1958 Sikh Asian American Signed Soldier Bhagat Singh Thind Book American Usa

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (808) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 176280107258 1958 SIKH ASIAN AMERICAN SIGNED SOLDIER BHAGAT SINGH THIND BOOK AMERICAN USA.

Title:  The Pearl  of Greatest  Price or nam-Rattan

Author:  Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind

Book Description:   Self published, 1958 1st printing stated. Inscribed and signed by author on ffep. Previous owner name and address to front paste down. Minimal markings to 3 pages, o/w interior is white, crisp and unmarked. Red cloth boards show lightest corner rubs, not thru. Several light moisture dots to front board. NO DJ present. 

Binding:  Hardcover

Bhagat Singh Thind was an Indian American writer and lecturer on spirituality who served in the United States Army during World War I and was involved in a Supreme Court case over the right of Indian people to obtain United States citizenship
Bhagat Singh Thind (October 3, 1892 – September 15, 1967) was an Indian American writer and lecturer on spirituality who served in the United States Army during World War I and was involved in a Supreme Court case over the right of Indian people to obtain United States citizenship. Thind enlisted in the United States Army a few months before the end of World War I. After the war he sought to become a naturalized citizen, following a legal ruling that Caucasians had access to such rights[citation needed]. In 1923, the Supreme Court ruled against him in the case United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, which retroactively denied all Indian Americans the right to obtain United States citizenship for failing to meet the definition of a "white person", "person of African descent", or "alien of African nativity".[1][2] Thind remained in the United States, earned his PhD in theology and English literature at the University of California, Berkeley, and delivered lectures on metaphysics. His lectures were based on Sikh religious philosophy, but included references to the scriptures of other world religions and the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, and Henry David Thoreau. He campaigned for Indian independence from the British Empire. In 1936, Thind applied successfully for United States citizenship through the State of New York. Contents 1 Early life 2 Arrival in the United States 3 First United States citizenship 4 Second United States citizenship 5 Supreme Court appeal 6 Third and final United States citizenship 7 Contributions 8 Death 9 Writings 9.1 Posthumously released 10 In media 11 See also 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External links Early life Thind was born on October 3, 1892, in the village of Taragarh Talawa of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab in India,[3] listed as number 68 in this record. He belonged to the Thind clan of Kamboj.[4][5] Arrival in the United States Bhagat Singh Thind arrived in the United States in 1913 to pursue higher education at an American university. On July 22, 1918, he was recruited by the United States Army to fight in World War I, and on November 8, 1918, he was promoted to the rank of Acting Sergeant. He received an honorable discharge on December 16, 1918, with his character designated as "excellent".[6][7] U.S. citizenship conferred many rights and privileges, but only "free white men" and "persons of African nativity or persons of African descent" could be naturalized.[8] In the United States at this time, many anthropologists used the term Caucasian as a synonym for white. Indians were also categorized as Caucasians by various anthropologists. Thus, several Indians were granted United States citizenship in different U.S. states. Thind also applied for citizenship from the State of Washington in July 1918.[citation needed] First United States citizenship Bhagat Singh Thind with his battalion at Camp Lewis, Washington on November 18, 1918. Thind received his certificate of US citizenship on December 9, 1918, wearing military uniform as he was still serving in the United States Army. However, the Bureau of Naturalization did not agree with the decision of the district court to grant Thind citizenship. Thind's nationality was referred to as "Hindoo" or "Hindu" in all legal documents and in the news media despite being a practicing Sikh. At that time, Indians in the United States and Canada were called Hindus regardless of their religion. Thind's citizenship was revoked four days later, on December 13, 1918, on the grounds that Thind was not a "white man". Second United States citizenship Thind applied for United States citizenship again from the neighboring State of Oregon, on May 6, 1919. The same Bureau of Naturalization official who revoked Thind’s citizenship tried to convince the judge to refuse citizenship to Thind, accusing Thind of involvement in the Ghadar Party, which campaigned for Indian independence from the British Empire.[9] Judge Charles E. Wolverton wrote that Thind "stoutly denies that he was in any way connected with the alleged propaganda of the Gadar Press to violate the neutrality laws of this country, or that he was in sympathy with such a course. He frankly admits, nevertheless, that he is an advocate of the principle of India for the Indians, and would like to see India rid of British rule, but not that he favors an armed revolution for the accomplishment of this purpose."[citation needed] The judge took all arguments and Thind’s military record into consideration and declined to agree with the Bureau of Naturalization. Thus, Thind received United States citizenship for the second time on November 18, 1920. Supreme Court appeal The Bureau of Naturalization appealed against the judge’s decision to the next higher court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which sent the case to the Supreme Court for ruling on the following two questions: "Is a high caste Hindu of full Indian blood, born at Amritsar, Punjab, India, a white person within the meaning of section 2169, Revised Statutes?" "Does the act of February 5, 1917 (39 Stat. L. 875, section 3) disqualify from naturalization as citizens those Hindus, now barred by that act, who had lawfully entered the United States prior to the passage of said act?" Section 2169, Revised Statutes, provides that the provisions of the Naturalization Act "shall apply to aliens, being free white persons, and to aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent." In preparing briefs for the Ninth Circuit Court, Thind's attorney, Sakharam Ganesh Pandit, argued that the Immigration Act of 1917 barred new immigrants from India but did not deny citizenship to Indians who, like Thind, were legally admitted before the passage of the new law. The purpose of the Immigration Act was "prospective, and not retroactive." On February 19, 1923, Justice George Sutherland delivered the unanimous opinion of the Supreme Court to deny citizenship to Indians, stating that "a negative answer must be given to the first question, which disposes of the case and renders an answer to the second question unnecessary, and it will be so certified." The justices wrote that since the "common man's" definition of "white" did not include Indians, they could not be naturalized.[10] Thind's citizenship was revoked and the Bureau of Naturalization issued a certificate in 1926 canceling his citizenship a second time. The Bureau of Naturalization also initiated proceedings to revoke citizenship granted to other Indian Americans. Between 1923 and 1926, the citizenship of fifty Indians was taken away. Third and final United States citizenship Thind received his United States citizenship through the state of New York in 1936, taking the oath for the third time to become an American citizen. Thind had come to the United States for higher education and to "fulfill his destiny as a spiritual teacher." Long before Thind arrived in the United States, American thinkers had shown interest in Indian philosophy. Hindu scriptures translated by English missionaries were the “favorite texts” of many Transcendentalists, a society of American intellectuals who were dissatisfied with the Unitarian Church. The society flourished during the period of 1836–1860 in the Boston area and included influential members such as philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), poet Walt Whitman (1819–1892), and writer Henry David Thoreau (1817–62). Emerson had read Hindu religious books including the Bhagavad Gita, and his writings showed the influence of Indian philosophy. In 1836, Emerson expressed "mystical unity of nature" in his essay, "Nature." In 1868, Walt Whitman wrote the poem "Passage to India." Henry David Thoreau had considerable acquaintance with Indian philosophical works. He wrote an essay on "Resistance to Civil Government, or Civil Disobedience" in 1849 advocating nonviolent resistance against unethical laws. In 1906, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi used a similar philosophy of satyagraha, or nonviolent resistance, to gain Indian rights in South Africa. Gandhi often quoted Thoreau in his newspaper Indian Opinion. Contributions Fought for United States citizenship (United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind) First turbaned soldier in the United States Army Indian independence activist and General Secretary of Ghadar Party from 1916–1917[11] Sikh spiritual writer and philosopher Thind, during his early life, was influenced by the spiritual teachings of his father whose "living example left an indelible blueprint." After graduating from Khalsa College, he left for Manila, where he stayed for a year. Thind learned about American culture from students and teachers at the University of California, Berkeley, and from working people in the lumber mills of Oregon and Washington, where he worked during summer vacations to support himself financially. His teachings incorporated the scriptures of many religions, including Sikhism. During his lectures to Christian audiences, he frequently quoted the Vedas, Guru Nanak, Kabir, and other sources in Indian philosophy. He also made reference to the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, and Henry David Thoreau. Thind earned a PhD, became a writer, and was respected as a spiritual guide. He gave a new "vista of awareness" to his students throughout the United States and was able to initiate "thousands of disciples" into his expanded view of reality – "the Inner Life, and the discovery of the power of the Holy Nãm." He published many pamphlets and books, including Radiant Road to Reality, Science of Union with God, The Pearl of Greatest Price, House of Happiness, Jesus, The Christ: In the Light of Spiritual Science (Vol. I, II, III), The Enlightened Life, Tested Universal Science of Individual Meditation in Sikh Religion, and Divine Wisdom.[12] Death Thind was writing a book when he died on September 15, 1967. He was outlived by his wife, Vivian, whom he had married in March 1940, and his daughter Tara and son David. His son created a website[13] to propagate the philosophy for which his father devoted himself to the United States. He also posthumously published two of his father's books: Troubled Mind in a Torturing World and their Conquest and Winners and Whiners in this Whirling World. Writings Radiant Road to Reality Science of Union with God The Pearl of Greatest Price House of Happiness Jesus, The Christ: In the Light of Spiritual Science (Vol. I, II, III) The Enlightened Life Tested Universal Science of Individual Meditation in Sikh Religion Divine Wisdom (Vol. I, II, III) Posthumously released Troubled Mind in a Torturing World and their Conquest Winners and Whiners in this Whirling World In media In 2020 the story of his Supreme Court case was part of PBS’s documentary Asian Americans.[14] Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are Americans with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans. Contents 1 Terminology 2 History 2.1 Pre 1800 2.2 19th century 2.3 20th century 2.4 21st century 3 Demographics 3.1 U.S. metropolitan areas with large Asian Indian populations 3.2 List of U.S. states by the population of Asian Indians 4 Statistics 5 Socioeconomic status 5.1 Education 5.2 Household income 6 Culture 6.1 Media 7 Religion 7.1 Hindus 7.2 Sikhs 7.3 Jains 7.4 Muslims 7.5 Christians 7.6 Others 7.7 Ethnicity 7.8 Linguistic affiliation 8 Progress 8.1 Timeline 8.2 Classification 8.3 Citizenship 9 Current issues 9.1 Discrimination 9.2 Illegal immigration 9.3 Immigration 9.4 Media 10 Politics 11 Notable people 12 See also 13 References 14 Further reading 15 External links Terminology In the Americas, the term "Indian" has historically been used for indigenous people since European colonization in the 15th century. Qualifying terms such as "American Indian" and "East Indian" were and still are commonly used in order to avoid ambiguity. The U.S. government has since coined the term "Native American" in reference to the indigenous peoples of the United States, but terms such as "American Indian" remain popular among indigenous as well as non-indigenous populations. Since the 1980s, Indian Americans have been categorized as "Asian Indian" (within the broader subgroup of Asian American) by the United States Census Bureau.[7] While "East Indian" remains in use, the term "South Asian" is often chosen instead for academic and governmental purposes.[8] Indian Americans are included in the census grouping of "South Asian Americans", which includes Afghan Americans, Bangladeshi Americans, Bhutanese Americans, Burmese Americans, Nepalese Americans, Pakistani Americans, and Sri Lankan Americans. History See also: Asian immigration to the United States Pre 1800 Beginning in the 17th century, the East India Company began bringing indentured Indian servants to the American colonies.[9] In 1680, due to anti-miscegenation laws, a mixed-race girl born to an Indian father and an Irish mother was classified as mulatto and sold into slavery.[9] The Naturalization Act of 1790 made Asians ineligible for citizenship.[10] 19th century The first significant wave of Indian immigrants entered the United States in the 19th century. By 1900, there were more than two thousand Indian Sikhs living in the United States, primarily in California.[11] (At least one scholar has set the level lower, finding a total of 716 Indian immigrants to the U.S. between 1820 and 1900.[12]) Emigration from India was driven by difficulties facing Indian farmers, including the challenges posed by the British land tenure system for small landowners, and by drought and food shortages, which worsened in the 1890s. At the same time, Canadian steamship companies, acting on behalf of Pacific coast employers, recruited Sikh farmers with economic opportunities in British Columbia. Racist attacks in British Columbia, however, prompted Sikhs and new Sikh immigrants to move down the Pacific Coast to Washington and Oregon, where they worked in lumber mills and in the railroad industry.[12] Many Punjabi Sikhs who settled in California, around the Yuba City area, formed close ties with Mexican Americans.[9] The presence of Indian Americans also helped develop interest in Eastern religions in the US and would result in its influence on American philosophies such as Transcendentalism. Swami Vivekananda arriving in Chicago at the World's Fair led to the establishment of the Vedanta Society. 20th century Between 1907 and 1908, Sikhs moved further south to warmer climates in California, where they were employed by various railroad companies. Some white Americans, resentful of economic competition and the arrival of people from different cultures, responded to Sikh immigration with racism and violent attacks.[12] The Bellingham riots in Bellingham, Washington on September 5, 1907 epitomized the low tolerance in the U.S. for Indians and Sikhs, who were called "hindoos" by locals. While anti-Asian racism was embedded in U.S. politics and culture in the early 20th century, Indians were also racialized for their anticolonialism, with U.S. officials pushing for Western imperial expansion abroad casting them as a "Hindu" menace. Although labeled Hindu, the majority of Indians were Sikh.[13] In the early 20th century, a range of state and federal laws restricted Indian immigration and the rights of Indian immigrants in the U.S. In the 1910s, American nativist organizations campaigned to end immigration from India, culminating in the passage of the Barred Zone Act in 1917. In 1913, the Alien Land Act of California prevented Sikhs (in addition to Japanese and Chinese immigrants) from owning land. However, Asian immigrants got around the system by having Anglo friends or their own U.S. born children legally own the land that they worked on. In some states, anti-miscegenation laws made it illegal for Indian men to marry white women. However, it was legal for "brown" races to mix. Many Indian men, especially Punjabi men, married Hispanic women and Punjabi-Mexican marriages became a norm in the West.[12][14] Mohini Bhardwaj, 2004 Summer Olympics medalist in gymnastics Bhicaji Balsara became the first known Indian to gain naturalized U.S. citizenship. As a Parsi, he was considered a "pure member of the Persian sect" and therefore a "free white person". The judge Emile Henry Lacombe, of the Southern District of New York, only gave Balsara citizenship on the hope that the United States attorney would indeed challenge his decision and appeal it to create "an authoritative interpretation" of the law. The U.S. attorney adhered to Lacombe's wishes and took the matter to the Circuit Court of Appeals in 1910. The Circuit Court of Appeal agreed that Parsis are classified as white.[15] A. K. Mozumdar was also considered "Caucasian" and therefore eligible for citizenship. Between 1913 and 1923, about 100 Indians were naturalized. In 1923, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind that Indians were ineligible for citizenship because they were not "free white persons".[12] The Court argued that the "great body of our people" would reject Indians.[16] Over fifty Indians had their citizenship revoked after this decision, but Sakharam Ganesh Pandit fought against denaturalization. He was a lawyer and married to a white American, and he regained his citizenship in 1927. However, no other naturalization was permitted after the ruling, which led to about 3,000 Indians leaving the United States. Many other Indians had no means of returning to India. One such immigrant, Vaisho Das Bagai, committed suicide in despair: "The return migration was large enough to render questionable the idea of immigration as a one-way system."