guru Gobind Singh proclaimed the [[Guru Granth Sahib|Gurū Granth Sāhib]] (the Sikh Holy Scripture) to be the ultimate spiritual authority for the Sikhs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wolfe|first=Alvin|title=Anthropological Contributions to Conflict Resolution|date=1996|publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-8203-1765-6|page=14}}</ref>

The Sikh Khalsa's rise to power began in the 17th century during a time of growing militancy against Mughal rule. The creation of a [[Sikh Empire]] began when Guru Gobind Singh sent a Sikh general, [[Banda Singh Bahadur]], to fight the Mughal rulers of India and those who had committed atrocities against [[Pir Buddhu Shah]]. Banda Singh advanced his army towards the main Muslim Mughal city of Sirhind and, following the instructions of the Guru, punished all the culprits. Soon after the invasion of Sirhind, while resting in his chamber after the Rehras prayer Guru Gobind Singh was stabbed by a [[Pathan]] assassin hired by [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]]. Gobind Singh killed the attacker with his sword. Though a European surgeon stitched the Guru's wound, the wound re-opened as the Guru tugged at a hard strong bow after a few days, causing profuse bleeding that led to Gobind Singh's death.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

After the Guru's death, Baba [[Banda Singh Bahadur]] became the commander-in-chief of the [[Khalsa]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Indian Armed Forces Year Book|date=1959|publisher=the University of California|page=419}}</ref> He organised the civilian rebellion and abolished or halted the [[Zamindar]]i system in time he was active and gave the farmers [[Self-ownership|proprietorship]] of their own land.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jawandha |first=Nahar |title=Glimpses of Sikhism |date=2010 |publisher=Sanbun Publishers |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-93-80213-25-5 |page=81}}</ref> Banda Singh was executed by the emperor [[Farrukhsiyar|Farrukh Siyar]] after refusing the offer of a pardon if he converted to Islam. The [[Sikh Confederacy|confederacy of Sikh warrior bands]] known as ''[[misls]]'' emerged, but these fought between themselves. Ranjit Singh achieved a series of military victories and created a [[Sikh Empire]] in 1799.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

The Sikh empire, with its capital in [[Lahore]], spread over almost {{convert|200000|mi2|km2|abbr=off}} comprising what is now northwestern [[Indian subcontinent]]. The Sikh Empire entered into a treaty with the colonial British powers, with each side recognizing Sutlej River as the line of control and agreeing not to invade the other side.<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Khushwant |author-link=Khushwant Singh|date=2006|title=The Illustrated History of the Sikhs |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-0-19-567747-8 |pages=47–53}}</ref> Ranjit Singh's most lasting legacy was the restoration and expansion of the [[Harmandir Sahib]], most revered [[Gurudwara]] of the Sikhs, with marble and gold, from which the popular name of the "[[Golden Temple]]" is derived.<ref>{{cite book |first=Eleanor |last=Nesbitt |title=Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XebnCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 |date=2016 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-874557-0 |pages=64–65 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328172000/https://books.google.com/books?id=XebnCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> After the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, the Sikh Empire fell into disorder. Ranjit Singh had failed to establish a lasting structure for Sikh government or stable succession, and the Sikh Empire rapidly declined after his death. Factions divided the Sikhs, and led to [[First Anglo-Sikh War|Anglo-Sikh wars]]. The British defeated the confused and demoralised [[Sikh Khalsa Army|Khalsa forces]], then disbanded them into destitution.<ref name="Oberoi1994p207">{{cite book |first=Harjot |last=Oberoi |title=The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dKl84EYFkTsC |date=1994 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-61593-6 |pages=207–208 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=11 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111155406/https://books.google.com/books?id=dKl84EYFkTsC |url-status=live }}</ref> The youngest son of Ranjit Singh, named [[Maharaja Duleep Singh|Duleep Singh]], ultimately succeeded, but he was arrested and exiled after the defeat of Sikh Khalsa.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Jind Kaur, Maharani (1817–1863) |last1=Hasrat |first1=B. J. |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=9 April 2016 |archive-date=29 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729230458/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Singh Sabha movement====
{{Main|Singh Sabha Movement}}
The [[Singh Sabha movement]], a movement to revitalize Sikhism, also saw the resurgence of the [[Khalsa]] after their defeat in wars with the British<ref>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|date=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|page=28}}</ref> - latterly in the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]] - and the subsequent decline and corruption of Sikh institutions during colonial rule, and the proselytization of other faith groups in the Punjab.<ref name=barrierssm>{{cite book |last1=Barrier |first1=N. Gerald |last2=Singh |first2=Nazer |editor1-last=Singh |editor1-first=Harbans |title=Singh Sabha Movement |date=1998 |publisher=Punjab University, Patiala, 2002 |location=Patiala, Punjab, India |isbn=978-81-7380-349-9 |pages=44, 50, 110, 121, 126, 212, 349 |edition=4th |url= https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIA-d/page/n3 |access-date=12 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Online">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Singh-Sabha |title=Singh Sabha (Sikhism) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online |year=2010 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-date=26 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226073623/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Singh-Sabha |url-status=live }}</ref>  It was started in the 1870s, and after a period of interfactional rivalry, united under the Tat Khalsa to reinvigorate Sikh practice and institutions.<ref name="perplexed84">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsburg Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |page=84}}</ref>

