Read complete books and articles on: Sikhism

Sikhism - sĭkˈĭzəm, religion centered in the Indian state of Punjab, numbering worldwide some 19 million. Some 300,000 Sikhs live in Britain, and there are smaller communities in North America, Australia, and Singapore. By the late 1990s Sikhism was the world's fifth largest faith and had some 175,000 U.S. adherents and 225,000 in Canada. Sikhism is heterodox, combining

The founder and first Sikh guru, the mystic Nanak (c.1469–c.1539), proclaimed monotheism, the provisional nature of organized religion, and direct realization of God through religious exercises and meditation; he opposed idolatry, ritual, an organized priesthood, and the caste system. Angad (1504–52), the second guru, separated the ascetics (udasis) from the laity, eliminated most features of Hinduism, and introduced the Gurmukhi script. Under the fourth guru, Ram Das, Amritsar was founded as a sacred city. Arjun, the fifth guru, compiled devotional poetry by earlier Sikh gurus and other prominent saints into the Sikh scripture, the Adigranth, which remains central to Sikh religious life. Under succeeding gurus the Sikh community gradually united and began to develop military power; the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb responded by executing the ninth guru and ordering the destruction of Sikh temples.

In 1699, Govind Singh (1666–1708), the tenth and final guru, instituted certain practices that have become fundamental to Sikh identity. Through an initiatory rite, after which the initiate takes the surname Singh [lion], he created the military fraternity called the Khalsa, or "pure," whose ideal was the soldier-saint. He introduced the Sikh practices of wearing a turban, carrying a dagger, and never cutting the hair or beard.

By the late 18th cent. the Sikhs had conquered most of the Punjab and established various feudal states; their greatest leader was Ranjit Singh (1780–1839), who established a Sikh kingdom in the Punjab. After his death, conflict with the British caused the Sikh Wars and the subjugation of the Punjab, after which Sikh soldiers formed a significant part of the British armies in India. Despite Sikh protests, the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent divided their homeland. Militant Sikhs and Hindu Jats fought the Muslims of Punjab in a struggle that resulted in over a million casualties. Some 2.5 million Sikhs migrated from West Punjab (in Pakistan) into East Punjab (in India). The years immediately following partition brought a period of relative stability and prosperity.

More recently, militant Sikhs have called for an autonomous Sikh state, Khalistan, within or separate from India. Turmoil in the Punjab erupted in the early 1980s, marked most dramatically by the 1984 storming by the Indian Army of the Golden Temple at Amritsar, which had been taken over by militant Sikhs. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in reprisal, after which mobs massacred Sikhs throughout India: in Delhi alone, more than 2,500 Sikhs were killed. Religious hostilities and communal violence in the Punjab continued into the early 1990s.

Bibliography

See K. Singh, A History of the Sikhs (2 vol., 1963–66); J. D. Cunningham, A History of the Sikhs (repr. 1966); G. Singh, The Religion of the Sikhs (1971); W. H. McLeod, Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion (1976); J. O'Connell, ed., Sikh History and Religion in the Twentieth Century (1988).

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13 of the Best Books and Articles on: Sikhism

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Great Religions of the World ("Sikhism and the Sikhs") » Read Now
by Oskar Mann, A. C. Lyall, D. Menant. 306 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...81 ZOROASTRIANISM AND THE PARSIS . By D. ME NANT, AUTHOR OF "HISTORY OF THE PARSIS" 109 SIKHISM AND THE SIKHS . BY SIR LEPEL GRIFFIN, K.C.S.I. 139 POSITIVISM: ITS POSITION...
2.

Living Religions and Modern Thought (Chap. 4 "Jainism and Sikhism") » Read Now
by Alban G. Widgery. 312 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

...II. BUDDHISM 51 IV. JAINISM AND SIKHISM 80 V. CONFUCIANISM AND SHINTO 108...included here under special names, such, for example, as Jainism, Sikhism, etc. tics of Hindu...
3.

Faiths Men Live By (Chap. 13 "Sikhs and Their Religion") » Read Now
by John Clark Archer. 502 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...Buddhism, Parsiism or Zoroastrianism , Sikhism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. They...Hinduism, Parsiism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism; and 3 the Semitic, Judaism...
4.

Ethical Issues in Six Religious Traditions (Section C "Sikhism") » Read Now
by Peggy Morgan, Clive Lawton. 278 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

The need for a parallel study of the values held by different religious communities in the western world has never been stronger, and this book draws together authors respected in six significant traditions to explore the ethical foundations of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism and...
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The need for a parallel study of the values held by different religious communities in the western world has never been stronger, and this book draws together authors respected in six significant traditions to explore the ethical foundations of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism and Christianity. Each section introduces a different religion and sets the wider context within which more specific questions can be asked.
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5.

Ethnic Conflict in India: A Case-Study of Punjab » Read Now
by Gurharpal Singh. 231 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This important new book critically evaluates the conventional reading of ethnicity and ethnic conflict in contemporary Indian politics. By focusing on India's nation and state-building in the peripheral regions since 1947, in particular Punjab, it argues that there is a case for considering India as...
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This important new book critically evaluates the conventional reading of ethnicity and ethnic conflict in contemporary Indian politics. By focusing on India's nation and state-building in the peripheral regions since 1947, in particular Punjab, it argues that there is a case for considering India as an ethnic democracy. The long-term development of ethno-nationalist separatist movements and the future character of Indian democracy is assessed in light of the challenge posed by the rise of Hindutva forces, the demise of the Nehruvian state, and the internal political and economic pressures towards regionalization.
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6.

Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues with Sikh Militants » Read Now
by Cynthia Keppley Mahmood. 316 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

"The ethnic and religious violence that characterizes the late twentieth century calls for new ways of thinking and writing about politics. Listening to the voices of people who experience political violence - either as victims or as perpetrators - gives new insights into both the sources of violent...
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"The ethnic and religious violence that characterizes the late twentieth century calls for new ways of thinking and writing about politics. Listening to the voices of people who experience political violence - either as victims or as perpetrators - gives new insights into both the sources of violent conflict and the potential for its resolution."--BOOK JACKET. "Going beyond such easy labels as "fundamentalism" and "terrorism, " Mahmood shows how complex and multifaceted the human experience of political violence actually is. Drawing on her extensive interviews and conversations with Sikh militants, she presents their accounts of the human rights abuses they suffer in India as well as their explanations of the philosophical tradition of martyrdom and meaningful death in the Sikh faith. While demonstrating how divergent the worldviews of participants in a conflict can be, Fighting for Faith and Nation gives reason to hope that our essential common humanity may provide grounds for a pragmatic resolution of conflicts like the one in Punjab, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives in the past fifteen years."--BOOK JACKET.
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7.

Information and Behavior in a Sikh Village: Social Organization Reconsidered » Read Now
by Murray J. Leaf. 300 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...The Center for South and Southeast Asia Studies of the University of California is the unifying organization for faculty members and students interested in South and...
8.

Subnational Movements in South Asia (Chap. 5 "The Punjab Crisis Since 1984: A Reassessment") » Read Now
by Subrata K. Mitra, R. Alison Lewis. 260 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
9.

Divide and Quit » Read Now
by Penderel Moon. 300 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...peasants of the Jat tribe. 1 A certain number of Hindus of the urban commercial classes have grown beards and embraced Sikhism and some of these with their superior...
10.

Faces of the Feminine in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern India (Chap. 18 "The Construction of Gender in History and Religion: The Sikh Case" » Read Now
by Mandakranta Bose. 346 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This book offers a variety of scholarly studies in the idea, situation, and definition-including the self-definition-of women in India, from the earliest historical period up to the present day. Both in its range of topics and depth of research, this volume creates a sustained focus that is not...
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This book offers a variety of scholarly studies in the idea, situation, and definition-including the self-definition-of women in India, from the earliest historical period up to the present day. Both in its range of topics and depth of research, this volume creates a sustained focus that is not presently available in the literature of women in India. Faces of the Feminine in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern India comprises 25 essays contributed by a diverse mix of Indian, Canadian, American, and British women scholars, most of whom have lived in South Asia either for all of their lives or for extended periods. Arranged chronologically, these groundbreaking essays set aside the myths and prejudices that often clutter discussions about women in India. Part I, which is dedicated to the ancient period, defines women's positions as depicted in the sacred law, considers subordinated women in major Hindu epics, describes women's roles in ritual and their understanding of religion, and examines the patriarchal organization of women's lives in Buddhism. Part II begins with an essay on Tantra, a major force in medieval India that influenced both Hinduism and Buddhism and placed women at the center of its sacred rites. Other essays in Part II look at the life and legends of a medieval woman saint poet, the portrayal of a Hindu goddess in medieval Bengal, and the role of women from Mughal harems in decision making. Part III describes the colonial perception of Indian women in the late nineteenth century and shows how women's self-perceptions have been expressed through their art and writing as well as through their political action in the twentieth century. Providing informed and balanced analysis of extensive primary source material, this book will be an essential resource for students of women's lives in India.
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11.

Moral Development Theories-- Secular and Religious: A Comparative Study (Chap. 11 "Hinduism and Derivatives-- Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism") » Read Now
by R. Murray Thomas. 316 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Education, Psychology, Entire Library

Examines 13 secular and 13 religious theories to produce a wide-ranging comparative study of the roots of moral development.
12.

Philosophers and Religious Leaders (includes "Nanak Founder of Sikhism 1469-1539", "Gobind Singh: Founder of Khalsa Sect of Sikhism 1666-1708" and "Arjun Fifth Sikh Guru: Compiler of the Adi Granth 1563-1606") » Read Now
by Christian D. Von Dehsen. 248 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

How did Elijah Muhammad's establishment of the Nation of Islam affect the civil rights movement in the United States? Philosophers and Religious Leaders answers that question and others as it presents 200 leaders whose lives and work have greatly influenced the world we live in today. Profiles...
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How did Elijah Muhammad's establishment of the Nation of Islam affect the civil rights movement in the United States? Philosophers and Religious Leaders answers that question and others as it presents 200 leaders whose lives and work have greatly influenced the world we live in today. Profiles include: Muhammad Abduh--architect of Islamic modernism. Mary Daly-- influential feminist theologian and philosopher. Mary Baker Eddy--founder of Christian Science. Mencius (Meng K'o)--Confucian moral philosopher and interpreter. Shang Yang--Chinese philosopher of legalist school.
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13.

The Making of Sikh Scripture » Read Now
by Gurinder Singh Mann. 193 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

The Adi Granth ("original book"), the primary scripture of the Sikhs, comprises approximately 3,000 hymns. Although the authorship of the hymns is well-recorded, the history of the compilation the Adi Granth - the creation of the Sikh "canon" - is the subject of considerable speculation and debate...
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The Adi Granth ("original book"), the primary scripture of the Sikhs, comprises approximately 3,000 hymns. Although the authorship of the hymns is well-recorded, the history of the compilation the Adi Granth - the creation of the Sikh "canon" - is the subject of considerable speculation and debate. In this book, Gurinder Mann attempts to construct a comprehensive secondary literature on the topic. His findings on some key issues differ from the traditional Sikh position and from the hypotheses of other 20th-century scholars, as well as raising some entirely fresh questions. Mann's revised and expanded picture of the history of the text and institution of Sikh scripture will be of interest not only to scholars of Sikhism and Sikh religionists, but to scholars of comparative canon formation.
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