[12] After the Immigration Act of 1917, Indian immigration into the U.S. decreased. Illegal entry through the Mexican border became the way of entering the country for Punjabi immigrants. California’s Imperial Valley had a large population of Punjabis who assisted these immigrants and provided support. Immigrants were able to blend in with this relatively homogenous population. The Ghadar Party, a group in California that opposed British rule of India, facilitated illegal crossing of the Mexican border, using funds from this migration "as a means to bolster the party’s finances".[14] The Ghadar Party charged different prices for entering the US depending on whether Punjabi immigrants were willing to shave off their beard and cut their hair. It is estimated that between 1920 and 1935, about 1,800 to 2,000 Indian immigrants entered the U.S. illegally.[14] Indians started moving up the social ladder by getting higher education. In 1910, Dhan Gopal Mukerji came to UC Berkeley when he was 20 years old. He was an author of many children’s books and won the Newbery Medal in 1928 for his book Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon. However, he committed suicide at the age of 46 while he was suffering from depression. Another student, Yellapragada Subbarow, came to the U.S. in 1922. He became a biochemist at Harvard University, and he "discovered the function of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as an energy source in cells, and developed methotrexate for the treatment of cancer." However, being a foreigner, he was refused tenure at Harvard. Gobind Behari Lal, who came to UC Berkeley in 1912, became the science editor of the San Francisco Examiner and was the first Indian American to win the Pulitzer Prize for journalism.[14] After WWII, U.S. policy re-opened the door to Indian immigration, although slowly at first. The Luce–Celler Act of 1946 Luce–Celler Act of 1946 permitted a quota of 100 Indians per year to immigrate to the U.S. It also allowed Indian immigrants to naturalize and become citizens of the U.S., effectively reversing the Supreme Court’s 1923 ruling in United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind.[17] The Naturalization Act of 1952, also known as the McCarran-Walter Act, repealed the Barred Zone Act of 1917, but limited immigration from the former Barred Zone to a total of 2,000 per year. In 1910, 95% of all Indian Americans lived on the western coast of the United States. In 1920, that proportion decreased to 75%; by 1940, it was 65%, as more Indian Americans moved to the east coast. In that year, Indian Americans were registered residents in 43 states. The majority of Indian Americans on the west coast were in rural areas, but on the east coast they became residents of urban areas. In the 1940s, the prices of the land increased, and the Bracero program brought thousands of Mexican guest workers to work on farms, which helped shift second-generation Indian American farmers into "commercial, nonagricultural occupations, from running small shops and grocery stores, to operating taxi services and becoming engineers." In Stockton and Sacramento, a new group of Indian immigrants from the state of Gujarat opened several small hotels.[14] In 1955, 14 of 21 hotels enterprises in San Francisco were operated by Gujarati Hindus. By the 1980s, Gujaratis had come to "dominate the industry." An article published by National Geographic mentions several stories of Gujarati immigrants in the hospitality industry.[18] The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 dramatically opened entry to the U.S. to immigrants other than traditional Northern European groups, which would significantly alter the demographic mix in the U.S.[19] Not all Indian Americans came directly from India; some came to the U.S. via Indian communities in other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, (South Africa, the former British colonies of East Africa,[20] (namely Kenya, Tanzania), and Uganda, Mauritius), the Asia-Pacific region (Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Fiji),[20] and the Caribbean (Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and Jamaica).[20] From 1965 until the mid-1990s, long-term immigration from Indian averaged about 40,000 people per year. From 1995 onward, the flow of Indian immigration increased significantly, reaching a high of about 90,000 immigrants in the year 2000.[14] 21st century The beginning of the 21st century marked a huge significance in the migration trend from India to the United States. The implementation of Privatization and liberalization had changed the entire outflow of migrants. The emergence of Information Technology industry in Indian cities as Bangalore and Hyderabad had led to the large number of migrations to the USA primarily from the erstwhile states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in South India. There are sizable population of people from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala who have settled in different parts of the United States. Indians comprise over 80% of all H-1B visas. In the last twenty years, a large number of students have started migrating to the United States to pursue higher education. A variety of estimates state that over 500,000 Indian American students attend higher-education institutions in any given year.[21][22] As per Institute of International Education (IIE) 'Opendoors' report, 202,014 new students from India enrolled in US education institutions.[23] Organizations like the North American Association of Indian Students help organize for the large demographic. Demographics See also: Indians in the New York City metropolitan region India Square, in the heart of Bombay, Jersey City, New Jersey, US, home to the highest concentration of Asian Indians in the Western Hemisphere,[24] is one of at least 24 Indian American enclaves characterized as a Little India which have emerged within the New York City Metropolitan Area, with the largest metropolitan Indian population outside Asia, as large-scale immigration from India continues into New York.[25][26][27] According to the 2010 United States Census,[28] the Asian Indian population in the United States grew from almost 1,678,765 in 2000 (0.6% of U.S. population) to 2,843,391 in 2010 (0.9% of U.S. population), a growth rate of 69.37%, one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States.[29][30] The New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area, consisting of New York City, Long Island, and adjacent areas within New York, as well as nearby areas within the states of New Jersey (extending to Trenton), Connecticut (extending to Bridgeport), and including Pike County, Pennsylvania, was home to an estimated 711,174 uniracial Indian Americans as of the 2017 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, comprising by far the largest Indian American population of any metropolitan area in the United States;[31] New York City itself also contains by far the highest Indian American population of any individual city in North America, estimated at 246,454 as of 2017.[32] Monroe Township, Middlesex County, in central New Jersey, the geographic heart of the Northeast megalopolis, has displayed one of the fastest growth rates of its Indian population in the Western Hemisphere, increasing from 256 (0.9%) as of the 2000 Census[33] to an estimated 5,943 (13.6%) as of 2017,[34] representing a 2,221.5% (a multiple of 23) numerical increase over that period, including many affluent professionals and senior citizens. In 2014, 12,350 Indians legally immigrated to the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA core based statistical area;[35] As of December 2019, Indian airline carrier Air India as well as United States airline carrier United Airlines were offering direct flights from the New York City Metropolitan Area to and from Delhi and Mumbai. In May 2019, Delta Air Lines announced non-stop flight service between New York JFK and Mumbai, to begin on December 22, 2019.[36] At least twenty Indian American enclaves characterized as a Little India have emerged in the New York City Metropolitan Area. Other metropolitan areas with large Indian American populations include Atlanta, Baltimore–Washington, Boston, Chicago, Dallas–Ft. Worth, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco–San Jose–Oakland. The three oldest Indian American communities going back to around 1910 are in lesser populated agricultural areas like Stockton, California south of Sacramento; the Central Valley of California like Yuba City; and Imperial County, California aka Imperial Valley. These were all primarily Sikh settlements. Census Bureau 2000, Asian Indians in the United States.png U.S. metropolitan areas with large Asian Indian populations Asian Indian population in Metropolitan Statistical Areas of the United States of America Metropolitan Statistical Area Indian American population (2010)[37] Total population (2010) % of Total population Combined Statistical Area New York–Newark–Jersey City, NY–NJ–PA 526,133 18,897,109 2.8% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 171,901 9,461,105 1.8% Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV 127,963 5,582,170 2.3% Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 119,901 12,828,837 0.9% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA 119,854 4,335,391 2.8% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 117,711 1,836,911 6.4% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington, TX 100,386 6,371,773 1.6% Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, TX 91,637 5,946,800 1.5% Houston-The Woodlands, TX Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 90,286 5,965,343 1.5% Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 78,980 5,268,860 1.5% Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA-NH 62,598 4,552,402 1.4% Boston–Worcester–Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Detroit–Warren–Livonia, MI 55,087 4,296,250 1.3% Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, WA 52,652 3,439,809 1.5% Seattle-Tacoma, WA Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach, FL 41,334 5,564,635 0.7% Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL Baltimore–Columbia–Towson, MD 32,193 2,710,489 1.2% Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Phoenix–Mesa–Glendale, AZ 31,203 4,192,887 0.7% Minneapolis-St. Paul–Bloomington, MN-WI 29,453 3,279,833 0.9% Minneapolis-St. Paul MN-WI Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, FL 26,105 2,134,411 1.2% Orlando–Deltona–Daytona Beach, FL San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 24,306 3,095,313 0.8% [38] Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario, CA 23,587 4,224,851 0.6% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater, FL 23,526 2,783,243 0.8% Austin-Round Rock, TX 23,503 1,716,289 1.4% Raleigh, NC 20,192 1,130,490 1.8% Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Columbus, OH 19,529 1,836,536 1.1% Columbus–Marion–Zanesville, OH Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT 18,764 1,212,381 1.5% Hartford-East Hartford, CT St. Louis, MO–IL 16,874 2,812,896 0.6% St. Louis–St. Charles–Farmington, MO–IL Fresno, CA 15,469 930,450 1.7% Fresno–Madera, CA Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 15,439 916,829 1.7% New York–Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Trenton, NJ 15,352 366,513 4.2% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, OR-WA 15,117 2,226,009 0.7% Portland–Vancouver–Salem, OR-WA Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 14,696 2,130,151 0.7% Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN Pittsburgh, PA 14,568 2,356,285 0.6% Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV Cleveland–Elyria, OH 14,215 2,077,240 0.7% Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Stockton, CA 12,951 685,306 1.9% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO 13,649 2,543,482 0.5% Denver–Aurora, CO Richmond, VA 12,926 1,258,251 1.0% Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 12,669 1,756,241 0.7% Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI[39] 11,945 1,555,908 0.8% Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, CI Kansas City, MO-KS 11,646 2,035,334 0.6% Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO 3,534 422,610 0.9% Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Area While the table above provides a picture of the population of Indian American (alone) and Asian Americans (alone) in some of the metropolitan areas of the US, it is incomplete as it does not include multi-racial Asian Americans. Please note that data for multi-racial Asian Americans has not yet been released by the US Census Bureau. List of U.S. states by the population of Asian Indians Asian-Indian population by states State Asian Indian population (2010 Census)[40] % of state's population (2010 Census) Asian Indian population (2000 Census) % change (2000–2010) California 528,120 1.42% 314,819 46.6% New York 313,620 1.62% 251,724 5.9% New Jersey 292,256 3.32% 169,180 72.7% Texas 245,981 0.98% 129,365 90.1% Illinois 188,328 1.47% 124,723 51.0% Florida 128,735 0.68% 70,740 82.0% Virginia 103,916 1.30% 48,815 112.9% Pennsylvania 103,026 0.81% 57,241 80.0% Georgia 96,116 0.99% 46,132 108.3% Maryland 79,051 1.37% 49,909 58.4% Massachusetts 77,177 1.18% 43,801 76.2% Michigan 77,132 0.78% 54,656 41.1% Ohio 64,187 0.56% 38,752 65.6% Washington 61,124 0.91% 23,992 154.8% North Carolina 57,400 0.60% 26,197 119.1% Connecticut 46,415 1.30% 23,662 96.2% Arizona 36,047 0.56% 14,741 144.5% Minnesota 33,031 0.52% 16,887 95.6% Indiana 27,598 0.43% 14,865 85.7% Tennessee 23,900 0.38% 12,835 86.2% Missouri 23,223 0.39% 12,169 90.8% Wisconsin 22,899 0.40% 12,665 80.85 Colorado 20,369 0.41% 11,720 73.8% Oregon 16,740 0.44% 9,575 74.8% South Carolina 15,941 0.34% 8,856 80.0% Kansas 13,852 0.49% 8,153 69.9% Alabama 13,036 0.27% 6,900 88.9% Kentucky 12,501 0.29% 6,771 84.6% Oklahoma 11,906 0.32% 8,502 40.0% Nevada 11,671 0.43% 5,535 110.9% Delaware 11,424 1.27% 5,280 116.4% Louisiana 11,174 0.25% 8,280 35.0% Iowa 11,081 0.36% 5,641 96.4% New Hampshire 8,268 0.63% 3,873 113.5% Arkansas 7,973 0.27% 3,104 156.9% Utah 6,212 0.22% 3,065 102.7% Nebraska 5,903 0.32% 3,273 80.4% Mississippi 5,494 0.19% 3,827 43.6% Washington, D.C. 5,214 0.87% 2,845 83.3% Rhode Island 4,653 0.44% 2,942 58.2% New Mexico 4,550 0.22% 3,104 46.6% Puerto Rico 3,523 0.09% 4,789 −26.4% West Virginia 3,304 0.18% 2,856 15.7% Hawaii 2,201 0.16% 1,441 52.7% Idaho 2,152 0.14% 1,289 67.0% Maine 1,959 0.15% 1,021 91.9% North Dakota 1,543 0.23% 822 87.7% Vermont 1,359 0.22% 858 58.4% Alaska 1,218 0.17% 723 68.5% South Dakota 1,152 0.14% 611 88.5% Montana 618 0.06% 379 63.1% Wyoming 589 0.10% 354 66.4% Total Asian-Indian population in US 2,843,391 0.92% 1,678,765 69.4% Historical population Year Pop. ±% 1910 2,545 —     1920 2,507 −1.5% 1930 3,130 +24.9% 1940 2,405 −23.2% 1980 361,531 +14932.5% 1990 815,447 +125.6% 2000 1,678,765 +105.9% 2010 2,843,391 +69.4% 2017 4,402,362 +54.8% 2020 5400000+ —     Statistics The United States is host to the second largest Indian diaspora on the planet In 2006, of the 1,266,264 legal immigrants to the United States, 58,072 were from India. Between 2000 and 2006, 421,006 Indian immigrants were admitted to the U.S., up from 352,278 during the 1990–1999 period.[43] According to the 2000 U.S. census, the overall growth rate for Indians from 1990 to 2000 was 105.87 percent. The average growth rate for the U.S. was 7.6 percent. Indians comprise 16.4 percent of the Asian-American community. In 2000, the Indian-born population in the U.S. was 1.007 million. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between 1990 and 2000, the Indian population in the U.S. grew 130% – 10 times the national average of 13%. Indian Americans are the third largest Asian American ethnic group, following Chinese Americans and Filipino Americans.[44][45][46] A joint Duke University – UC Berkeley study revealed that Indian immigrants have founded more engineering and technology companies from 1995 to 2005 than immigrants from the UK, China, Taiwan and Japan combined.[47] The percentage of Silicon Valley startups founded by Indian immigrants has increased from 7% in 1999 to 15.5% in 2006, as reported in the 1999 study by AnnaLee Saxenian [48] and her updated work in 2006 in collaboration with Vivek Wadhawa.[49] Indian Americans are making their way to the top positions of almost every big technology company (Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Adobe, Softbank, Cognizant, Sun microsystems, etc.) Many of them came from very humble origins, for example the current google CEO "Sundar Pichai did not have the privilege of watching television or travelling by car during his childhood. Born and raised in a middle class household, Mr. Pichai used to sleep with his brother in the living room of their two-room apartment that barely had any technology. Despite facing these hardships of everyday life in India, Pichai had a gleam in his eyes of sheer ambition and relentless pursuit."[50] A recent study shows that 23% of Indian business school graduates take a job in United States.[51] In 2014, the Pew Research Center published an article listing some more interesting facts about Indian Americans.[52] Year Asian Indians (per ACS) 2005 2,319,222 2006 2,482,141 2007 2,570,166 2008 2,495,998 2009 2,602,676 2010 2,765,155 2011 2,908,204 2012 3,049,201 2013 3,189,485 2014 3,491,052 2015 3,699,957 2016 3,813,407 2017 4,094,539 Socioeconomic status See also: Contribution of Indian diaspora and Indianisation Manjul Bhargava, Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University and Fields Medal winner. Indian Americans continuously outpace every other ethnic group socioeconomically per U.S. Census statistics.[53] Thomas Friedman, in his 2005 book The World Is Flat, explains this trend in terms of brain drain, whereby the best and brightest elements in India emigrate to the US in order to seek better financial opportunities.[54] Indians form the second largest group of physicians after non-Hispanic whites (3.9%) as of the 1990 survey, and the percentage of Indian physicians rose to around 6% in 2005.[55] Education According to Pew Research in 2015, of Indian Americans aged 25 and older, 72% had obtained a bachelor's degree and 40% had obtained a postgraduate degree, whereas of all Americans, 19% had obtained a bachelor's degree and 11% had obtained a postgraduate degree.[56] Household income The median household income for Indian immigrants in 2015 was much higher than that of the overall foreign- and native-born populations. Households headed by Indian immigrants had a median income of $101,591, compared to $51,000 and $56,000 for overall immigrant and native-born households, respectively. By far they are the richest and most successful ethnic group in the USA due to many factors including relatively low wages for highly skilled workers in India which creates an incentive for highly skilled Indians to immigrate. Approximately 7 percent of Indian immigrants lived in poverty in 2015, a much lower rate than the foreign-born population overall and the U.S. born (17 percent and 14 percent, respectively).