The Sikh Faith

The Sikh Dharam (faith or disciplined way of life) was founded in 1469 by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first in a line of 10 consecutive Sikh Gurus who established the faith. The faith teaches that there is one God from whom we have all originated. Practically the Sikh (or “learner”) is a disciple of the Guru (spiritual teacher). In 1708, after the line of 10 Gurus ended, the Guruship was passed down to the sacred Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib Ji. This scripture is revered as the eternal Guru of the Sikhs and can be found in every Gurudwara (Sikh place of worship).

 

Key Teachings

A key teaching is the importance of living an honest, honourable and worthy human life, in the presence of God. As Sikhs, we are expected to continuously pray, and serve God’s creation. We must be forgiving, loving, content, compassionate, humble, accountable and generous to others. 

A Sikh’s true identity is considered to be formed by the values and virtues by which he or she lives. The values named above reflect the kind of practices that Sikhs endeavoured to bring over to the UK as part of their heritage. The lessons of unity and interdependance are some of the foundations for modern Sikhs in the UK today.

 

Physical Identity

Sikhs initiated into their faith have a distinct outward identity. They are required to wear the 5 Kakars (commonly known as 5 Ks), (Kara, Kes, Kanga, Kachhera, and the Kirpan). Males (and some females) wear a ‘Dastar’ (turban). Definitions of these words are at the bottom of the page.

This identity was formalised to help Sikhs remember their faith values, and also to ensure that Sikhs are visible within crowds, in order to support anyone in need.

 

Ethnic Identity

Sikhs are not just a religious or faith group. They are described as an ethno-religious group because as a community they share a common: history; cultural traditions; geographic origin; language and literature; are a minority within most parts of the world.

Therefore, when Sikhs arrived in the UK, the preservation of their language, cultural traditions, faith and literature was essential, along with their religious practices and identity.
In the UK, this was challenging, due to the discrimination the Sikhs faced in early 1950s Britain. Sikhs had to fight for the protection of their distinctive identity, as we explore in other areas of this site.

 

Migrating to the UK

The Sikh community originated around the state of Punjab in India. Whilst many Sikhs came directly from these areas to the UK, others were twice migrants through Kenya, Uganda, Afghanistan and other countries. These Sikhs had a mixture of educational backgrounds. On arrival in the UK, however, many joined factories and foundaries, engaging in manual labour and becoming part of the UK’s industrial labour workforce. Those who came with qualifications had to prove themselves, often starting from the ground up.