The last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, Duleep Singh, converted to Christianity in 1853, a controversial but influential event in Sikh history. Along with his conversion, and after Sikh Empire had been dissolved and the region made a part of the colonial British Empire, [[Proselytism|proselytising]] activities of [[Christians]], [[Brahmo Samaj]]is, [[Arya Samaj]], Muslim Anjuman-i-Islamia and Ahmadiyah sought to convert the Sikhs in northwestern Indian subcontinent into their respective faiths.<ref name=barrierssm/><ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Online" /> These developments launched the [[Singh Sabha Movement]].<ref name=barrierssm/><ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Online" />

The first meeting of the movement was in the [[Golden Temple]], Amritsar in 1873, and it was largely launched by the [[Sanatan Sikh]]s, Gianis, priests, and granthis.<ref>Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, Sikh History in 10 Volumes, Sikh University Press, Belgium, published in 2012; vol 4, pp 49–69</ref> Shortly thereafter, Nihang Sikhs began influencing the movement, followed by a sustained campaign by the [[Tat Khalsa]], which had quickly gained dominance by the early 1880s.<ref name="perplexed84" /><ref name="Oberoi1994">{{cite book |first=Harjot |last=Oberoi |title=The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dKl84EYFkTsC&pg=PA382|date=1994|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-61593-6|pages=382–383}}</ref> The movement became a struggle between Sanatan Sikhs and Tat Khalsa in defining and interpreting Sikhism.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p28" /><ref name="Mandair 2013 85–86">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsburg Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |pages=85–86}}</ref><ref name="fenech273" />

Sanatan Sikhs led by [[Khem Singh Bedi]] – who claimed to be a direct descendant of Guru Nanak, Avtar Singh Vahiria and others supported a more inclusive approach which considered Sikhism as a reformed tradition of Hinduism, while Tat Khalsa campaigned for an exclusive approach to the Sikh identity, disagreeing with Sanatan Sikhs and seeking to modernize Sikhism.<ref name="fenech273" /><ref name="Oberoi1994" /><ref name="Mandair2013p82">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |date=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7|pages=82–90}}</ref> The Sikh Sabha movement expanded in north and northwest Indian subcontinent, leading to more than 100 Singh Sabhas.<ref name="fenech273" /><ref name="SinghFenech2014p28" /> By the early decades of the 20th century, the influence of Tat Khalsa increased in interpreting the nature of Sikhism and their control over the Sikh Gurdwaras.<ref name="fenech273" /><ref name="SinghFenech2014p28">{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|date=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=28–29, 73–76}}</ref><ref name="Oberoi1994" /> The Tat Khalsa banished Brahmanical practices including the use of the ''[[yajna|yagna]]'' fire,<ref>{{cite book |first=Gurnam Singh Sidhu |last=Brard |title=East of Indus: My Memories of Old Punjab |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UUdYFH9skIkC&pg=PA291 |date=2007 |publisher=Hemkunt Press |isbn=978-81-7010-360-8 |pages=291–292}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Michael |last2=Hawley |title=Re-imagining South Asian Religions |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4SLhLakpsNsC&pg=PA30 |date=2012 |publisher=Brill Academic |isbn=978-90-04-24236-4 |pages=30–31}}</ref> replaced by the ''[[Anand Karaj]]'' marriage ceremony in accordance with Sikh scripture, and the idols and the images of Sikh Gurus from the [[Golden Temple]] in 1905, traditions which had taken root during the administration of the ''[[Singh Sabha Movement#Colonial rule|mahants]]'' during the 1800s.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CzYeAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT542 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-100412-4 |pages=542–543}}</ref> They undertook a sustained campaign to standardize how Sikh Gurdwaras looked and ran, while looking to Sikh scriptures and the early Sikh tradition<ref name="perplexed85">{{cite book |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |last=Mandair |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsburg Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |page=85}}</ref> to purify the Sikh identity.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=329–330, 351–353}}</ref>