[57] Culture Media Media Sheetal Sheth Publicity Still 5.jpg Sheetal Sheth NorahJones Parque Independencia 2010.jpg Norah Jones is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Punjabi and Hindi radio stations are available in areas with high Indian populations, for example, Punjabi Radio USA in California and Easy96.com in the New York City metropolitan area, KLOK 1170 AM in San Francisco, RBC Radio; Radio Humsafar, Desi Junction in Chicago; Radio Salaam Namaste and FunAsia Radio in Dallas; and Masala Radio, FunAsia Radio, Sangeet Radio, Radio Naya Andaz in Houston and Washington Bangla Radio on Internet from the Washington DC Metro Area. There are also some radio stations broadcasting in Tamil and Telugu within these communities.[58][59] Houston-based Kannada Kaaranji radio focuses on a multitude of programs for children and adults.[60] AVS (Asian Variety Show) and Namaste America are nationally available South Asian programming available free to air and can be watched with a television antenna. Several cable and satellite television providers offer Indian channels: Sony TV, Zee TV, TV Asia, Star Plus, Sahara One, Colors, Big Magic, regional channels, and others have offered Indian content for subscription, such as the Cricket World Cup. There is also an American cricket channel called Willow. Many metropolitan areas with large Indian American populations now have movie theaters which specialize in showing Indian movies, especially from Bollywood and Telugu cinema. In July 2005, MTV premiered a spin-off network called MTV Desi which targets Indian Americans.[61] It has been discontinued by MTV. In 2012, the film Not a Feather, but a Dot directed by Teju Prasad, was released which investigates the history, perceptions and changes in the Indian American community over the last century. In popular media, several Indian American personalities have made their mark in recent years, including Kovid Gupta, Kal Penn, Hari Kondabolu, Karan Brar, Aziz Ansari, Hasan Minhaj, and Mindy Kaling. Religion Religious Makeup of Indian-Americans (2012)[62]   Hinduism (51%)   Protestantism (11%)   Islam (10%)   Unaffiliated (10%)   Catholicism (5%)   Sikhism (5%)   Jainism (2%)   Other Christian (2%)   Other (Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Bahá’ís, and Indian Jews) (4%) Indian religions in US BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Akshardham, New Jersey, one of the largest Hindu temples.[63] Gurdwara Sahib of San Jose Jain Center of Greater Phoenix (JCGP) Communities of Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, and Indian Jews have established their religions in the United States. According to 2012 Pew Research Center research, 51% consider themselves Hindu, 18% as Christian (Protestant 11%, Catholic 5%, other Christian 3%), 10% as unaffiliated, 10% as Muslims, 5% as Sikh, 2% as Jain.[6] The first religious center of an Indian religion to be established in the US was a Sikh Gurudwara in Stockton, California in 1912. Today there are many Sikh Gurudwaras, Hindu temples, Christian churches, and Buddhist and Jain temples in all 50 states. Hindus Further information: Hinduism in the United States Nikki Haley and other Indian Americans participated in the Diwali celebrations at the White House, 2017 Some have claimed that as of 2008, the American Hindu population was around 2.2 million,[64] but this estimation is based on the flawed assumption that percentage of Hindus among Indian Americans is the same as in India. Regardless, Hindus are the majority of Indian Americans.[65][66] Many organizations such as ISKCON, Swaminarayan Sampraday, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, Chinmaya Mission, and Swadhyay Pariwar are well-established in the U.S. Hindu Americans have formed the Hindu American Foundation which represents American Hindus and aim to educate people about Hinduism. Swami Vivekananda brought Hinduism to the West at the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions.[67] The Vedanta Society has been important in subsequent Parliaments. Today, many Hindu temples, most of them built by Indian Americans, have emerged in different cities and towns in the United States.[68][69] More than 18 million Americans are now practicing some form of Yoga. Kriya Yoga was introduced to America by Paramahansa Yogananda. A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada initiated the popular ISKCON, also known as the Hare Krishna movement, while preaching Bhakti yoga. Sikhs Further information: Sikhism in the United States There are nearly 30 million Sikhs around the world today, and a vast majority of them live in the Indian state of Punjab. There is also a robust and flourishing diaspora, with communities large and small all over the globe. Much of the diaspora is concentrated in the commonwealth due to migration within the British empire, yet Sikhs continue to establish themselves in various countries throughout the world. From the time of their arrival in the late 1800s, Sikh men and women have been making notable contributions to American society. In 2007, there were estimated to be between 250,000 and 500,000 Sikhs living in the United States, with largest populations living on the East and West Coasts, together with additional populations in Detroit, Chicago, and Austin. The United States also has a number of non-Punjabi converts to Sikhism. Sikh men are typically identifiable by their unshorn beards and turbans (head coverings), articles of their faith. Many organisations like World Sikh Organisation (WSO), Sikh Riders of America, SikhNet, Sikh Coalition, SALDEF, United Sikhs, National Sikh Campaign continue to educate people about Sikhism. There are many "Gurudwaras" Sikh temples present in all states of USA. Jains Further information: Jainism in the United States Adherents of Jainism first arrived in the United States in the 20th century. The most significant time of Jain immigration was in the early 1970s. The US has since become a center of the Jain diaspora. The Federation of Jain Associations in North America is an umbrella organization of local American and Canadian Jain congregations.[70] Unlike India and United Kingdom, the Jain community in United States doesn't find sectarian differences, Both Digambara and Śvētāmbara a share common roof. Muslims South Asian Muslims (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) population is about 33% of all Muslims in USA, which makes approximately 400,000 Muslims of India (After 1947) origin living in United States of America.[71] American Muslims of Indian origin is a vibrant community actively engaged in various social, political and economic activities taking place all over the country.[72] The community has major presence either connecting themselves to Hyderabad regions of India or from North India, Delhi, UP and particularly the alumni circle of premier institutions like Aligarh Muslim University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. There are American Indian Muslims from other part of India as well like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal etc. India, being a secular country based upon ideals of Gandhi, has always represented the causes of community of Indian Origin including both Hindus and Muslims and others. Indian Muslims have represented and served for India’s cause at all top positions when it comes to Indian American partnership. Indian Muslims are actively engaged with cultural/social activities organized by Indian consulates and embassies all across the United Stated of America. American Indian Muslims are actively engaged in all the events formally organized such as Indian Independence Day August 15th programs, Republic Day January 26th celebrations and Gandhi Jayanti. American Indian Muslims contribute significantly in various India Fests organized in various parts of the country like New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Chicago by adding events like Urdu Mushaira, Hindu Kavi-sammelan, Kawwali programs etc. Bollywood movie songs are always part of all kinds of every celebration and events organized by American Indian Muslims. No India festivals go unnoticed among Hindu and Muslims communities alike such as Diwali, Holi, Baisakhi, Eid or Baqried aka Eid al-Adha or Christmas when people of Indian origin wishes each other happily and invite friends and families for dinners and parties. Syed Akbaruddin, Hasan Minhaj, Farid Zakaria, Aasif Mandvi, Aziz Ansari,[73] Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan [74] are few of the American Indian Muslims or having strong connections with their India roots. In various Mosques and Islamic seminaries all across the country, common practicing American Indian Muslims play very important roles in sending their Zakat portions, charities and relief supports for everybody in India. They have organized fund raising events for flood victims’ aid, communal riot aid and other educational support needs, etc. In this process, two front line non-profit organizations are IMRC USA and Indian American Muslim Council. They are very actively working across the board helping everybody who is in need in India and in United States, primarily for all the people of Indian Origin. American Indian Muslims constitutes almost all known denominations of muslim populations including Sunni, Shia, Deobandi, Barelvi, Sufi, Hanafi etc. and more. The spiritual and mystic order originating from India called, chishti ( Based upon Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer) is also widely present. Casinos and Restaurants with the name of Taj Mahal and Lal Quila and dishes like Hydrabadi biryani are examples of how Indian Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb is melting into American culture and mutually enriching each other. Urdu language, originating from India is being taught in many universities and schools. There is a continuous exchange of writers, scholars and students benefiting and contributing to the rich culture everywhere. SPAN (magazine) published by US State Gov in Urdu is an exemplary bridge connecting America, India and Indian Muslims and serving humanity. vte Islam in the United States Indian Muslim Americans also congregate with other American Muslims, including those from Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh when there are events particularly related to their faith and religious believes as the same can be applied for any other religious community, but there are prominent organizations such as the Indian Muslim Council – USA.[75] Christians There are many Indian Christian churches across the US; Church of South India, Church of North India, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Christhava Tamil Koil, Indian Orthodox Church, Mar Thoma Church (reformed orthodox), Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church, The Pentecostal Mission, Assemblies Of God, Church of God, Sharon Pentecostal Church, Independent Non Denominational Churches like Heavenly Feast, Plymouth Brethren, and the India Pentecostal Church of God. Saint Thomas Christians from Kerala have established their own places of worship across the United States. The website USIndian.org has collected a comprehensive list of all the traditional St. Thomas Christian Churches in the US.[76] There are also Catholic Indians hailing originally from Goa, Karnataka and Kerala, who attend the same services as other American Catholics, but may celebrate the feast of Saint Francis Xavier as a special event of their identity.[77][78][79] The Indian Christian Americans have formed the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA) to represent a network of Indian Christian organizations in the US. FIACONA estimates the Indian American Christian population to be 1,050,000.[80] Others The large Parsi and Irani community is represented by the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America.[81] Indian Jews are perhaps the smallest organized religious group among Indian Americans, consisting of approximately 350 members in the US. They form the Indian Jewish Congregation of USA, with their headquarters in New York City.[82] Ethnicity Davuluri speaking, wearing her Miss America tiara, large earrings and a long necklace of red flowers Nina Davuluri, Miss America 2014 "first contestant of Indian descent to win the Miss America Competition" Like the terms "Asian American" or "South Asian American", the term "Indian American" is also an umbrella label applying to a variety of views, values, lifestyles, and appearances. Although Asian-Indian Americans retain a high ethnic identity, they are known to assimilate into American culture while at the same time keeping the culture of their ancestors.[83] Linguistic affiliation Kiran Desai, winner of the 2006 Man Booker Prize The United States is home to various associations that promote Indian languages and cultures. Some major organizations include Telugu Association of North America (TANA), American Telugu Association (ATA), Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America, Federation of Kerala Associations in North America, Association of Kannada Kootas of America (AKKA), North American Bengali Conference, Orissa Society of the Americas, and Maharashtra Mandal. Progress Timeline 1600: Beginning of the East India Company.[9] 1635: An "East Indian" is documented present in Jamestown, Virginia.[84] 1680: Due to anti-miscegenation laws, a mixed-race girl born to an Indian father and an Irish mother is classified as mulatto and sold into slavery.[9] 1790: The first officially confirmed Indian immigrant arrives in the United States from Madras on a British ship.[85][86] 1899–1914: The first significant wave of Indian immigrants arrives in the United States, mostly consisting of Sikh farmers and businessmen from the Punjab region of British India. They arrive in Angel Island, California via Hong Kong. They start businesses including farms and lumber mills in California, Oregon, and Washington. 1909: Bhicaji Balsara becomes the first known Indian-born person to gain naturalised U.S. citizenship. As a Parsi, he was considered a "pure member of the Persian sect" and therefore a free White person. The judge Emile Henry Lacombe, of the Southern District of New York, only gave Balsara citizenship on the hope that the United States attorney would indeed challenge his decision and appeal it to create "an authoritative interpretation" of the law. The U.S. attorney adhered to Lacombe's wishes and took the matter to the Circuit Court of Appeals in 1910. The Circuit Court of Appeal agrees that Parsis are classified as white.[15] 1912: The first Sikh temple opens in Stockton, California. 1913: A.K. Mozumdar becomes the second Indian-born person to earn U.S. citizenship, having convinced the Spokane district judge that he was "Caucasian" and met the requirements of naturalization law that restricted citizenship to free White persons. In 1923, as a result of United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, his citizenship was revoked. 1914: Dhan Gopal Mukerji obtains a graduate degree from Stanford University, studying also at University of California, Berkeley and later goes on to win the Newbery Medal in 1928, and thus becomes the first successful India-born man of letters in the United States, as well as the first popular Indian writer in English. 1917: The Barred Zone Act passes in Congress through two-thirds majority, overriding President Woodrow Wilson's earlier veto. Asians, including Indians, are barred from entering the United States. 1918: Due to anti-miscegenation laws, there was significant controversy in Arizona when an Indian farmer B. K. Singh married the sixteen-year-old daughter of one of his White American tenants.[87] 1918: Private Raghunath N. Banawalkar is the first Indian American recruited into the U.S. Army on February 25, 1918 and serves in the Sanitary Detachment of the 305th Infantry Regiment, 77th Division, American Expeditionary Forces in France. Gassed while on active service in October 1918 and subsequently awarded Purple Heart medal.[88] 1918: Earliest record of LGBT Indian Americans, Jamil Singh in Sacramento, California[89] 1922: Yellapragada Subbarao, an Andhraite from Andhra Pradesh in Southern India arrived in Boston on October 26, 1922. He discovered the role of phosphocreatine and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in muscular activity, which earned him an entry into biochemistry textbooks in the 1930s. He obtained his Ph.D the same year, and went on to make other major discoveries; including the synthesis of aminopterin (later developed into methotrexate), the first cancer chemotherapy. 1923: In United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, the Supreme Court unanimously rules that Indian people are aliens ineligible for United States citizenship. Bhagat Singh Thind regained his citizenship years later in New York.[90] 1943: Republican Clare Boothe Luce and Democrat Emanuel Celler introduce a bill to open naturalization to Indian immigrants to the United States. Prominent Americans Pearl Buck, Louis Fischer, Albert Einstein and Robert Millikan give their endorsement to the bill. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, also endorses the bill, calling for an end to the "statutory discrimination against the Indians". 1946: President Harry Truman signs into law the Luce–Celler Act of 1946, returning the right to Indian Americans to immigrate to the United States and become naturalized citizens. 1956: Dalip Singh Saund elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from California. He was re-elected to a second and third term, winning over 60% of the vote. He is also the first Asian immigrant from any country to be elected to Congress. 1962: Zubin Mehta appointed music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, becoming the first person of Indian origin to become the principal conductor of a major American orchestra. Subsequently, he was appointed principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic. 1964: Amar G. Bose founded Bose Corporation. He was the chairman, primary stockholder, and also holds the title of Technical Director at Bose Corporation. He was former professor of electrical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1965: President Lyndon Johnson signs the INS Act of 1965 into law, eliminating per-country immigration quotas and introducing immigration on the basis of professional experience and education. Satinder Mullick is one of the first to immigrate under the new law in November 1965—sponsored by Corning Glass Works. 