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List of Sikhs

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Sikh (/ˈsiːk/ or /ˈsɪk/; Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ, sikkh IPA: [ˈsɪkkʰ]) is the title and name given to an adherent of Sikhism. The term has its origin in the Sanskrit term śiṣya, meaning "disciple, learner" or śikṣa, meaning "instruction".

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Academia

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Jagdeep Singh Bachher is the incoming Chancellor at University of Waterloo

Biology

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Economics

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Medicine

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Physics

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Architects

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  • Ram Singh, one of pre-partition Punjab's foremost architects

Artists

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Actors

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Punjabi Cinema

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Bollywood

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Telugu Cinema

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British

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Others

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Comedians

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Lilly Singh became the first person of Indian descent to host an American major broadcast network late-night talk show, hosting A Little Late with Lilly Singh on NBC from 2019 to 2021.[4][5][6]

Directors

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Dhar Mann is known for his video production company, Dhar Mann Studios, that creates short films for social media platforms such as YouTube.

Fashion

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Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu was Miss Universe 2021.

Other artists

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Musicians

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Hindi music

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Punjabi music

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English music

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Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (better known by his stage name Jay Sean) became the first South Asian to top the Billboard Hot 100 in 2009 with his single Down.[17]
Navraj Singh Goraya (better known by his stage name NAV) topped the Billboard Hot 200 in 2019 with his album Bad Habits.

Visual arts

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Writers

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Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu

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English

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Rupi Kaur is a New York Times Bestselling poet.

Athletes

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Running

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Milkha Singh

Basketball

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Boxing

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  • Harry Dhami - British professional boxer, British welterweight champion 2000-2001. First Asian to win a British Title. Undefeated Southern Area Champion 1996-2000
  • Andrew Singh Kooner - Former bantamweight champion of Canada
  • Akaash Bhatia - British featherweight professional boxer
  • Sukhdeep Singh Chakria - Canadian middleweight boxer

Cycling

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Cricket

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Monty Panesar, former cricketer for England's national team

Equestrian

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Football

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Golf

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Hockey

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Ice hockey

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  • Arshdeep Bains - Prospect of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League
  • Jujhar Khaira - Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Chicago Blackhawks in NHL.

Field hockey

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Jagbir Singh (L) and Sandeep Singh (R), Indian professional field hockey player

Mixed martial arts

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Muay Thai

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Powerlifting

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Rally

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  • Joginder Singh, won the Safari Rally three times, in 1965 driving a Volvo PV544 with his brother Jaswant as co-driver, and in 1974 and 1976. A Kenyan known as "The Flying Sikh"
  • Karamjit Singh, PRWC champion 2002, Asia Pacific Rally Championship champion 2001. A Malaysian known as the "Flying Sikh"

Rugby

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Shooting

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Skateboarding

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  • PJ Ladd, American professional skateboarder

Swimming

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  • Pamela Rai, 1984 Olympic bronze medalist, 1986 Commonwealth Games gold medalist

Wrestling

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Business

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Ajay Banga is President of the World Bank Group.

Humanitarians

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Military

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Indian Army

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Indian Navy

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Indian Air Force

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Singaporean Army and Navy

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Sikhs In US Military

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Military Gallantry Award Winners

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British Indian Army

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Victoria Cross
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Indian Armed Forces

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Param Veer Chakra
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Mahavir Chakra
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Sikh General

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  • Baba Gurditta, son of Guru Hargobind (sixth Sikh guru), and father of Guru Har Rai (seventh Sikh guru) of Sikhism
  • Bidhi Chand, Sikh religious preacher and military commander
  • Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, commander of Khalsa army
  • Binod Singh, army man and disciple of Guru Gobind Singh and was among few Sikhs who accompanied him to Nanded in 1706
  • Baj Singh, also known as Baj Bahadur; Sikh general, governor, scholar and martyr
  • Fateh Singh, warrior in Sikh history; known for beheading Wazir Khan who was the Mughal Governor of Sirhind, administering a territory of the Mughal Empire between the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers
  • Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa, Commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire
  • Raja Mahan Singh Mirpuri, famous general in the Sikh Khalsa Army, and was the second-in-command General to General Hari Singh Nalwa
  • Raja Khushal Singh Jamadar, military officer and chamberlain of the Sikh Empire

Monarchs

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Sikh Empire

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Misl Period Rulers

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Revolutionaries and freedom fighters

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Politicians

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India

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Giani Zail Singh served as President of India from 1982 to 1987, becoming the first Sikh head of state in 133 years.
Manmohan Singh served as the only non-Hindu Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014, becoming the first Sikh head of government in 155 years.