The spiritual successors of the Singh Sabha include the [[Akali movement]] of the 1920s, as well as the modern-day Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ([[SGPC]]), a [[gurdwara]] administration body, and the [[Akali Dal]] political party.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p30">{{cite book |first1=Pashaura |last1=Singh |first2=Louis E. |last2=Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |page=30}}</ref>

====Partition of India====
Sikhs participated and contributed to the decades-long Indian independence movement in the first half of the 20th century. Ultimately when the British Empire recognized independent India, the [[partition of India|land was partitioned]] into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan (East and West) in 1947. According to Banga, the partition was a watershed event in Sikh history.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–100}}<ref name="Shani2007p86">{{cite book |first=Giorgio |last=Shani |title=Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HKu66SixH6AC |date=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-134-10189-4 |pages=86–93}}</ref> The Sikhs had historically lived in northwestern region of Indian subcontinent on both sides of the partition line ("[[Radcliffe Line]]"). According to Banga and other scholars, the Sikhs had strongly opposed the [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]] demands and saw it as "perpetuation of Muslim domination" and anti-Sikh policies in what just a hundred years before was a part of the Sikh Empire. As such, Sikh organizations, including the [[Chief Khalsa Diwan|Chief Khalsa Dewan]] and [[Shiromani Akali Dal]] led by [[Master Tara Singh]], condemned the [[Lahore Resolution]] and the movement to create Pakistan, viewing it as inviting possible persecution; the Sikhs largely thus [[opposition to the partition of India|strongly opposed the partition of India]].<ref name="KudaisyaYong2004">{{cite book |last1=Kudaisya |first1=Gyanesh |last2=Yong |first2=Tan Tai |title=The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia |date=2004 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-134-44048-1 |page=100 |quote=No sooner was it made public than the Sikhs launched a virulent campaign against the Lahore Resolution. Pakistan was portrayed as a possible return to an unhappy past when Sikhs were persecuted and Muslims the persecutor. Public speeches by various Sikh political leaders on the subject of Pakistan invariably invoked images of atrocities committed by Muslims against Sikhs and of the martyrdom of their ''gurus'' and heroes. Reactions to the Lahore Resolution were uniformly negative and Sikh leaders of all political persuasions made it clear that Pakistan would be 'wholeheartedly resisted'. The Shiromani Akali Dal, which had a substantial following among rural Sikhs, organized several well-attended conferences in Lahore to condemn the Muslim League. Master Tara Singh, leader of the Akali Dal, declared that his party would fight Pakistan 'tooth and nail'. Not be outdone, other Sikh political organizations, rival to the Akali Dal, namely the Central Khalsa Young Men Union and the moderate and loyalist Chief Khalsa Dewan, declared in equally strong language their unequivocal opposition to the Pakistan scheme.}}</ref> During the discussions with the colonial authorities, Tara Singh emerged as an important leader who campaigned to prevent the partition of colonial India and for the recognition of Sikhs as a third community.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–100}}