1968: Hargobind Khorana shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for discovering the mechanisms by which RNA codes for the synthesis of proteins. He was then on faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but later moved to MIT. 1974: Mafat and Tulsi Patel open the first location of Patel Brothers on Devon Avenue in Chicago, one of the first Indian grocery chains in America 1975: Launch of India-West, a leading newspaper covering issues of relevance to the Indian American community. 1981: Suhas Patil co-founded Cirrus Logic, one of the first fabless semiconductor companies. 1982: Vinod Khosla co-founded Sun Microsystems. 1983: Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar won the Nobel Prize for Physics; Asian Indian Women in America[91] attended the first White House Briefing for Asian American Women. (AAIWA, formed in 1980, is the 1st Indian women's organization in North America.) 1987: President Ronald Reagan appoints Joy Cherian, the first Indian Commissioner of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). 1988: Sanjay Mehrotra co-founded SanDisk. 1994: Rajat Gupta elected managing director of McKinsey & Company, the first Indian-born CEO of a multinational company. 1994: Guitarist Kim Thayil, of Indian origin, wins Grammy award for his Indian inspired guitarwork on the album Superunknown by his band Soundgarden. 1994: Raj Reddy received the ACM Turing Award (with Edward Feigenbaum) "For pioneering the design and construction of large scale artificial intelligence systems, demonstrating the practical importance and potential commercial impact of artificial intelligence technology". 1996: Pradeep Sindhu co-founded Juniper Networks 1996: Rajat Gupta and Anil Kumar of McKinsey & Company co-found the Indian School of Business. 1997: Kalpana Chawla, one of the six-member crew of STS-87 mission, becomes the first Indian American astronaut. Kalpana Chawla 1999: NASA names the third of its four "Great Observatories" Chandra X-ray Observatory after Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar the Indian-born American astrophysicist and a Nobel laureate. 1999: Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan enters film history with his film The Sixth Sense becoming one of the all-time highest-grossing films worldwide. 1999: Rono Dutta becomes the president of United Airlines. 2001: Professor Dipak C. Jain (born in Tezpur – Assam, India) appointed as dean of the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He is the Sandy and Morton Goldman Professor in Entrepreneurial Studies and a professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1987. 2002: Professor Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao — 'the world-renowned statistician' is awarded National Medal of Science by President George W. Bush. 2005: Abhi Talwalkar, president and chief executive officer of LSI Corporation Indra Nooyi, former chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo 2006: Indra Nooyi (born in Chennai, India) appointed as CEO of PepsiCo. She is a Successor Fellow of the Yale Corporation — sometimes, and more formally, known as The President and Fellows of Yale College, is the governing body of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. She also serves as a member of the boards of the International Rescue Committee, Catalyst and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, trustees of Eisenhower Fellowships, and currently serves as chairman of the U.S.–India Business Council. 2007: Bobby Jindal is elected governor of Louisiana and is the first person of Indian descent to be elected governor of an American state; he is inaugurated on January 14, 2008. 2007: Renu Khator appointed to a dual-role as chancellor of the University of Houston System and president of the University of Houston on October 15, 2007. 2007: Francisco D'Souza appointed as the president and chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Cognizant Technology Solutions. He is one of the youngest chief executive officers in the software services sector at the age 38 in the United States. He was part of the team founded, in 1994, the NASDAQ-100 Cognizant Technology Solutions. 2007: Vikram Pandit (born in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India) appointed as CEO of Citigroup. He was previously the president and chief operating officer of the Institutional Securities and Investment Banking Group at Morgan Stanley. He also serves on the boards of Columbia University, Columbia Business School, the Indian School of Business and The Trinity School. He is a former board member of NASDAQ (2000–2003), the New York City Investment Fund. 2007: Shantanu Narayen appointed as CEO of Adobe Systems. 2008: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson appoints Neel Kashkari as the Interim U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability. 2008: Raj Chetty appointed as professor of economics at Harvard University the age of 29, one of the youngest ever to receive tenure of professorship in the Department of Economics at Harvard. He is one of the top  young economists in the world. 2008: Sanjay Jha appointed as Co-CEO of Motorola, Inc.. 2008: Establishment of the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) to document the history of the South Asian American community.[92] 2009: President Barack Obama appoints Preet Bharara (born in Firozpur, India; graduate of Harvard College Class of 1990 and Columbia Law School Class of 1993) as United States attorney for the Southern District of New York Manhattan. Farah Pandith appointed as Special Representative to Muslim Communities for the United States Department of State. 2009: President Barack Obama appoints Aneesh Paul Chopra as the first American Federal Chief Technology Officer of the United States (CTO). 2009: President Barack Obama appoints Eboo Patel and Anju Bhargava on President's Advisory Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. 2009: President Barack Obama appoints Vinai Thummalapally as the U.S. Ambassador to Belize 2009: President Barack Obama nominates Rajiv Shah, M.D. as the new head of United States Agency for International Development. 2009: President Barack Obama nominates Islam A. Siddiqui as the Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. 2010: President of Harvard University Catherine Drew Gilpin Faust appoints Nitin Nohria as the tenth dean of Harvard Business School. 2010: President of University of Chicago Robert Zimmer appoints Sunil Kumar as the dean of University of Chicago Booth School of Business. 2010: Deven Sharma appointed president of Standard & Poor's. 2010: Ajaypal Banga appointed president and CEO of MasterCard. 2010: President Barack Obama nominates Subra Suresh, Dean of Engineering at MIT as director of National Science Foundation. 2010: Year marks the most number of candidates of Indian origin, running for political offices in the United States, including candidates such as: Kamala Harris and Ami Bera. 2010: State Representative Nikki Haley is elected Governor of South Carolina, and becomes the first Indian American woman, and second Indian American in general to become Governor of an American state. 2010: The World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland names Sanjay Gupta, an Indian American senior executive at Abraxis BioScience and advisor to billionaire investor Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong to its 2010 list of 'Young Global Leaders' 2011: Jamshed Bharucha named president of Cooper Union. Previous to that, he was appointed dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences at Dartmouth College in 2001, the first Indian American dean at an Ivy League institution, and Provost at Tufts University in 2002.[93] 2011: Satish K. Tripathi appointed as President of University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. 2011: Rohit Gupta wins over 100 international awards & accolades for his films Life! Camera Action... and Another Day Another Life. 2011: Bobby Jindal is re-elected Governor of Louisiana. 2012: Ami Bera is elected to the House of Representatives from California. 2012: Dinesh D'Souza directs and releases the documentary film 2016: Obama's America which is highly successful and becomes the second-highest grossing political film of all time. 2013: Vistap Karbhari appointed as president of University of Texas at Arlington 2013: Hachette publishes cartoonist Francis Cleetus' compilation of It's Geek 2 Me tech toons titled "Total Timepass Tech Toons". 2013: Sri Srinivasan is confirmed as a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 2013: Nina Davuluri wins Miss America 2014. 2013: Arun M Kumar appointed as assistant secretary and director general of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, International Trade Administration in the Department of Commerce.[94] 2014: Satya Nadella appointed as CEO of Microsoft. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of U.S.; former Vice Admiral of U.S. Health Corps 2014: Vivek Murthy appointed as the nineteenth Surgeon General of the United States. 2014: Rakesh Khurana appointed as the dean of Harvard College, the original founding college of Harvard University. 2014: Nikki Haley re-elected to a second term as the Governor of South Carolina in November 2014.[95] She was later appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, in the Trump Administration, in 2017. 2014: Manjul Bhargava wins Fields Medal in Mathematics. 2015: Sundar Pichai appointed as the chairman and CEO of Google. 2016: Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, and Raja Krishnamoorthi are elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and Kamala Harris to the Senate. This puts the total number of people of Indian and South Asian origin in Congress at 5, the largest in history. 2017: President Donald Trump nominates Ajit Pai as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 2017: Balvir Singh was elected to the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders, New Jersey on November 7, 2017. He became the first Asian-American to win a countywide election in Burlington County and the first Sikh-American to win a countywide election in New Jersey.[96] 2019: Seven out of the eight winners of the Scripps National Spelling Bee (Saketh Sundar, Abhijay Kodali, Shruthika Padhy, Sohum Sukhatankar, Christopher Serrao, Rohan Raja, and Rishik Gandhasri), a long-running American academic institution, are Indian Americans. They have broken the spelling bee according to several experts and have dominated this American institution.[97] 2019: Abhijit Banerjee is awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.[98][99] Classification Main article: Racial classification of Indian Americans A man giving a speech. He wears a white blouse with a dark label pin. In front of him, there are two microphones. Kal Penn speaking at a rally for President Barack Obama at the University of Maryland's Nyumburu Cultural Center. According to the official U.S. racial categories employed by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget and other U.S. government agencies, American citizens or resident aliens who marked "Asian Indian" as their ancestry or wrote in a term that was automatically classified as an Asian Indian became classified as part of the Asian race at the 2000 US Census.[100] As with other modern official U.S. government racial categories, the term "Asian" is in itself a broad and heterogeneous classification, encompassing all peoples with origins in the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. In previous decades, Indian Americans were also variously classified as White American, the "Hindu race", and "other".[101] Even today, where individual Indian Americans do not racially self-identify, and instead report Muslim, Jewish, and Zoroastrian as their "race" in the "some other race" section without noting their country of origin, they are automatically tallied as white.[102] This may result in the counting of persons such as Indian Muslims, Indian Jews, and Indian Zoroastrians as white, if they solely report their religious heritage without their national origin. Citizenship Unlike many countries, India does not allow dual citizenship.[103] Consequently, many Indian citizens residing in U.S., who do not want to lose their Indian nationality, do not apply for American citizenship (ex. Raghuram Rajan[104]). Current issues Discrimination See also: Stereotypes of South Asians Sergeant Bhagat Singh Thind in U.S. Army uniform during World War I at Camp Lewis, Washington, in 1918. Thind, an American Sikh, was the first U.S. serviceman to be allowed for religious reasons to wear a turban as part of their military uniform. In the 1980s, a gang known as the Dotbusters specifically targeted Indian Americans in Jersey City, New Jersey with violence and harassment.[105] Studies of racial discrimination, as well as stereotyping and scapegoating of Indian Americans have been conducted in recent years.[106] In particular, racial discrimination against Indian Americans in the workplace has been correlated with Indophobia due to the rise in outsourcing/offshoring, whereby Indian Americans are blamed for US companies offshoring white-collar labor to India.[107][108] According to the offices of the Congressional Caucus on India, many Indian Americans are severely concerned of a backlash, though nothing serious has taken place.[108] Due to various socio-cultural reasons, implicit racial discrimination against Indian Americans largely go unreported by the Indian American community.[106] Numerous cases of religious stereotyping of American Hindus (mainly of Indian origin) have also been documented.[109] Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, there have been scattered incidents of Indian Americans becoming mistaken targets for hate crimes. In one example, a Sikh, Balbir Singh Sodhi, was murdered at a Phoenix gas station by a white supremacist. This happened after September 11, and the murderer claimed that his turban made him think that the victim was a Middle Eastern American.[citation needed] In another example, a pizza deliverer was mugged and beaten in Massachusetts for "being Muslim" though the victim pleaded with the assailants that he was in fact a Hindu.[110] In December 2012, an Indian American in New York City was pushed from behind onto the tracks at the 40th Street-Lowery Street station in Sunnyside and killed.[111] The police arrested a woman, Erika Menendez, who admitted to the act and justified it, stating that she shoved him onto the tracks because she believed he was "a Hindu or a Muslim" and she wanted to retaliate for the attacks of September 11, 2001.[112] In 2004, New York Senator Hillary Clinton joked at a fundraising event with South Asians for Nancy Farmer that Mahatma Gandhi owned a gas station in downtown St. Louis, fueling the stereotype that gas stations are owned by Indians and other South Asians. She clarified in the speech later that she was just joking, but still received some criticism for the statement later on for which she apologized again.[113] On April 5, 2006, the Hindu Mandir of Minnesota was vandalized allegedly on the basis of religious discrimination.[114] The vandals damaged temple property leading to $200,000 worth of damage.[115][116][117] On August 11, 2006, Senator George Allen allegedly referred to an opponent's political staffer of Indian ancestry as "macaca" and commenting, "Welcome to America, to the real world of Virginia". Some members of the Indian American community saw Allen's comments, and the backlash that may have contributed to Allen losing his re-election bid, as demonstrative of the power of YouTube in the 21st century.[118] In 2006, then Delaware Senator and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was caught on microphone saying: "In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking."[119] On August 5, 2012, white supremacist Wade Michael Page shot eight people and killed six at a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. On February 22, 2017, recent immigrants Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani were shot at a bar in Olathe, Kansas by Adam Purinton, a white American who mistook them for persons of Middle Eastern descent, yelling "get out of my country" and "terrorist". Kuchibhotla died instantly while Madasani was injured, but later recovered.[120] On December 22, 2018, rapper Famous Dex uploaded a video post to his Instagram page in which he made racially-charged jokes at the expense of an elderly Indian American Hindu cashier at a convenience store in Los Angeles he was frequenting with a friend.[121] During the video, he remarks “Witcho’ lil’... ,” referring to the man’s tilaka on his forehead, following a brief exchange about the packaging of the Backwoods Smokes box Famous Dex was purchasing. He then stops and rhetorically adds “That’s a mark of Buddha in between yo’ face?,” laughing along with his friend. This is in reference to the 2001 stoner film How High, in which Chuck Deezy’s character Ivory opined that the pubic patch between his eyebrows was the ‘mark of Buddha.’[122] Illegal immigration See also: Illegal immigration to the United States and Illegal immigration amongst Asian Americans In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that there were one hundred thousand (100,000) Indian unauthorized immigrants; they are the sixth largest nationality (tied with Koreans) of illegal immigrants behind Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Philippines.[123] Indian Americans have had an increase in illegal immigration of 25% since 2000.[124][125] In 2014, Pew Research Center estimated that there are 150 thousand undocumented Indians in the United States.[126] Immigration Indians are among the largest ethnic groups legally immigrating to the United States. The immigration of Indians has taken place in several waves since the first Indian came to the United States in the 1700s. A major wave of immigration to California from the region of Punjab took place in the first decade of the 20th century. Another significant wave followed in the 1950s which mainly included students and professionals. The elimination of immigration quotas in 1965 spurred successively larger waves of immigrants in the late 1970s and early 1980s. With the technology boom of the 1990s, the largest influx of Indians arrived between 1995 and 2000. This latter group has also caused surge in the application for various immigration benefits including applications for green card. This has resulted in long waiting periods for people born in India from receiving these benefits. As of 2012, over 330,000 Indians were on the visa wait list, third only to Mexico and The Philippines.