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A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism, a religious faith originating in the Punjab, land of five rivers.
The word Sikh is derived from the Sanskrit word shishya which means disciple or student (although this is disputed by some). In the Punjabi language the word Sikh also means to learn. So a Sikh is a disciple of the Ten Gurus and a follower of the teachings in the Sikhism's holy book, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS).
Main article: Khalsa
The baptised Sikh is called a Khalsa or the "Pure One". When a Sikh becomes a Khalsa, he/she is supposed to have pledged his/her life to the Guru, and is expected not to desist sacrificing anything and everything in a struggle for a just cause. Historically, the first male child of all families of Hindus in the Punjab was ordained as a Sikh.
Historically, Sikhs have been known to be great warriors. The tenth Sikh guru Gobind Singh is considered a great military leader and strategist of his time. He inspired and eventually lead a relatively small number of Sikh forces to remarkable triumphs over expansive state armies of the Mughal king Aurangzeb. It is perhaps owing to such inspired passion or the singular religious devotion of the Khalsa that one may encounter many instances of remarkable gallantry displayed by Sikh fighters throughout history. The Battle of Saragarhi (1897) is remembered as one of many battles where the Sikhs have fought with unflinching strength. In the Battle of Saragarhi, the Sikh Havildar Ishar Singh with 21 other soldiers fought with great bravery against 10,000 Afridi tribesmen. This battle has been taught in history lessons in French schools for many years as a model and an example of extreme human bravery, sacrifice and of comradeship. In the two World Wars, over 80,000 Sikhs died for the allied forces in battles. Many Sikhs have received the Victoria Cross and the Param Vir Chakras for their gallantry and courage.
As a consequence of the above, even today gallantry and machoism are much appreciate values in Sikh cultures. It is not uncommon to see tall, well-built Sikh youths driving open (roofless) Jeeps, SUV's or bigger, macho motorbikes such as Royal Enfield's Bullet. Despite their small percentange in Indian population, Sikhs have regularly figured in national Indian sports squads (especially field hockey and athletics). The traditional dances and sports of Punjab almost always manifest flowing energy or physical strength.
Sikhism, is one of the few religions in the world where females have been given the prominence.The fact is epitomized in the selection of Bibi Jagir Kaur, a female , as the president of SGPC(shiromani gurudwara prabandhak committee), also regarded as the sikh parliament.
Since Sikhism originated in the region of Punjab, most Sikhs trace their roots to that region (though in recent times, with the spread both of Sikhism and Sikhs, one might encounter Sikhs belonging to other geographical locations across the world). So more often than not, a Sikh might also be identified as a Punjabi, although one should not be confused with the other. Consequently, and also because the Guru Granth Sahib is written in Gurmukhi, the script of the Punjabi language, most Sikhs are able to speak, read or write the language, or are at least familiar with it.
A Sikh man almost always bears the second name of Singh, which means 'lion', and a Sikh woman can be identified with a second name of Kaur (Though the name Kaur is an exclusively Sikh name, Singh is quite often encountered in Hindu names as well). Additionally, except only a very few cases, the same first names as used for men are used for women. In other words, though one may not be able to tell the gender of Sikh person from his/her first name, the second name of Singh or Kaur makes the distinction completely clear. Moreover, the said first names usually end with common suffixes such as: inder, jeet, preet, pal, meet, deep, mail, bir, want etc. Even the prefixes of the first names aren't too much varied. The commonest of prefixes are: Gur, Har, Man, Bal,Dal, Kul, Jas etc. The various combinations of these prefixes and suffix make up Sikh first names.
Keeping above in mind, a few examples of Sikh names might be:
Despite the above unwritten conventions that are usually followed while naming Sikh children, till a generation earlier, shorter, one syllable names such as: Banta Singh, Bhag Singh, Jant Singh, Jeet Kaur, Har Kaur etc. could be easily encountered especially in rural areas of Punjab. Other than that, modern Sikh families living in bigger, cosmopolitan cities, have adopted names from other communities as well. For instance, in New Delhi you might find a Sikh girl named simply Amita. In this case, the second name Kaur has been done away with and more significantly, the name Amita is unlike any conventional Sikh first name and is, in fact, a name more commonly associated with a Hindu girl. This practice of naming without using the word "Singh" Or "Kaur" is considered as manmat (Against the will of Guru) and is strictly prohibited in the Reht Maryada(The way of living of sikhs).Hence, those who strictly believe in the sikhhism shall always add Singh or Kaur to their name.
The following is the daily routine to be followed by a practising Sikh:
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