When partition was announced, the newly created line divided the Sikh population. Along with Hindus, Sikhs suffered organized violence and riots against them in West Pakistan. As a result, Sikhs moved en masse to the Indian side, leaving behind their property and holy sites.<ref name="Abid2014"/> However, the anti-Sikh violence was not one-sided. As Sikhs moved to the eastern side of the partition line, they engaged in reprisals against Muslims there, forcing them into Pakistan.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–100}}<ref name="Mann2014p81" /> Before the partition, Sikhs constituted about 15% of the population in West Punjab, the majority being Muslims (55%). The Sikhs were the economic elite in West Punjab, however. They had the largest representation in West Punjab's aristocracy, and there were nearly 700 Gurdwaras and 400 educational institutions that served the interests of the Sikhs.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–103}} Prior to the partition, there were a series of disputes between the majority Muslims and minority Sikhs, such as on the matters of [[jhatka]] versus [[halal]] meat, the disputed ownership of [[Shaheed Ganj Mosque|Gurdwara Sahidganj]] in Lahore which Muslims sought as a mosque and Sikhs as a Gurdwara, and the insistence of the provincial Muslim government on switching from Indian [[Gurmukhi]] script to Arabic-Persian [[Nastaliq]] script in schools.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–100}} During and after the [[Simla Conference]] in June 1945, headed by Lord Wavell, the Sikh leaders initially expressed their desire to be recognized as a third community, but ultimately relegated these demands and sought a United India where Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims would live together, under a Swiss-style constitution. The Muslim League rejected this approach, demanding that the entire Punjab should be granted to Pakistan.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–104}} The Sikh leaders then sought the original partition instead, and the Congress Working Committee passed a resolution in support of partitioning Punjab and Bengal.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–104}}<ref name="Mann2014p81">{{cite book |first=Michael |last=Mann |title=South Asia's Modern History: Thematic Perspectives |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TBscBQAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-317-62446-2 |pages=81–83}}</ref>
[[File:Sikh Light Infantry.jpg|thumb|[[Sikh Light Infantry]] personnel march past during the [[Delhi Republic Day parade|Republic day parade]] in New Delhi, India]]

Between March and August 1947, a series of riots, arson, plunder of Sikh and property, assassination of Sikh leaders, and killings in Jhelum districts, Rawalpindi, Attock and other places led to Tara Singh calling the situation in Punjab a "civil war", while [[Lord Mountbatten]] stated "civil war preparations were going on."<ref name="Abid2014">{{cite web |last1=Abid |first1=Abdul Majeed |title=The forgotten massacre |url=https://nation.com.pk/29-Dec-2014/the-forgotten-massacre |website=The Nation |date=29 December 2014 |quote=On the same dates, Muslim League-led mobs fell with determination and full preparations on the helpless Hindus and Sikhs scattered in the villages of Multan, Rawalpindi, Campbellpur, Jhelum and Sargodha. The murderous mobs were well supplied with arms, such as daggers, swords, spears and fire-arms. (A former civil servant mentioned in his autobiography that weapon supplies had been sent from NWFP and money was supplied by Delhi-based politicians.) They had bands of stabbers and their auxiliaries, who covered the assailant, ambushed the victim and if necessary disposed of his body. These bands were subsidized monetarily by the Muslim League, and cash payments were made to individual assassins based on the numbers of Hindus and Sikhs killed. There were also regular patrolling parties in jeeps which went about sniping and picking off any stray Hindu or Sikh. ... Thousands of non-combatants including women and children were killed or injured by mobs, supported by the All India Muslim League. |access-date=7 December 2020 |archive-date=2 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202231234/https://nation.com.pk/29-Dec-2014/the-forgotten-massacre |url-status=live }}</ref> The riots had triggered the early waves of migration in April, with some 20,000 people leaving northwest Punjab and moving to Patiala.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=104–105}}<ref name="Shani2007p86" /> In Rawalpindi, 40,000 people became homeless. The Sikh leaders made desperate petitions, but all religious communities were suffering in the political turmoil. Sikhs constituted only 4 million out of a total of 28&nbsp;million in Punjab, and 6&nbsp;million out of nearly 400&nbsp;million in India; they did not constitute the majority, not even in a single district.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=104–105}}<ref name="Wolpert2010p9">{{cite book |first=Stanley |last=Wolpert |title=India and Pakistan: Continued Conflict or Cooperation?|url= https://archive.org/details/indiapakistancon0000wolp |url-access=registration|date=2010|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-94800-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/indiapakistancon0000wolp/page/n10 9]–12, 16–23}}</ref>