[127] In December, 2015, over 30 Indian students seeking admission in two US universities—Silicon Valley University and the Northwestern Polytechnic University—were denied entry by Customs and Border Protection and were deported to India. Conflicting reports suggested that the students were deported because of the controversies surrounding the above-mentioned two universities. However, another report suggested that the students were deported as they had provided conflicting information at the time of their arrival in US to what was mentioned in their visa application. "According to the US Government, the deported persons had presented information to the border patrol agent which was inconsistent with their visa status," read an advisory published by Ministry of External Affairs (India) which was published in the Hindustan Times.[128] Following the incident, the Indian government asked the US government to honour the visas given by its embassies and consulates. In response, the United States embassy advised the students considering studying in the US to seek assistance from Education USA.[128][129] Media Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind was born on October 3, 1892 in a well-known military Kamboj Sikh Thind family of village Taragarh/Talawan in the District Amritsar. His father, S. Boota Singh Thind, was retired as Subedar Major from the British Indian Army. His mother, Icer Kaur, died when Dr. Thind was only a young child, but left an indelible memory with him. Dr. Thind's ancestors had earlier served in the Sikh army of Maharaja Ranjit and even before that, in the Marjeewra Sikh fauj of 10th Lord. This earned a good name as a Warriors' family. S. Boota Singh Thind, his family, and all his relatives were very dedicated Sikhs and had actively participated in Sikh Morcha for possessions of lands belonging to Gurudwara Pheru, at Lahore in 1924 and earlier in Nankana Sahib Morcha of 1921 (In which out of 86 Singh Shaheeds, 32 were the Kamboj Singhs). S. Boota Singh Thind was jailed for several years and lost his military pension as a consequence. He had also persuaded numerous other Kamboj Singhs of Shekhupuru to actively participate in the movement. Thus it is clear that Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind had inherited the love for Sikhism and humanity from his devoted Sikh parents and relatives as mentioned above. After his high school graduation in 1908, Dr. Thind enrolled at Khalsa College in Amritsar and obtained his college degree. While a student, Dr. Thind had already ardently studied American history and its literature (Emerson, Whitman, and Thoreau) and developed a keen interest in America and it's people. He was soon inspired to travel to America for a higher education and to fulfill his destiny as a Spiritual Teacher. Dr. Thind left Calcutta, India bound for America at the age of 19. He landed in Manila and stayed for 9 months before departing for the United States on the Vessel Minnesota and finally landed in Seattle, Washington July 4, 1913. Boota Singh Thind Dr. Thind's father who was a very spiritual man was a wonderful example for his son, being bold, brave, idealistic and pragmatic said to his son on the day he left for America at the railway station at Amritsar: "Promise me four things: First, neither beg nor borrow, no matter what happens. Second, never commit adultery. Third, neither smoke, nor have anything to do with any kind of intoxicating drinks or drugs or narcotics or drugs. Fourth, never live in the past, live always in the eternal One and start life ever anew. His father looked him in the eyes and said, "I hope if you follow these teachings I have given you, you will make a success in life. If you cannot, the sooner you perish the better for you and for me and the rest of the world, because I do not want a weakling to survive me. My children should not be weaklings or jelly-fishes". Dr. Thind as a young man of 19 years and five months looked back at his father and said: “Father, your heroic blood runs in my veins. I will be faithful and true and I cannot fail.” Then Boota gave Dr. Thind two thousand rupees. He said: "Son, this is all I can give you now. I have given you an education and an example. Make your own way in life." About Dr. Thind: His Life Work           -- Additional Information -- Doctor exemplified his teachings by his own transformed and beautifully lived life. He was a fountainhead of energy and wisdom; a teacher after which we need no other teacher. On October 3, 1892 he was born into a Sikh community of the state of Punjab, India. He was educated at Khalsa College, Amritsar, and nurtured in the best tradition of the Sikh religion, the Spiritual Science founded by Guru Nanak in the fifteenth century. As a youth, Dr. Thind sought companionship and spiritual guidance from the pundits of his community. He also sought to learn the philosophies and religions of the world. Upon reading the works of Emerson, Whitman, and Thoreau, he became inspired to travel to America to fulfill his destiny as a Spiritual Teacher. With the encouragement of an understanding father, he left India, stayed briefly in Manila, and within days before his twentieth birthday, arrived in Seattle, Washington on July 4, 1913. Throughout his time away, Dr. Thind never forgot his debt to his motherland. India at that time was under strict and often oppressive British rule. In the years to follow he served as a pioneer for India's Independence and helped many East Indians gain their American citizenship - a title he was denied until 1936. In 1918, he served in the United States Army during World War I, being one of the few East Indians to do so at the time. His successful military career led to an Honorable Discharge on December 18, 1918. For 52 years, Dr. Thind lectured throughout the United States. He possessed a sharp wit and direct manner of speaking, inspiring an audience of an estimated five-million. Thousands were initiated as disciples into the Inner Life and the discovery of the power of the Holy NAM. "No dogmas, no creeds, no limitations, no secret keys, no mystical fuss, no exotic formulas; we put order in your kingdom of chaos," was the words underlining his printed programs of lectures. In honor of his legacy, his alma mater Khalsa College of Amritsar, India offers a "Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind Scholarship Fund", which aids students in need of financial assistance. Acknowledgment from his wife, Vivian "He was a man of indomitable will, invincible spirit, and unshakable faith. A knower of God, who lived the life of truth and Divine Purpose giving these principles first place above all else in his life. In March of 1940 we married, and although his lecture tours separated us much of the time, we wrote to each other daily. He was my Guru in every way: A noble husband, he was a devoted father to our son and daughter, and a respectful loving son-in-law to my parents, whose home has always been with us. When, without warning, (for he was in excellent health) he left us at 4:15 pm, September 15, 1967. Our loss seemed inconsolable. We discovered gratefully, however, that his very teachings had prepared us well for that loss. It is in the same spirit of gratitude for our beloved Teacher that we will continue to publish and republish all of Doctor's books, manuscripts, and teachings in perpetuity. We know his completed writings will live on and on as a spiritual guide - to his devoted disciples, and for those who are ready to free themselves of conditioned orthodox religious thinking. His writings are for all who yearn for fellowship with the Author of their Being, instead of looking for him externally." Time Line of the life of Dr. Thind October 3, 1892: Dr. Thind was born in the Village of Taragarh, near Jandiala Guru, District Amritsar, Punjab, India 1912: Graduated Khalsa College with Honors July 1912: Departs Calcutta. Arrives in Philippines (stays for 9 months) July 4, 1913: Arrives in Seattle, WA 1914-1918: Stays at Hindoo Alley (Gadar Movement) 1915-16: Earned Ph.D. Jan 17,1917: Petitioned for Citizenship US District Court, Oregon July 22,1918: Enlisted to US Army in Clatsop County, Oregon at Camp Lewis, Washington Company #2 development Battalion #1, 166th Depot Brigade July 22,1918: Petitioned for Citizenship US District Court, Washington Dec 9,1918: Granted US Citizenship DEC 13,1918: US Citizenship canceled. Given Certification of Cancellation by INS DEC 18,1918: Honorably discharged from US Army 1918-1922: Employed at Charles Kingsley, Western Oregon Lumber Co at Linnton, Oregon May 6,1919: Petitioned for Citizenship at US District Court of Oregon. Oct 19,1919: US District Court in Oregon rules favorably for Dr. Thind's citizenship Jan, 1920: Interviewed by Portland ̉JournalÓ stating he was forced to come to USA for his education, being unable ̉to secure an education at home because of the severe restrictions on IndiansÓ Nov 18,1920: Granted citizenship by the US District Court of Oregon. Oct 17,1921: 9th District Court sent case to US Supreme Court for decision Feb 19,1923: US Supreme Court rescinded citizenship on grounds that Dr. Thind was not a white person within the meaning of Section 2169, Revised Statues. 1925: Wrote "Divine Wisdom, Volume 1" May 30,1926 - August 31, 1926: Lectured at Chicago Daily News Jun 26,1926: INS sent Certification of Cancellation or citizenship Sept 12 - Oct 11,,1926 : Lectures in Milwaukee Nov 7- DEC 9, 1926: Lectures in St.Louis, MO DEC 19, 1926-Feb 18, 1927: Lectures in Detroit, MI Feb 27 -April 13, 1927: Lectures in Cleveland,OH April 24-May 24, 1927: Lectures in Pittsburgh, PA June 5 - July 20, 1927: Lectures in Philadelphia, PA July 31,1927 - Jan 8, 1928: Lectures in New York City Jan 29-March 15, 1928: Lectures in Cincinnati,OH March 25-April, 1928: Lectures in Chicago, IL May 13 - June 14, 1928: Lectures in St. Louis, MO June 24 - Aug 5, 1928: Lectures in Buffalo, NY Aug 19 - Sept, 22, 1928: Lectures in Boston, MA Oct 7 - Nov 10, 1928: Lectures in Detroit, MI Nov 18 - DEC 21, 1928: Lectures in Toledo, OH Jan 6 - Feb 20, 1929: Lectures in Cleveland, OH Mar 3 - April 17, 1929: Lectures in Pittsburgh, PA April 28 - June 12, 1929: Lectures in Washington DC June 30 - Aug 1, 1929: Lectures in Milwaukee, WI Sept 1 - Oct 16, 1929: Lectures in Chicago, IL Nov 3 - DEC, 18, 1929: Lectures in St. Louis, MO 1928: Wrote "Divine Wisdom, Volume 2" Based on seven lectures at the Pythian Temple, New York City 1930: Wrote House of Happiness. Based on lecture lesson given in 1927 (New York City) Jan 19 - Mar 11, 1930: Lectures in Los Angeles, CA Mar 23 - June 14, 1930: Lectures in San Francisco, CA June 15 - July 14, 1930: Lectures in Philadelphia, PA Sept 27 - Nov 26, 1930: Lectures in New York City 1935: Resides in New York City and teaches True Religion and Metaphysics. Jun 24,1935: US Congress enacted a statute that allows US Citizen for US Veteran ̉AliensÓ previously disallowed. Sept 27, 1935: Dr. Thind filed Petition 250957 for citizenship Mar 2, 1936: Granted Citizenship by US District Court 1937: Ordained Minister 1937: Resides in Richmond, VA March 16,1940: Dr. Thind marries Vivian Davies in Colligwood Presbyterian Church, Toledo, OH June ,1963: Dr. Thind visited India for the first time since he left his beloved country 51 years earlier in 1912. Dr. Thind and his wife Vivian were honored in Delhi and in Punjab. Prime Minister Pandit Nehur and the President Dr. Radha Krishna had especially invited Dr. Thind and had numerous meetings with him and his family. He was also invited to deliver special lectures on Metaphysics in several universities including Delhi University and the Punjab University, where he spoke to vass audiences on "What America Means to Me". Sept 15,1967: Dr. Thind passes at 4:15 pm in Los Angeles, Ca n June 8th, 1932, Dr. Thind was ordained as Minister of the Builders of Aquarius Church and also holds a Certificate of Ordination as a Sikhs Gyanee and Parcharak (Teacher and Preacher of the Sikh Faith) of the Sikh Temple in Stockton, California. Dr. Thind's education saw him as a graduate from Khalsa College in Armritsar, India. Not long after arriving to the United States, he attended the University of California at Berkeley. He was also a student at Columbia University in New York. Dr. Thind eventually earned his Ph.D., which appointed him as a "Doctor of Divinity" and "Metaphysics", which suited him well for his famous lecture series where he touched the lives of millions. Realizing the importance of education, Dr. Thind paid for the college education for 86 students, both in the United States and India, for undergraduate, master and doctorate degrees in prestigious academic institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, California and USC. Many of these students returned to India and became lawyers, doctors, and served in Parliament and other members of government. Bhagat Singh Thind Bhagat Singh Thind Bhagat Singh Thind Bhagat Singh Thind (1892-1967) was born in Punjab and came to America in 1913. A year later, he was paying his way through the University of California at Berkeley by working in an Oregon lumber mill during summer vacations. When America entered World War I, he joined the U.S. Army. He was honorably discharged on 16th of December, 1918 and in 1920 applied for U.S. citizenship from the state of Oregon. Since several applicants from India had thus far been granted U.S. citizenship, he too was approved by the district court. However a naturalization examiner appealed this court's decision, and the rest is history. Feb 10, 1923: Justice Sutherland rules "Hindus" are "aliens ineligible to citizenship" in United States vs. Bhagat Singh Thind (261 US 204) What is less well-known is that Bhagat Singh Thind remained in the U.S., completed his Ph.D., and delivered lectures in metaphysics all across the nation. Basing his lessons on Sikh philosophy, he enriched his teaching with references to the scriptures of several religions and the work of Emerson, Whitman, and Thoreau. He campaigned actively for the independence of India from the British Empire, and helped Indian students in any way he could. In 1931, he married Vivian Davies and they had a son, David, to whom several of his 15 books are dedicated. "You must never be limited by external authority, whether it be vested in a church, man, or book. It is your right to question, challenge, and investigate." Ironically, Dr. Thind applied for and received U.S. citizenship through the state of New York within a few years of being turned down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Still frame of video clip Video clip Quicktime | Realplayer Get the Quicktime plug-in Get the Realplayer G2 plug-in Books by Bhagat S. Thind HOUSE OF HAPPINESS Based on lectures given in 1927, this book is a fine introduction to Dr. Thind's teachings. It is easily understood by and popular with young people, as well as more advanced students of Eastern religions. A few of the chapter titles are: How to Find Out What You Are Best Suited For; Evolution — Passing from Lower to Higher Births; Consciousness — An Inward Knowledge; Aum — The Sacred Hum of the Universe. "Appeal to the tradition of a nation, and the whole mob psychology is arrayed behind you. Let me appeal to the democratic spirit of the Americans, and they think I am just wonderful. Appeal to the spiritual nature of India, and you get all Hindus on your side." RADIANT ROAD TO REALITY Dr. Thind's disciples count this book as their teacher's greatest writing. It deals with enduring truths of spiritual import, verifiable facts of the highest human psychological possibilities. Dr. Thind reveals an exact science showing the seeker how to connect the individual soul with its Universal Creator. In the Preface, he writes: "It [this book] is for him who seeks to illumine his intelligence by the torch of his own Divinity, who hungers to attain the Consciousness, which transcends the barriers of time and space." Bhagat's widow, with others From left: Dr. Amarjit S. Marwah, Mrs. Vivian Thind (Bhagat's widow), Mr. Ram Bagai, and Gwen Singh (widow of another Indian pioneer). SCIENCE OF UNION WITH GOD "The truest help one can render a man bent with the burdens of life, is to call out his best energies and efforts, so that he himself by himself may raise his sagging spirit, and not only cope with conditions, but come out triumphant in the highest spiritual sense of the word." This quotation from the Preface is an expression of what Dr. Thind hoped to accomplish with this book. Chapters include: Union with God; the Unknown Is in the Known; Ego vs. Individuality; Unification and Reunion; Sikh Religion Made Plain; The Song of the Soul Victorious. THE PEARL OF GREATEST PRICE "No scientific law can ever compare with the discovery of the Living Word of Power, which unifies man's whole being and makes him one in nature and character with his indwelling God." This is the theme developed by Dr. Thind in this book — an inspiring volume for all who seek to go ever onward, forward and Godward. Chapters include: Modus Operandi; Walking in the Inner Path to God; How Sat Guru Helps; Nature, Nurture and Nam; Overcoming the World. "The human mind is where everyone has to live and find his only opportunity for peace, happiness and wholeness. Only the unified mind can see things whole." — Bhagat S. Thind "There are many religions, but only one Morality, one Truth, and one God. The only Heaven is one of conscious life and fellowship with God." — Bhagat S. Thind JESUS, THE CHRIST: In the Light of Spiritual Science These three volumes were written for all who have freed themselves of orthodox religious thinking and for those who are ready to do so. The books serve as a springboard to greater spiritual heights, wherein we appreciate more than ever the message of the Sat Gurus, the Saviours, the Avatars, the Christs, of whom Jesus Christ was one. Dr. Thind analyzes the teachings of this Savior of the western world and compares them with the teachings of all the great religions. Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind was one of the first Asian Indian soldiers and first turbaned Sikh to serve in the United States Army during the First World War. Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind was born on October 3, 1892 in Taragarh, Punjab, British India. Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind arrived to Seattle, Washington on July 14, 1913 on board the ship Minnesota from Manila, Philippines. His younger brother, Jagat Singh Thind died onboard  the ship Komagata Maru, which had been forced to turn back from Canada in 1914 because of country’s racial laws. When the ship returned to India, the British government thought the Indians on board the ship were attempting incite revolutionary activities, and a riot broke up out. Many were killed and jailed, including Jagat Singh Thind. Dr. Thind came to the United States for higher education to become a spiritual teacher and scholar. He made his way to Oregon and eventually settled in California later in life. Dr. Thind came to the United States for higher education to become a spiritual teacher and scholar. When America entered the war, Dr. Thind was studying at the University of California, Berkeley for metaphysics, spirituality, and religion and it is safe to assume that he wanted to serve his new home and uphold the strong warrior tradition of the Sikh faith. He enlisted in the United States Army when the country entered the war in the 1917. He trained at Camp Lewis in Washington state but did not see overseas action. He also listed in October 1918 issue of the newspaper and journal Young India with other Asians serving in the U.S military during the war. Dr. Thind was one of the thousands of Indian Sikhs that bravely served in the war, but he was the first turbaned Sikh to serve in the U.S during the war. Dr. Thind received an Honorable Discharge with the of rank of acting sergeant in 1918 when the war ended. Following his service in the military, Dr. Thind’s attempted to gain U.S citizenship. During this period, Asian Indians were considered Caucasian and many of them obtained naturalization.  Dr. Thind gained naturalization in 1920 through the U.S District Court of Oregon. However, the Bureau of Naturalization appealed his naturalization on the grounds that he was not white. Dr. Thind fought back against the appeal and his case reached the United States Supreme Court. In 1923 the case Bhagat Singh vs. the United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the "common man's" definition of "white" did not correspond to "Caucasian" and therefore he could not apply for naturalization. He finally obtained in U.S citizenship in 1936 in the state of New York. On March 16, 1940 Dr. Thind married Vivan Davis in the Collingwood Presbyterian Church in Toledo, Ohio. He died on September 15, 1967 in Los Angeles, California.  Throughout his life he published and lectured on the subjects of metaphysics, spirituality and religion. Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind was a pioneer in being one of the first Asian Indians and the first turbaned Sikh to serve in the United States Army, and then leading the fight for citizenship for Asian Indians. On October 3, 1892 he was born into a Sikh community of the state of Punjab, India. He was educated at Khalsa College, Amritsar, and nurtured in the best tradition of the Sikh religion, the Spiritual Science founded by Guru Nanak in the fifteenth century. As a youth he sought companionship and spiritual guidance form the pundits (learned men) of his community. He also sought the philosophies and religions of the rest of the world. Upon reading Emerson, Whitman, and Thoreau, he became inspired to travel to America to fulfill his destiny as a spiritual Teacher.  With the encouragement of a understanding and blessed father, he left India, stayed briefly in Manila, and arrived in Seattle, Washington, in August of 1912, just before his twentieth birthday. He never forgot his debt   to his motherland. India  at that time was under British rule.  In the years to follow he made outstanding sacrifices as a pioneer in India's Independence movement and in helping East Indians gain their citizenship in this country - denied until 1946. Many Indian students in America completed their education with his financial assistance. Some returned to India and became members of Parliament, Chief Ministers, doctors and scientists. He also served America being one of the very few East Indians in the United States Army during World War One. Doctor sponsored more than seventy students through various Universities and Colleges in the United States, Europe and India.  For 52 years, Doctor lectured in America, reaching an audience of at least five million. Thousands were initiated as disciples into the Inner Life, and the discovery of the power of the Holy Năm. He possessed a sharp wit and direct manner of speaking.  "No dogmas, no creeds, no proselytism, no limitations, no secret keys , no mystical fuss, no exotic formulas; we put order in your kingdom of chaos," were the words underlining his printed programs of lectures. Currently there is a  "Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind Scholarship Fund" at Khalsa College, Amritsar, India, which aids students in need of financial assistance.  He was a man of indomitable will, invincible spirit, and unshakable faith;  A knower of God, who lived the life of truth and Divine Purpose giving these principles first place above all else in his life. Click into center  to see an Enlargement of this photo of Dr. Singh Thind and Friends.... In March of 1940 we married, and although his lecture tours separated us much of the time, we wrote to each other daily.  He was my Guru in every way: A noble husband,  he was a devoted father to our son and daughter, and a respectful loving son-in-law to my parents, whose home has always been with us. When, without warning, (for he was in excellent health) he left us at 4:15 pm., September 15, 1967, our loss seemed inconsolable, We discovered gratefully, however, that his very teachings had prepared us well for that loss. It is in the same spirit of gratitude for our beloved Teacher that we will continue to publish and republish all of Doctors books, manuscripts, and teachings in perpetuity.  We know his completed writings will live on and on as a spiritual guide - to his devoted disciples, and for those who are ready to free themselves of conditioned orthodox religious thinking. Click into center  to see an Enlargement. His writings are for all who yearn for fellowship with the 
The Farm Security Administration (FSA) was a New Deal agency created in 1937 to combat rural poverty during the Great Depression in the United States. It succeeded the Resettlement Administration (1935–1937).[1] The FSA is famous for its small but highly influential photography program, 1935–44, that portrayed the challenges of rural poverty. The photographs in the FSA/Office of War Information Photograph Collection form an extensive pictorial record of American life between 1935 and 1944. This U.S. government photography project was headed for most of its existence by Roy Stryker, who guided the effort in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935–1937), the Farm Security Administration (1937–1942), and the Office of War Information (1942–1944). The collection also includes photographs acquired from other governmental and nongovernmental sources, including the News Bureau at the Offices of Emergency Management (OEM), various branches of the military, and industrial corporations.[2] In total, the black-and-white portion of the collection consists of about 175,000 black-and-white film negatives, encompassing both negatives that were printed for FSA-OWI use and those that were not printed at the time. Color transparencies also made by the FSA/OWI are available in a separate section of the catalog: FSA/OWI Color Photographs.[2] The FSA stressed "rural rehabilitation" efforts to improve the lifestyle of very poor landowning farmers, and a program to purchase submarginal land owned by poor farmers and resettle them in group farms on land more suitable for efficient farming. Reactionary critics, including the Farm Bureau, strongly opposed the FSA as an alleged experiment in collectivizing agriculture—that is, in bringing farmers together to work on large government-owned farms using modern techniques under the supervision of experts. After the Conservative coalition took control of Congress, it transformed the FSA into a program to help poor farmers buy land, and that program continues to operate in the 21st century as the Farmers Home Administration. Origins Walker Evans portrait of Allie Mae Burroughs (1936) Arthur Rothstein photograph "Dust Bowl Cimarron County, Oklahoma" of a farmer and two sons during a dust storm in Cimarron County, Oklahoma (1936) Dorothea Lange photograph of an Arkansas squatter of three years near Bakersfield, California (1935) The projects that were combined in 1935 to form the Resettlement Administration (RA) started in 1933 as an assortment of programs tried out by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. The RA was headed by Rexford Tugwell, an economic advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[3] However, Tugwell's goal moving 650,000 people into 100,000,000 acres (400,000 km2) of exhausted, worn-out land was unpopular among the majority in Congress.[3] This goal seemed socialistic to some and threatened to deprive powerful farm proprietors of their tenant workforce.[3] The RA was thus left with only enough resources to relocate a few thousand people from 9 million acres (36,000 km2) and build several greenbelt cities,[3] which planners admired as models for a cooperative future that never arrived.[3] The main focus of the RA was to now build relief camps in California for migratory workers, especially refugees from the drought-stricken Dust Bowl of the Southwest.[3] This move was resisted by a large share of Californians, who did not want destitute migrants to settle in their midst.[3] The RA managed to construct 95 camps that gave migrants unaccustomed clean quarters with running water and other amenities,[3] but the 75,000 people who had the benefit of these camps were a small share of those in need and could only stay temporarily.[3] After facing enormous criticism for his poor management of the RA, Tugwell resigned in 1936.[3] On January 1, 1937,[4] with hopes of making the RA more effective, the RA was transferred to the Department of Agriculture through executive order 7530.[4] On July 22, 1937,[5] Congress passed the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act.[5] This law authorized a modest credit program to assist tenant farmers to purchase land,[5] and it was the culmination of a long effort to secure legislation for their benefit.[5] Following the passage of the act, Congress passed the Farm Security Act into law. The Farm Security Act officially transformed the RA into the Farm Security Administration (FSA).[3] The FSA expanded through funds given by the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act.[3] Relief work One of the activities performed by the RA and FSA was the buying out of small farms that were not economically viable, and the setting up of 34 subsistence homestead communities, in which groups of farmers lived together under the guidance of government experts and worked a common area. They were not allowed to purchase their farms for fear that they would fall back into inefficient practices not guided by RA and FSA experts.[6] The Dust Bowl in the Great Plains displaced thousands of tenant farmers, sharecroppers, and laborers, many of whom (known as "Okies" or "Arkies") moved on to California. The FSA operated camps for them, such as Weedpatch Camp as depicted in The Grapes of Wrath. The RA and the FSA gave educational aid to 455,000 farm families during the period 1936-1943. In June, 1936, Roosevelt wrote: "You are right about the farmers who suffer through their own fault... I wish you would have a talk with Tugwell about what he is doing to educate this type of farmer to become self-sustaining. During the past year, his organization has made 104,000 farm families practically self-sustaining by supervision and education along practical lines. That is a pretty good record!"[7] The FSA's primary mission was not to aid farm production or prices. Roosevelt's agricultural policy had, in fact, been to try to decrease agricultural production to increase prices. When production was discouraged, though, the tenant farmers and small holders suffered most by not being able to ship enough to market to pay rents. Many renters wanted money to buy farms, but the Agriculture Department realized there already were too many farmers, and did not have a program for farm purchases. Instead, they used education to help the poor stretch their money further. Congress, however, demanded that the FSA help tenant farmers purchase farms, and purchase loans of $191 million were made, which were eventually repaid. A much larger program was $778 million in loans (at effective rates of about 1% interest) to 950,000 tenant farmers. The goal was to make the farmer more efficient so the loans were used for new machinery, trucks, or animals, or to repay old debts. At all times, the borrower was closely advised by a government agent. Family needs were on the agenda, as the FSA set up a health insurance program and taught farm wives how to cook and raise children. Upward of a third of the amount was never repaid, as the tenants moved to much better opportunities in the cities.[8] The FSA was also one of the authorities administering relief efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico during the Great Depression. Between 1938 and 1945, under the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration, it oversaw the purchase of 590 farms with the intent of distributing land to working and middle-class Puerto Ricans.[9] Modernization The FSA resettlement communities appear in the literature as efforts to ameliorate the wretched condition of southern sharecroppers and tenants, but those evicted to make way for the new settlers are virtually invisible in the historic record. The resettlement projects were part of larger efforts to modernize rural America. The removal of former tenants and their replacement by FSA clients in the lower Mississippi alluvial plain—the Delta—reveals core elements of New Deal modernizing policies. The key concepts that guided the FSA's tenant removals were: the definition of rural poverty as rooted in the problem of tenancy; the belief that economic success entailed particular cultural practices and social forms; and the commitment by those with political power to gain local support. These assumptions undergirded acceptance of racial segregation and the criteria used to select new settlers. Alternatives could only become visible through political or legal action—capacities sharecroppers seldom had. In succeeding decades, though, these modernizing assumptions created conditions for Delta African Americans on resettlement projects to challenge white supremacy.[10] FSA and its contribution to society The documentary photography genre describes photographs that would work as a time capsule for evidence in the future or a certain method that a person can use for a frame of reference. Facts presented in a photograph can speak for themselves after the viewer gets time to analyze it. The motto of the FSA was simply, as Beaumont Newhall insists, "not to inform us, but to move us."[citation needed] Those photographers wanted the government to move and give a hand to the people, as they were completely neglected and overlooked, thus they decided to start taking photographs in a style that we today call "documentary photography." The FSA photography has been influential due to its realist point of view, and because it works as a frame of reference and an educational tool from which later generations could learn. Society has benefited and will benefit from it for more years to come, as this photography can unveil the ambiguous and question the conditions that are taking place.[11] Photography program The RA and FSA are well known for the influence of their photography program, 1935–1944. Photographers and writers were hired to report and document the plight of poor farmers. The Information Division (ID) of the FSA was responsible for providing educational materials and press information to the public. Under Roy Stryker, the ID of the FSA adopted a goal of "introducing America to Americans." Many of the most famous Depression-era photographers were fostered by the FSA project. Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and Gordon Parks were three of the most famous FSA alumni.[12] The FSA was also cited in Gordon Parks' autobiographical novel, A Choice of Weapons. The FSA's photography was one of the first large-scale visual documentations of the lives of African-Americans.[13] These images were widely disseminated through the Twelve Million Black Voices collection, published in October 1941, which combined FSA photographs selected by Edwin Rosskam and text by author and poet Richard Wright. Photographers Fifteen photographers (ordered by year of hire) would produce the bulk of work on this project. Their diverse, visual documentation elevated government's mission from the "relocation" tactics of a Resettlement Administration to strategic solutions which would depend on America recognizing rural and already poor Americans, facing death by depression and dust. FSA photographers: Arthur Rothstein (1935), Theodor Jung (1935), Ben Shahn (1935), Walker Evans (1935), Dorothea Lange (1935), Carl Mydans (1935), Russell Lee (1936), Marion Post Wolcott (1936), John Vachon (1936, photo assignments began in 1938), Jack Delano (1940), John Collier (1941), Marjory Collins (1941), Louise Rosskam (1941), Gordon Parks (1942) and Esther Bubley (1942). With America's entry into World War II, FSA would focus on a different kind of relocation as orders were issued for internment of Japanese Americans. FSA photographers would be transferred to the Office of War Information during the last years of the war and completely disbanded at the war's end. Photographers like Howard R. Hollem, Alfred T. Palmer, Arthur Siegel and OWI's Chief of Photographers John Rous were working in OWI before FSA's reorganization there. As a result of both teams coming under one unit name, these other individuals are sometimes associated with RA-FSA's pre-war images of American life. Though collectively credited with thousands of Library of Congress images, military ordered, positive-spin assignments like these four received starting in 1942, should be separately considered from pre-war, depression triggered imagery. FSA photographers were able to take time to study local circumstances and discuss editorial approaches with each other before capturing that first image. Each one talented in her or his own right, equal credit belongs to Roy Stryker who recognized, hired and empowered that talent. John Collier Jr. John Collier Jr.   Jack Delano Jack Delano   Walker Evans Walker Evans   Dorothea Lange Dorothea Lange   Russell Lee Russell Lee   Carl Mydans Carl Mydans   Gordon Parks Gordon Parks   Arthur Rothstein Arthur Rothstein   John Vachon John Vachon   Marion Post Wolcott Marion Post Wolcott These 15 photographers, some shown above, all played a significant role, not only in producing images for this project, but also in molding the resulting images in the final project through conversations held between the group members. The photographers produced images that breathed a humanistic social visual catalyst of the sort found in novels, theatrical productions, and music of the time. Their images are now regarded as a "national treasure" in the United States, which is why this project is regarded as a work of art.