Canada

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Jagmeet Singh is the first non-White leader of a major federal political party in Canada, having led the New Democratic Party since 2017.[58]
Harjit Sajjan served as the first non-White Canadian Minister of National Defence from 2015 to 2021.
  • Navdeep Bains – Liberal MP, Minister of Education and Science
  • Amarjeet Sohi – Liberal MP, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities
  • Bardish Chagger – Liberal MP, Minister of Small Business and Tourism and leader of the Government in the House of Commons
  • Ujjal Dosanjh – former Premier of British Columbia, former MPP, former federal Minister of Health
  • Prab Gill – MLA, Calgary-Greenway, Alberta
Tim Uppal became the first turbaned Sikh Canadian cabinet minister in 2011 and is currently deputy leader of the Conservative Party.

Pakistan

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Fiji

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  • Ujagar Singh Elected to the Legislative Council of Fiji in the 1968, representing the National Federation Party (NFP). He was also a member of independent Fiji's House of Representatives.

Kenya

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Malaysia

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  • Gobind Singh Deo – Democratic Action Party Central Executive Committee, Current Member of Parliament, Minister of Communications and Multimedia
  • Karpal Singh – Chairman of DAP. Member of parliament (aka "Tiger of Jelutong")

Mauritius

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  • Kher Jagatsingh – Minister of Education and Minister of Planning & Economic Development (1967-1982)

New Zealand

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Philippines

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Singapore

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Pritam Singh has served as Singapore's first Leader of the Opposition since 2020.

Thailand

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United Kingdom

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United States

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Gurbir Grewal served as the first non-White Attorney General of New Jersey from 2018 to 2021.
Dalip Singh Saund served as the first Asian American in Congress from 1957 to 1963. At the time of his first inauguration, he was the only non-White in Congress.
  • G. B. Singh, periodontist and retired army officer
  • Bhagat Singh Thind (Bhagat Singh Thind (1892–1967) writer, scientist, and lecturer on spirituality, involved in legal battle over the rights of Indians to obtain U.S. citizenship
  • Uday Singh Taunque (1982–2003) soldier, KIA, bronze star recipient

Religious figures

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Sikh Gurus

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  • Guru Nanak known as Bābā Nānak ('Father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.
  • Guru Angad was the second of the ten Sikh gurus of Sikhism. After meeting Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, becoming a Sikh, and serving and working with Nanak for many years, Nanak gave Lehna the name Angad ("my own limb") and chose Angad as the second Sikh Guru
  • Guru Amar Das sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73
  • Guru Ram Das was the fourth of the ten Sikh gurus. Guru Ram Das is credited with founding and building the city of Amritsar.
  • Guru Arjan Dev was the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of the Sikh scripture called the Adi Granth, which later expanded into the Guru Granth Sahib. He is regarded as the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith.
  • Guru Hargobind Sahib was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of eleven, after the execution of his father, Guru Arjan, by the Mughal emperor Jahangir. Hargobind introduced the process of militarization to Sikhism, He symbolized it by wearing two swords, representing the dual concept of mīrī and pīrī (temporal power and spiritual authority). In front of the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Hargobind constructed the Akal Takht (the throne of the timeless one). The Akal Takht represents the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa (the collective body of the Sikhs) today
  • Guru Har Rai was the seventh of the ten Sikh Gurus. He became the Sikh leader at age 14, on 3 March 1644, after the death of his grandfather and the sixth Sikh leader Guru Hargobind.He guided the Sikhs for about seventeen years, till his death at age 31.
  • Guru Har Krishan was the eighth of the ten Sikh Gurus. At the age of five, he became the youngest Guru in Sikhism on 7 October 1661. He contracted smallpox in 1664 and died before reaching his eighth birthday. It is said that he died because he contracted smallpox while successfully curing his followers
  • Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten gurus who founded the Sikh religion and was the leader of Sikhs from 1665 until his beheading in 1675.
  • Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth and last human Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the Sikhs after his father Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed by Emperor Aurangzeb

Panj Pyare (the five beloved ones)

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Historical importance to Sikh religion

