Sikhism

===Sikh castes===
[[File:Nagar Kirtan.jpg|thumb|[[Nagar Kirtan]] in [[Bangalore]]]]
According to Surinder Jodhka, the state of Punjab with a Sikh majority has the "largest proportion of [[Dalit|scheduled caste]] population in India". Although decried by Sikhism, Sikhs have practiced a caste system. The system, along with [[untouchability]], has been more common in rural parts of Punjab. The landowning dominant Sikh castes, states Jodhka, "have not shed all their prejudices against the lower castes or [[dalits]]; while dalits would be allowed entry into the village gurdwaras they would not be permitted to cook or serve langar." The Sikh dalits of Punjab have tried to build their own gurdwara, other local level institutions and sought better material circumstances and dignity. According to Jodhka, due to economic mobility in contemporary Punjab, castes no longer mean an inherited occupation, nor are work relations tied to a single location.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jodhka|first1=Surinder S|title=Caste and Untouchability in Rural Punjab |journal=Economic and Political Weekly|date=11–17 May 2002|volume=37|issue=19|pages=1813–1823|jstor=4412102}}</ref>
In 1953, the government of India acceded to the demands of the Sikh leader, [[Tara Singh (activist)|Master Tara Singh]], to include Sikh Dalit castes in the list of scheduled castes.<ref name="Harish K. Puri 2004">{{cite book |title=Dalits in Regional Context |first=Harish K. |last=Puri |isbn=978-81-7033-871-0|date=2004|publisher=Rawat Publications }}</ref> In the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee]], 20 of the 140 seats are reserved for low-caste Sikhs.<ref name="Harish K. Puri 2004" />

Over 60% of Sikhs belong to the [[Jat Sikh|Jat]] caste, which is an agrarian caste. Despite being very small in numbers, the mercantile [[Khatri]] and [[Arora]] castes wield considerable influence within the Sikh community. Other common Sikh castes include [[Saini]]s, [[Ramgarhia]]s (artisans), [[Brahmins]], [[Ahluwalia (caste)|Ahluwalias]] (formerly brewers), [[Rajput]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Refugees |first=United Nations High Commissioner for |title=Refworld {{!}} India: Rajput Sikh religion |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be4214.html |access-date=4 April 2023 |website=Refworld |language=en}}</ref> [[Rai Sikh]] (Rai), [[Kamboj]]s (rural caste), [[Labana]]s, [[Kumhar]]s and the two Dalit castes, known in Sikh terminology as the [[Mazhabi]]s (the Chuhras) and the [[Ravidasia]]s (the Chamars).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Sikhism (religion)|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/543916/Sikhism/253170/The-rejection-of-caste |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online |access-date=25 November 2014}}</ref>