When the partition line was formally announced in August 1947, the violence was unprecedented, with Sikhs being one of the most affected religious community both in terms of deaths, as well as property loss, injury, trauma and disruption.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=108–111}}<ref name="Mann2014p81" /> Sikhs and Muslims were both victims and perpetrators of retaliatory violence against each other. Estimates range between 200,000 and 2&nbsp;million deaths of Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=108–111}}<ref name="Mann2014p81" /> There were numerous rapes of and mass suicides by Sikh women, they being taken captives, their rescues and above all a mass exodus of Sikhs from newly created Pakistan into newly independent India. The partition created the "largest foot convoy of refugees recorded in [human] history, stretching over 100 kilometer long", states Banga, with nearly 300,000 people consisting of mostly "distraught, suffering, injured and angry Sikhs". Sikh and Hindu refugees from Pakistan flooded into India, Muslim refugees from India flooded into Pakistan, each into their new homeland.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=108–111}}<ref name="Wolpert2010p9" />

====Khalistan====
[[File:Thousands-Sikhs-protest-in-London.jpg|thumb|Sikhs in [[London]] protesting against the Indian government]]
In 1940, a few Sikhs such as the victims of [[Komagata Maru incident|Komagata Maru in Canada]] proposed the idea of Khalistan as a buffer state between an independent India and what would become Pakistan.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–103}} These leaders, however, were largely ignored.{{sfn|Banga|2017|pp=99–100}}<ref name="Shani2007p86" /> The early 1980s witnessed some Sikh groups seeking an independent nation named [[Khalistan]] carved out from India and Pakistan. The [[Golden Temple]] and Akal Takht were occupied by various militant groups in 1982. These included the [[Dharam Yudh Morcha]] led by [[Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale]], the Babbar Khalsa, the AISSF and the National Council of Khalistan.<ref name="Chima2008p85" /> Between 1982 and 1983, there were [[Anandpur Resolution]] demand-related terrorist attacks against civilians in parts of India.<ref name=horowitz482/> By late 1983, the Bhindranwale led group had begun to build bunkers and observations posts in and around the [[Golden Temple]], with militants involved in weapons training.<ref name="Chima2008p85" /> In June 1984, the then [[Prime Minister of India]] [[Indira Gandhi]] ordered Indian Army to begin [[Operation Blue Star]] against the militants.<ref name="Chima2008p85">{{cite book |first=Jugdep S. |last=Chima |title=The Sikh Separatist Insurgency in India: Political Leadership and Ethnonationalist Movements|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qJaHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA85|date=2008|publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-81-321-0538-1|pages=85–95}}</ref> The fierce engagement took place in the precincts of Darbar Sahib and resulted in many deaths, including Bhindranwale, the destruction of the Sikh Reference Library, which was considered a national treasure that contained over a thousand rare manuscripts,<ref name="mann 114">{{cite book |first=Michael |last=Mann |title=South Asia's Modern History: Thematic Perspectives |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TBscBQAAQBAJ |date=2014 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |isbn=978-1-317-62446-2 |page=114}}</ref> and destroyed Akal Takht. Numerous soldiers, civilians and militants died in the cross fire. Within days of the Operation Bluestar, some 2,000 Sikh soldiers in India mutinied and attempted to reach Amritsar to liberate the [[Golden Temple]].<ref name="Chima2008p85" /> Within six months, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi's Sikh bodyguards [[Satwant Singh|Satwant]] and [[Beant Singh (assassin)|Beant Singh]] [[Assassination of Indira Gandhi|assassinated her]]. The assassination triggered the [[1984 anti-Sikh riots]].<ref name=horowitz482>{{cite book |last=Horowitz|first=Donald L.|date=2003|title=The Deadly Ethnic Riot|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-23642-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/deadlyethnicriot00horo/page/482 482–485]|url= https://archive.org/details/deadlyethnicriot00horo/page/482}}</ref> According to Donald Horowitz, while anti-Sikh riots led to much damage and deaths, many serious provocations by militants also failed to trigger ethnic violence in many cases throughout the 1980s. The Sikhs and their neighbors, for most part, ignored attempts to provoke riots and communal strife.<ref name=horowitz482/>