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  • Bhai Mardana (1459–1534) was Guru Nanak Dev's companion on all of his Udasis (travels) and he played kirtan.
  • Bebe Nanaki (1464–1518) is known as the first Sikh. She was the elder sister of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder and first Guru (teacher) of Sikhism. Bebe Nanaki was the first to realize her brother's spiritual eminence.
  • Sri Chand ( ਸ੍ਰੀ ਚੰਦ )(1494–1629)[59] was the first son of Guru Nanak, raised by his sister. Sri Chand was a renunciate yogi. After his father left Sri Chand stayed in Dera Baba Nanak and maintained Guru Nanak's temple. He established the Udasi order who travelled far and wide to spread the Word of Nanak.
  • Mata Khivi ( ਮਾਤਾ ਖੀਵੀ ) (1506–1582) is the only woman mentioned in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. She was the wife of Guru Angad, and established the langar system, a free kitchen where all people were served as equals. Only the best possible ingredients were used, and everyone was treated with utmost courtesy. Her hospitality has been emulated over the centuries and has become the first cultural identity of the Sikhs. She helped her husband to establish the infant Sikh community on a stronger footing, and is described as good natured, efficient, and beautiful.
  • Baba Buddha (6 October 1506 – 8 September 1631) was one of the earliest disciples of Guru Nanak. He lived an exemplary life and was called on to perform the ceremony passing the guruship on to five gurus, up to Guru Hargobind. Baba Buddha trained the sixth Guru in martial arts as a young man to prepare him for the challenges of the guruship.
  • Bhai Gurdas ( ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ ) (1551–1637) is one of the most eminent literary personalities in the history of the Sikh religion. He was a scholar, poet and the scribe of the Adi Granth. He was an able missionary and an accomplished theologian. Being well versed in Indian religious thought, he was able to elaborate profoundly the tenets of Sikhism.
  • Mata Gujri (1624–1705) joined the ninth Guru in his long meditation at Baba Bakala before he assumed the guruship. She gave birth to and raised the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Mata Gujri accompanied her youngest grandsons, Baba Fateh Singh and Baba Zorawar Singh to their martyrdom at Sirhind-Fategarh, and subsequently passed as well.
  • Mai Bhago (ਮਾਈ ਭਾਗੋ)[60] is one of the most famous women in Sikh history. She is always pictured on horseback wearing a turban with her headscarf gracefully flowing in the wind, courageously leading an army into battle. A staunch Sikh by birth and upbringing, she was distressed to hear in 1705 that some of the Sikhs of her village who had gone to Anandpur to fight for Guru Gobind Singh had deserted him under adverse conditions. She rallied the deserters, persuading them to meet the Guru and apologize to him. She led them back to Guru Gobind Singh in the battlefield at Muktsar (Khidrana) Punjab. She thereafter stayed on with Guru Gobind Singh as one of his bodyguards, in male attire. After Guru Gobind Singh left his body at Nanded in 1708, she retired further south. She settled in Jinvara, where, immersed in meditation, she lived to an old age.
  • Bhai Mani Singh (1644–1738) was an 18th-century Sikh scholar and martyr. He was a childhood companion of Guru Gobind Singh[1] and took the vows of Sikhism when the Guru inaugurated the Khalsa in March 1699. Soon after that, the Guru sent him to Amritsar to take charge of the Harmandar, which had been without a custodian since 1696. He took control and steered the course of Sikh destiny at a critical stage in Sikh history. The nature of his death in which he was dismembered joint by joint has become a part of the daily Sikh Ardas (prayer).
  • Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780–1839) was the leader of the Sikh Empire which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. Ranjit Singh's reign introduced reforms, modernization, investment into infrastructure, and general prosperity. His government and army included Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Europeans. Ranjit Singh's legacy includes a period of Sikh cultural and artistic renaissance, including the rebuilding of the Harimandir Sahib in Amritsar as well as other major gurudwaras, including Takht Sri Patna Sahib, Bihar and Hazur Sahib Nanded, Maharashtra under his sponsorship. He was popularly known as Sher-i-Punjab, or "Lion of Punjab".
  • Bhagat Puran Singh ( ਭਗਤ ਪੁਰਨ ਸਿੰਘ )(1904–1992) was a great visionary, an accomplished environmentalist and a symbol of selfless service to humanity. He was the founder of the All India Pingalwara charitable society which imparts service to the poor, downtrodden, the dying, and the mentally and physically handicapped people.

Martyrs

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Other Religious Figures

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Gurbani Keertan

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Cause celebre

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See also

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References

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  2. ^ Podcasts – Desi Download. BBC. Retrieved on 2010-12-14.
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  4. ^ "YouTube star Lilly Singh set to become first bisexual late-night host". NBC News. 15 March 2019. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  5. ^ "'All these people have my back:' celebs support Lilly Singh's talk show debut". CBC News. September 11, 2019. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019.
  6. ^ "YouTube Star Lilly Singh is the First Woman of Indian-Origin to Host a U.S. Late Night Show -". Rolling Stone India. March 16, 2019. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
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  11. ^ Namrata Singh Gujral Biography. Perfect People (1976-02-26). Retrieved on 2010-12-14.
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