PEOPLE KNOWN FOR: Sikhism

Tara Singh was a Sikh leader known chiefly for his advocacy of an autonomous Punjabi-speaking Sikh nation in the Punjab region. He was a champion of Sikh rights against the dominant Hindus, Muslims, and...

Sant Fateh Singh was a Sikh religious leader who became the foremost campaigner for Sikh rights in postindependence India. Fateh Singh spent most of his early career in social and educational activities...

Guru Nanak was an Indian spiritual teacher who is revered as the founder and the first Guru of Sikhism, a monotheistic religion that combines Hindu and Islamic influences. His teachings, expressed through...

Bhai Vir Singh was a Sikh writer and theologian who was chiefly responsible for raising the Punjabi language to a literary level never before attained. He wrote at a time when Sikh religion and politics...

Guru Gobind Singh was an Indian spiritual leader who is revered as the 10th and last of the human Sikh Gurus, known chiefly for his creation of the Khalsa (Punjabi: “the Pure”), a casteless order of Sikhs...

Khushwant Singh was one of the best-known writers of India. He wrote novels such as Train to Pakistan (1956) and I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale (1959), several essays and short stories, and a definitive...

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a Sikh religious leader and political revolutionary whose violent campaign for autonomy for a Sikh state in Punjab and armed occupation of the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib)...

Guru Tegh Bahadur was an Indian spiritual leader who is revered as the ninth Sikh Guru (1664–75). He is considered to be the second Sikh martyr executed by the Mughal rulers. He was also the father of...

Dalip Singh Saund was the first Asian American, first Indian American, and first Sikh to be elected to the U.S. Congress. Before serving, he helped change a law so that Indians could become U.S. citizens....

Guru Arjan was the Sikh religion’s fifth Guru (1581–1606) and its first martyr. One of the greatest of the Sikh Gurus, Arjan took over the leadership of the Sikh community from his father, Guru Ram Das,...

Guru Angad was the second Sikh Guru (1539–52) and standardizer of the Punjabi script, Gurmukhi, in which many parts of the Adi Granth, the sacred book of the Sikhs, are written. While on a pilgrimage to...

Guru Ram Das was the fourth Sikh Guru (1574–81) and founder of Amritsar, the center of Sikhism and the site of the Sikhs’ principal place of worship—the Golden Temple. Guru Ram Das continued the missionary...

Kabir was an iconoclastic Indian poet-saint revered by Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. The birth of Kabir remains shrouded in mystery and legend. One tradition holds that he was born in 1398, which would have...

Guru Hargobind was the sixth Sikh Guru (1606–44), who developed a strong Sikh army and gave the Sikh religion its military character, in accord with the instructions of his father, Guru Arjan, the first...

Guru Amar Das was the third Sikh Guru (1522–74), so named at the advanced age of 73. He is noted for his division of the Punjab into administrative districts and for encouraging missionary work to spread...

Banda Singh Bahadur was the first Sikh military leader to wage an offensive war against the Mughal rulers of India, thereby temporarily extending Sikh territory. As a youth, he decided to be a samana (ascetic),...

Guru Har Rai was the seventh Sikh Guru (1644–61). Guru Har Rai’s grandfather was Hargobind, the sixth Guru and a great military leader. Guru Har Rai traveled in the Malwa area, where he converted the local...

Guru Hari Krishen was the eighth Sikh Guru (1661–64), who was installed at five years of age and reigned for only three years. He is said to have possessed vast wisdom and to have amazed visiting Brahmans...

Gurdās, Bhāī was the most famous of all Sikh poets and theologians apart from the 10 Gurūs (the founders and early leaders of the Sikh community). Bhāī is an honorific title meaning “brother.” Bhāī Gurdās’...