[14] Photograph of Chicago's rail yards by Jack Delano, circa 1943 Together with John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath (not a government project) and documentary prose (for example Walker Evans and James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men), the FSA photography project is most responsible for creating the image of the Depression in the United States. Many of the images appeared in popular magazines. The photographers were under instruction from Washington, DC, as to what overall impression the New Deal wanted to portray. Stryker's agenda focused on his faith in social engineering, the poor conditions among tenant cotton farmers, and the very poor conditions among migrant farm workers; above all, he was committed to social reform through New Deal intervention in people's lives. Stryker demanded photographs that "related people to the land and vice versa" because these photographs reinforced the RA's position that poverty could be controlled by "changing land practices." Though Stryker did not dictate to his photographers how they should compose the shots, he did send them lists of desirable themes, for example, "church", "court day", and "barns". Stryker sought photographs of migratory workers that would tell a story about how they lived day-to-day. He asked Dorothea Lange to emphasize cooking, sleeping, praying, and socializing.[15] RA-FSA made 250,000 images of rural poverty. Fewer than half of those images survive and are housed in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. The library has placed all 164,000 developed negatives online.[16] From these, some 77,000 different finished photographic prints were originally made for the press, plus 644 color images, from 1600 negatives. Documentary films The RA also funded two documentary films by Pare Lorentz: The Plow That Broke the Plains, about the creation of the Dust Bowl, and The River, about the importance of the Mississippi River. The films were deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. World War II activities During World War II, the FSA was assigned to work under the purview of the Wartime Civil Control Administration, a subagency of the War Relocation Authority. These agencies were responsible for relocating Japanese Americans from their homes on the West Coast to Internment camps. The FSA controlled the agricultural part of the evacuation. Starting in March 1942 they were responsible for transferring the farms owned and operated by Japanese Americans to alternate operators. They were given the dual mandate of ensuring fair compensation for Japanese Americans, and for maintaining correct use of the agricultural land. During this period, Lawrence Hewes Jr was the regional director and in charge of these activities.[17] Reformers ousted; Farmers Home Administration After the war started and millions of factory jobs in the cities were unfilled, no need for FSA remained.[citation needed] In late 1942, Roosevelt moved the housing programs to the National Housing Agency, and in 1943, Congress greatly reduced FSA's activities. The photographic unit was subsumed by the Office of War Information for one year, then disbanded. Finally in 1946, all the social reformers had left and FSA was replaced by a new agency, the Farmers Home Administration, which had the goal of helping finance farm purchases by tenants—and especially by war veterans—with no personal oversight by experts. It became part of Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty in the 1960s, with a greatly expanded budget to facilitate loans to low-income rural families and cooperatives, injecting $4.2 billion into rural America.[18] The Great Depression The Great Depression began in August 1929, when the United States economy first went into an economic recession. Although the country spent two months with declining GDP, the effects of a declining economy were not felt until the Wall Street Crash in October 1929, and a major worldwide economic downturn ensued. Although its causes are still uncertain and controversial, the net effect was a sudden and general loss of confidence in the economic future and a reduction in living standards for most ordinary Americans. The market crash highlighted a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits for industrial firms, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth.[19] Sikhs (singular Sikh: /sɪk/ (like "sick") or /siːk/ (like "seek"); Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ, sikkh [sɪkkʰ]; Devanagari: सिख) are an ethnoreligious group[74] who adhere to Sikhi or Sikhism,[75] a Dharmic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak.[76] The term Sikh has its origin in the Sanskrit word śiṣya (शिष्य), meaning 'disciple' or 'student'.[77][78][79] Male Sikhs generally have Singh ('lion') as their last name, though not all Singhs are necessarily Sikhs; likewise, female Sikhs have Kaur ('princess') as their last name. These unique last names were given by the Gurus to allow Sikhs to stand out and also as an act of defiance to India's caste system, which the Gurus were always against. Sikhs strongly believe in the idea of sarbat da bhala (welfare of all) and are often seen on the frontline to provide humanitarian aid across the world. Sikhs who have undergone the Amrit Sanchar ('baptism by Khanda'), an initiation ceremony, are known as Khalsa from the day of their initiation, and they must at all times have on their bodies the five Ks: kesh, uncut hair usually kept covered by a dastār, also known as a turban; kara, an iron or steel bracelet; kirpan, a dagger-like sword tucked into a gatra strap or a kamar kasa waistband; kachera, a cotton undergarment; and kanga, a small wooden comb. Tarn Taran Sahib - The World's Largest Sarovar (sacred pool) The Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent has been the historic homeland of the Sikhs, having even been ruled by the Sikhs for significant parts of the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, Canada has the largest national Sikh proportion (2.1%) in the world,[13] while the Punjab state in India has the largest Sikh proportion (58%) amongst all administrative divisions in the world. Many countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, recognize Sikhs as a designated religion on their censuses,[80] and, as of 2020, Sikhs are considered as a separate ethnic group in the United States.[81] The UK also considers Sikhs to be an ethno-religious people, as a direct result of the Mandla v Dowell-Lee case in 1982.[82][83] History Main article: History of Sikhism Gurdwara Janam Asthan, the birthplace of Guru Nanak Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the founder of Sikhism, was born in a Khatri family to Mehta Kalu and Mata Tripta in the village of Talwandi, present-day Nankana Sahib, near Lahore.[84] Throughout his life, Guru Nanak was a religious leader and social reformer. However, Sikh political history may be said to begin in 1606, with the death of the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan Dev.[85] Religious practices were formalised by Guru Gobind Singh on 30 March 1699, when the Guru initiated five people from a variety of social backgrounds, known as the Panj Piare ("beloved five"), to form a collective body of initiated Sikhs, known as the Khalsa ("pure").[86] The early followers of Guru Nanak were Khatris, but later a large number of Jats joined the faith.[87] Khatris and Brahmins opposed "the demand that the Sikhs set aside the distinctive customs of their castes and families, including the older rituals."[88] Pashaura Singh analyzed references made within the 11th ballad of the Varan of Bhai Gurdas to form a picture of the caste-makeup of the early Sikh community.[89] At the time of the writing the Vaar, the early Sikh community was composed of various castes and backgrounds, such as:[89] Khatris (particularly the Sehgal, Ohri, Uppal, Julka, Bhalla, Passi, Khullar, Vohra, Vij, Kapur, Chaddha, Behl, Kohli, Marwah, Mehra, Soni, Jhanjhi, Sodhi, Beri, Nanda, Wadhawan, Tulli, and Puri gotras)[89] Brahmins (such as the Bhardwaj gotra)[89] Jats (particularly the Randhawa, Khehra, Dhillon, and Pannu gotras)[89] Tarkhans ('carpenters')[89] Lohars ('blacksmiths')[89] Nais ('barbers')[89] Chhimbas ('cotton-printers')[89] Machhis ('water-carriers')[89] Dhobis ('washermen')[89] Kumhars ('potters')[89] Telis ('oil pressers")[89] masons[89] goldsmiths[89] Outcastes (such as Chandals)[89] Muslims[89] The early Sikhs varied widely in their occupations and position in society's hierarchy: some were rich merchants (Seths and Sarrafs), others were heads of villages (Chowdhury), some were labourers, others were enslaved, whilst others still were artisans, craftsmen, shopkeepers, or simple peasants.[89] The Sikh Empire at its greatest extent During the rule of the Mughal Empire in India, two Sikh gurus were martyred. (Guru Arjan was martyred on suspicion of helping in betrayal of Mughal Emperor Jahangir and Guru Tegh Bahadur was martyred by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb)[90] As the Sikh faith grew, the Sikhs subsequently militarized to oppose Mughal rule.[citation needed] The Samadhi of Emperor Ranjit Singh in Lahore, Pakistan The Golden Temple Metal helmet in a museum A Sikh Khalsa Army sowar's battle helmet Max Arthur Macauliffe (1841-1913), a senior British administrator who was posted to India during the British rule of Punjab, converted to Sikhism in the 1860s After defeating the Afghans and Mughals, sovereign states called Misls were formed under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. The Confederacy of these states was unified and transformed into the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. This era was characterised by religious tolerance and pluralism, including Christians, Muslims, and Hindus in positions of power. Its secular administration implemented military, economic, and governmental reforms. The empire is considered the zenith of political Sikhism,[91] encompassing Kashmir, Ladakh, and Peshawar. Hari Singh Nalwa, the commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army in the North-West Frontier, expanded the confederacy to the Khyber Pass. British rule in India Sikh armour and weapons “Sikh Sardar”, photograph by John McCosh taken in circa 1848-49 After the annexation of the Sikh/Punjabi kingdom by the British, the British Army began recruiting significant numbers of Sikhs and Punjabis.[citation needed] During the 1857 Indian mutiny, the Sikhs stayed loyal to the British, resulting in heavy recruitment from Punjab to the British Indian Army for the next 90 years of the British Raj in colonial India.[92] The distinct turban that differentiates a Sikh from other turban wearers is a relic of the rules of the British Indian Army.[93] The British colonial rule saw the emergence of many reform movements in India, including Punjab, such as the formation of the First and Second Singh Sabha in 1873 and 1879 respectively. The Sikh leaders of the Singh Sabha worked to offer a clear definition of Sikh identity and tried to purify Sikh belief and practice.[94] The later years of British colonial rule saw the emergence of the Akali movement to bring reform in the gurdwaras during the early 1920s. The movement led to the introduction of Sikh Gurdwara Bill in 1925, which placed all the historical Sikh shrines in India under the control of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.[95] Partition and post-Partition At the time of the Indian independence movement, the Sikh ruler of the Kapurthala State fought to oppose the partition of India and advocated for a united, secular country.[96] Sikh organizations, including the Chief Khalsa Dewan and Shiromani Akali Dal led by Master Tara Singh, condemned the Lahore Resolution and the movement to create Pakistan, viewing it as inviting possible persecution, with Akali Dal instead favouring an undivided Azad Punjab as an independent Sikh State or Khalistan, having passed the Sikh State Resolution in 1946. The Sikhs therefore strongly fought against the partition of Punjab.[97] The months leading up to the 1947 partition of Punjab were marked by conflict in the Punjab between Sikhs and Muslims.[98] This caused the religious migration of Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus from West Punjab to the east (modern India), mirroring a simultaneous religious migration of Punjabi Muslims from East Punjab to the west (modern Pakistan).[99] Following partition, the Government of India had begun to redraw states corresponding to demographic and linguistic boundaries. However, this was not effective in the northern part of the country,[100] as the government reconsidered redrawing states in the north. [101] While states across the country were extensively redrawn on linguistic lines at the behest of linguistic groups, the only languages not considered for statehood were Punjabi, Sindhi and Urdu. [102] Leading to the launch of the Punjabi Suba movement and the presentation for a Punjabi Suba as a policy in April 1948 by Master Tara Singh. Also, on 26 January 1950 Sikh representatives refused to sign the Indian constitution. As Sikhs were recognized as Hindus and Sikhs were not provided with scheduled castes concessions given to Hindu scheduled castes. The Punjab Suba experienced heavy government crackdown with the Congress Government arresting as many as 21,000 people. Attempted negotiations with Congress-led the agitation to be adjourned twice, though Jawaharlal Nehru continued to reject the demand.[103][104] On 4 July 1955, government police forces, led by DIG Ashwini Kumar,[105] forced entry into the Golden Temple premises and heavy-handedly arrested protestors and took them into custody, along with the head granthis of the Akal Takht and Golden Temple, volunteer protestors, and even cooks of the temple's langar.[106] The Guru Ram Das Serai and Shiromani Akali Dal offices were also raided, and batons used and tear gas and shells were fired to disperse the protestors gathered on the periphery of the temple, damaging the periphery and Sarovar, or pool, of the temple.[106][107] The government stopped volunteers on the way to the Golden Temple, and troops were ordered to flag-march through the bazaars and streets surrounding the site.[107] Over 200 protestors were killed, thousands arrested,[107] and thousands, including women and children, were injured. The Congress government agreed to the Punjab Suba in 1966 after protests and recommendation of the States Reorganisation Commission.[108] The state of East Punjab was later split into the states of Himachal Pradesh, the new state Haryana and current day Punjab.[109] However, there was a growing alienation between Punjabi Sikh and Hindu populations. The latter of which reported Hindi rather than Punjabi as their primary language. The result was that Punjabi-speaking areas were left out of the new state and given to Haryana and Himachal Pradesh[110] resulting in the state of Punjab to be roughly 35,000 square miles smaller than the Punjabi-speaking areas based on pre-1947 census figures. Moreover, the 1966 reorganization left Sikhs highly dissatisfied, with the capital Chandigarh being made into a shared a union territory and the capital of Punjab and Haryana. In the late 1960s, the Green Revolution in India was first introduced in Punjab as part of a development program issued by international donor agencies and the Government of India.[111] While, Green Revolution in Punjab had several positive impacts, the introduction of the mechanised agricultural techniques led to uneven distribution of wealth. The industrial development was not done at the same pace as agricultural development, the Indian government had been reluctant to set up heavy industries in Punjab due to its status as a high-risk border state with Pakistan.[112] The rapid increase in the higher education opportunities without an adequate rise in the jobs resulted in the increase in the unemployment of educated youth.[108] In 1973 as a result, of unaddressed grievances and increasing inequality the Akali Dal put forward the Anandpur Sahib Resolution.[113] The resolution included both religious and political issues. It asked for recognising Sikhism as a religion, it also demanded the devolution of power from the Central to state governments.[108] The Anandpur Resolution was rejected by the government as a secessionist document. Thousands of people joined the movement, feeling that it represented a real solution to demands such as a larger share of water for irrigation and the return of Chandigarh to Punjab.[114] After unsuccessful negotiations the Dharam Yuddh Morcha ("righteous campaign")[115] was launched on 4 August 1982,[citation needed] by the Akali Dal in partnership with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, with its stated aim being the fulfillment of a set of devolutionary objectives based on the Anandpur Sahib Resolution.[115] Indian police responded to protestors with high-handed police methods creating state repression affecting a very large segment of Punjab's population. Police brutality resulted in retaliatory violence from a section of the Sikh population, widening the scope of the conflict by the use of violence of the state on its own people. [116] A "state of chaos and repressive police methods" combined to create "a mood of overwhelming anger and resentment in the Sikh masses against the authorities". Leading to Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale gaining prominence and demands of independence gain currency, even amongst moderates and Sikh intellectuals.[116] In 1982 and early 1983, extrajudicial killings by the police of orthodox Sikh youth in rural areas in Punjab provoked reprisals.[117] Over 190 Sikhs had been killed in the first 19 months of the protest movement.[118] In May 1984, a Grain Roko morcha was planned and to be initiated on 3 June[119] with protestors practising civil disobedience by refusing to pay land revenue, water or electricity bills, and blocking the flow of grain out of Punjab. Indian Prime minister Indira Gandhi launched Operation Blue Star on 1 June prior to the Grain Roko morcha in order to remove Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple. This subsequently lead to Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards.[120] Her assassination was followed by government-sponsored pogroms against Sikh communities across India and the killing of thousands of Sikhs throughout India. These events triggered an Insurgency in Punjab which would consume Punjab until the early 1990s. During the day of Vaisakhi in 1999, Sikhs worldwide celebrated the 300th anniversary of the creation of the Khalsa. Canada Post honoured Sikh Canadians with a commemorative stamp in conjunction with the anniversary. Likewise, on 9 April 1999, Indian president K. R. Narayanan issued a stamp commemorating the 300th anniversary of the Khalsa as well.[121] Culture and religious observations According to Article I of Chapter 1 of the Sikh Rehat Maryada ('code of conduct'), the definition of Sikh is:[122] Any human being who faithfully believes in i. One Immortal Being, ii. Ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Sahib to Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, iii. The Guru Granth Sahib, iv. The utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus and v. the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru, and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion, is a Sikh. Daily routine From the Guru Granth Sahib:[123] One who calls themself a Sikh of the Guru, the True Guru, shall rise in the early morning hours and meditate on the Lord's Name. Upon arising early in the morning, he is to bathe and cleanse himself in the pool of nectar. Following the Instructions of the Guru, he is to chant the Name of the Lord, "Har, Har." All sins, misdeeds, and negativity shall be then erased. Then, at the rising of the sun, he is to sing Gurbani; whether sitting down or standing up, he is to meditate on the Lord's Name. One who meditates on my Lord, Har, Har, with every breath and every morsel of food and – that GurSikh becomes pleasing to the Guru's Mind. That person, unto whom my Lord and Master is kind and compassionate – upon that GurSikh, the Guru's Teachings are bestowed. Servant Nanak begs for the dust of the feet of that GurSikh, who himself chants the Naam, and inspires others to chant it. — Fourth Mehl (Guru Ram Das), Guru Granth Sahib, p. 305 The Sikh Rahit Maryada (Code of Conduct) clearly states that baptized Amritdhari Khalsa Sikhs must recite or listen to the recitation of Japji Sahib, Jaap Sahib, the 10 Sawayyas, Sodar Rehraas, and Sohila.[124][125] Every Sikh is also supposed take the Hukam (divine order) from the Guru Granth Sahib after awakening in the ambrosial hours of the morning (three hours before the dawn) before eating.[126] In his 52 Hukams, Guru Gobind Singh orders his followers to arise during Amritvela (early morning) and to recite the late evening prayer "Sohila" and the verse "Pavan guru pani pita..." before sleeping. Five Ks Main articles: The Five Ks, Khalsa, and Sahajdhari Wooden comb, iron bracelet and curved, gold-coloured dagger Kanga, Kara and Kirpan: three of the five Sikh articles of faith The five Ks (panj kakaar) are five articles of faith which all baptized (Amritdhari) Sikhs are obliged to wear. The symbols represent the ideals of Sikhism: honesty, equality, fidelity, meditating on Waheguru, and never bowing to tyranny.[127] The five symbols are: Kesh: Uncut hair, usually tied and wrapped in a turban. Kanga: A wooden comb, usually worn under a turban to always also keep one's hair clean and well-groomed. Kachera: Cotton undergarments, worn by both sexes; the kachera is a symbol of chastity, and also a symbol of cleanliness. It is also historically appropriate in battle due to increased mobility and comfort when compared to a dhoti. Kara: An iron bracelet, a symbol of eternity, strength, and a constant reminder of the strength of will to keep hands away from any kind of unethical practices. Kirpan: An iron blade in different sizes. In the UK, Sikhs can wear a small dagger, but in Punjab, they might wear a traditional curved sword from one to three feet in length. Kirpan is only a weapon of defense and religious protection, used to serve humanity and to be used against oppression. Music and instruments Woman in yellow scarf bowing an instrument Woman playing the dilruba Main article: Sikh music The Sikhs have a number of musical instruments, including the rebab, dilruba, taus, jori, and sarinda. Playing the sarangi was encouraged by Guru Hargobind. The rebab was played by Bhai Mardana as he accompanied Guru Nanak on his journeys. The jori and sarinda were introduced to Sikh devotional music by Guru Arjan. The taus (Persian for "peacock") was designed by Guru Hargobind, who supposedly heard a peacock singing and wanted to create an instrument mimicking its sounds. The dilruba was designed by Guru Gobind Singh at the request of his followers, who wanted a smaller instrument than the taus. After Japji Sahib, all of the shabad in the Guru Granth Sahib were composed as raags. This type of singing is known as Gurmat Sangeet. When they marched into battle, the Sikhs would play a Ranjit nagara ("victory drum") to boost morale. Nagaras (usually two to three feet in diameter, although some were up to five feet in diameter) are played with two sticks. The beat of the large drums, and the raising of the Nishan Sahib, meant that the Singhs were on their way. Demographics Main articles: Sikhism by country and Punjabi Sikhs Global map of Sikh population (estimated 2023) Sikhs number about 26-30 million worldwide, of whom 24–28 million live in India, which thus represents around 90 percent of the total Sikh population.[128][129][130][131][132][133] About 76 percent of all Indian Sikhs live in the northern Indian state of Punjab, forming a majority of about 58 per cent of the state's population, roughly around 16 million.[134][135] Substantial communities of Sikhs live in the Indian states or union territories of Haryana, where they number around 1.2 million and form 4.91 percent of the population, Rajasthan (872,000 or 1.27 percent of the population), Uttar Pradesh (643,000, 0.32 percent), Delhi (570,000, 3.4 percent), Uttarakhand (236,000, 2.34 percent), Jammu and Kashmir (234,000, 1.87 percent), Chandigarh (138,000, 13.11 percent) and Himachal Pradesh (86,000, 1.16 percent). Canada is home to the largest national Sikh proportion (2.1 percent of the total population) in the world.[13] A substantial community of Sikhs exist in the western province of British Columbia, numbering nearly 300,000 persons and forming approximately 5.9 percent of the total population. This represents the third-largest Sikh proportion amongst all global administrative divisions, behind only Punjab and Chandigarh in India. Furthermore, British Columbia,[136] Manitoba, and Yukon hold the distinction of being three of the only four administrative divisions in the world with Sikhism as the second most followed religion among the population.[139] Census Data and Official Statistics As a religious minority, Sikhs have fought long and hard to get official status and to be counted in many countries across the world. Through the efforts of Sikh organisations and communities in their respective countries, there is now readily available population data on Sikhs as part of the census or official statistics in the following territories: Census Data / Official Statistics: Territory Latest Data  Punjab 16,004,754 2011[140]  India (Rest of India) 4,828,362  Canada 771,790 2021[141]  England 520,092 2021[142]  Australia 210,400 2021[143]  New Zealand 40,908 2018[144]  Singapore 12,051 2020[145]  Thailand 11,124 2010[146]  Norway 4,318 2021[147]  Wales 4,048 2021[142]  Fiji 2,577 2007[148]  Ireland 2,183 2022[149]    Nepal 1,496 2021[150]  Northern Ireland 389 2021[151]  Scotland Pending 2022  Pakistan Pending 2023 2011-2021 Change in Sikh % Note: Official statistics do not count unregistered arrivals or those who have not completed the census or surveys. However, they do provide for a much more accurate depiction of Sikh communities as opposed to estimates from various Sikh organisations whose estimates can vary vastly with no statistically valuable source. Thus, official statistics and census data is highly important and Sikh communities continue to push for census inclusion in many countries where they are still not counted. Migration Sikh migration from British India began in earnest during the second half of the 19th century, when the British completed their annexation of the Punjab, which led to Sikh migration throughout India and the British Empire. During the Raj, semiskilled Sikh artisans were transported from the Punjab to British East Africa to help build railroads. Sikhs emigrated from India after World War II, most going to the United Kingdom but many also to North America. Some Sikhs who had settled in eastern Africa were expelled by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 1972.[152] Economics is a major factor in Sikh migration, and significant communities exist in the United Kingdom, the United States, Malaysia, East Africa, Australia, Singapore and Thailand. After the Partition of India in 1947, many Sikhs from what would become the Punjab of Pakistan migrated to India as well as to Afghanistan due to fear of persecution. Afghanistan was home to hundreds of thousands of Sikhs and Hindus as of the 1970s, but due to the wars in Afghanistan in the 2010s, the vast majority of Afghan Sikhs had migrated to India, Pakistan or the west.[153][154][155] Although the rate of Sikh migration from the Punjab has remained high, traditional patterns of Sikh migration favouring English-speaking countries (particularly the United Kingdom) have changed during the past decade due to stricter immigration laws. Moliner (2006) wrote that as a consequence of Sikh migration to the UK becoming "virtually impossible since the late 1970s," migration patterns evolved to continental Europe.[156] Italy is a rapidly growing destination for Sikh migration,[157] with Reggio Emilia and Vicenza having significant Sikh population clusters.[158] Italian Sikhs are generally involved in agriculture, agricultural processing, the manufacture of machine tools, and horticulture.[159] Growth A group of Sikh people Johnson and Barrett (2004) estimate that the global Sikh population increases annually by 392,633 (1.7% per year, based on 2004 figures); this percentage includes births, deaths, and conversions. Primarily for socio-economic reasons, Indian Sikhs have the lowest adjusted growth rate of any major religious group in India, at 16.9 percent per decade (estimated from 1991 to 2001) and it have further declined to just 8.4 per cent in 2011 census report.[160][161] Sikhs in the world have the lowest fertility rate of 1.6 children per women as per (2019–20) estimation research.[162][163] The Sikh population has the lowest gender balance in India, with only 903 women per 1,000 men according to the 2011 Indian census.[164] The estimated world's Sikh population was over 30 million in 2020, and it will reach 42 million by 2050. It is expected to increase up to 62 million by 2100, given that the anticipated growth rate of 1.7% per year and adding at least 400,000 followers annually.[165][161] Since the Sikh growth rate dropped from 1.7% (16.9% in 1991 to 2001 estimate) to 0.84%(8.4% in 2001-2011) in 2011 report,hence based on their growth rate,their population will increase 196,316(0.84% based on 2011 figures) per year and will reach 36 million in 2050,it expected to reach 52 million in 2100 given that the anticipated growth rate of 0.84% and adding at least 200,000 followers annually..[166][167] Sikhism is the fastest growing religion in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The growth is mainly contributed by the immigration of Indian Sikhs there over the decades. Sikhism is fourth-largest religion in Canada, fifth-largest religion in Australia and New Zealand. The decadal growth of Sikhs is more in those countries as compared to the decadal growth of Sikh population in India, thus making them the fastest-growing religion there.[168][13][169][170] Canada has the highest proportion of Sikhs in the globe, which stands at 2.12% as of 2021,[13] as compared to India which stands at 1.72% as of 2011 respectively.[171] Castes Since Sikhism has never actively sought converts, Sikhs have remained a relatively homogeneous ethnic group. Caste may still be practiced by some Sikhs, despite Guru Nanak's calls for treating everyone equally in Sri Granth Sahib.[172][c] Along with Guru Nanak, other Sikh gurus had also denounced the hierarchy of the caste system, however, they all belonged to the same caste, the Khatris.[176] Most Sikhs belong to the Jat (Jatt), traditionally agrarian in occupation.[177] Despite being very small in numbers, the Khatri and Arora (Moneylenders) castes also wield considerable influence within the Sikh community. Other common Sikh castes include Ahluwalias (brewers), Kambojs or Kambos (rural caste), Ramgarhias (artisans), Brahmins (Priestly class), Rajputs (kshatriyas), Sainis (agrarian), Rai Sikh (rural caste), Labanas (merchants), Kumhars, Mazhabi and the Ramdasia/Ravidasias(Chamar).[178] Some Sikhs, especially those belonging to the landowning dominant castes, have not shed all their prejudices against the Dalits. While Dalits were allowed entry into the village gurdwaras, in some gurdwaras, they were not be permitted to cook or serve langar (communal meal). Therefore, wherever they could mobilize resources, the Sikh Dalits of Punjab have tried to construct their own gurdwara and other local level institutions in order to attain a certain degree of cultural autonomy.[172] In 1953, Sikh leader and activist Master Tara Singh succeeded in persuading the Indian government to include Sikh castes of the converted untouchables in the list of scheduled castes.[179] In the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, 20 of the 140 seats are reserved for low-caste Sikhs.[179] Other castes (over 1,000 members) include the Arain, Bhatra, Bairagi, Bania, Basith, Bawaria, Bazigar, Bhabra, Chamar, Chhimba (cotton farmers), Darzi, Dhobi, Gujar, Jhinwar, Kahar, Kalal, Kumhar, Lohar, Mahtam, Megh, Mirasi, Mochi, Nai, Ramgharia, Sansi, Sudh, Tarkhan and Kashyap[citation needed] Karnail Singh Panjoli, member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, says that there are several communities within the term Nanakpanthis too. Apart from Sindhi Hindus, "There are groups like Sikhligarh, Vanjaarey, Nirmaley, Lubaney, Johri, Satnamiye, Udaasiyas, Punjabi Hindus, etc. who call themselves Nanakpanthis despite being Hindus.[180] Diaspora As Sikhs wear turbans and keep beards, Sikh men in Western countries have been mistaken for Muslim, Arabic, and/or Afghan since the September 11 attacks and the Iraq War.[181][182] Several days after the 9/11 attacks, Sikh-American gas station owner Balbir Singh Sodhi was murdered in Arizona by a man who took Sodhi to be a member of al-Qaeda, marking the first recorded hate-crime in America motivated by 9/11. CNN would go on to suggest an increase in hate crimes against Sikh men in the US and the UK after the 9/11 attacks.[181][182] In an attempt to foster Sikh leaders in the Western world, youth initiatives by a number of organisations exist. The Sikh Youth Alliance of North America sponsors an annual Sikh Youth Symposium. The Sikh diaspora has been most successful in the UK, and UK Sikhs have the highest percentage of home ownership (82%) of any religious community.[183] UK Sikhs are the second-wealthiest religious group in the UK (after the Jewish community), with a median total household wealth of £229,000.[184] In May 2019, the UK government exempted "Kirpan" from the list of banned knives. The U.K. government passed an amendment by which Sikhs in the country would be allowed to carry kirpans and use them during religious and cultural functions. The bill was amended to ensure that it would not impact the right of the British Sikh community to possess and supply kirpans, or religious swords.[185][186] Similarly, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund overturned a 1925 Oregon law banning the wearing of turbans by teachers and government officials in 2010.[187] Agriculture Historically, most Indians have been farmers and 66 per cent of the Indian population are engaged in agriculture.[188] Indian Sikhs are employed in agriculture to a lesser extent; India's 2001 census found 39 per cent of the working population of the Punjab employed in this sector.[189] According to the Swedish political scientist Ishtiaq Ahmad, a factor in the success of the Indian green revolution was the "Sikh cultivator, often the Jat and Kamboj or Kamboh, whose courage, perseverance, spirit of enterprise and muscle prowess proved crucial."[190] However, Indian physicist Vandana Shiva[191] wrote that the green revolution made the "negative and destructive impacts of science (i.e. the green revolution) on nature and society" invisible, and was a catalyst for Punjabi Sikh and Hindu tensions despite a growth in material wealth. Sikhs in modern history Main article: List of Sikhs Manmohan Singh is an Indian economist, academic, and politician who served as the 13th Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014. The first and only Sikh and non-Hindu in office, Singh was also the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term. Notable Sikhs in science include nuclear scientist Piara Singh Gill, fibre-optics pioneer Narinder Singh Kapany; and physicist, science writer and broadcaster Simon Singh. In business, the UK-based clothing retailers New Look and the Thai-based JASPAL[192] were founded by Sikhs. India's largest pharmaceutical company, Ranbaxy Laboratories, is headed by Sikhs.[193] Apollo Tyres is headed by Onkar Singh Kanwar. In Singapore, Kartar Singh Thakral expanded his family's trading business, Thakral Holdings,[194] into assets totalling almost US$1.4 billion and is Singapore's 25th-richest person. Sikh Bob Singh Dhillon is the first Indo-Canadian billionaire. Mastercard's CEO was a Sikh named Ajaypal Singh Banga. In sports, Sikhs include England cricketer Monty Panesar; former 400-metre runner Milkha Singh; his son, professional golfer Jeev Milkha Singh; Indian wrestler and actor Dara Singh; former Indian hockey team captains Sandeep Singh, Ajitpal Singh and Balbir Singh Sr.; former Indian cricket captain Bishen Singh Bedi; Harbhajan Singh, India's most successful off spin cricket bowler; Yuvraj Singh, World Cup winning allrounder; Maninder Singh, World Cup winning off spinner; and Navjot Singh Sidhu, former Indian cricketer-turned-politician. Sikhs in Bollywood, in the arts in general, include poet and lyricist Rajkavi Inderjeet Singh Tulsi; Gulzar; Jagjit Singh; Dharmendra; Sunny Deol; writer Khushwant Singh; actresses Neetu Singh, Simran Judge, Poonam Dhillon, Mahi Gill, Esha Deol, Parminder Nagra, Gul Panag, Mona Singh, Namrata Singh Gujral; and directors Gurinder Chadha and Parminder Gill. Sikhs in Punjabi Music industry include Sidhu Moosewala, Diljit Dosanjh, Babu Singh Maan, Surjit Bindrakhia, Ammy Virk, Karan Aujla, Jazzy B, Miss Pooja. In the Indian and British armies Main article: Sikhs in the British Indian Army According to a 1994 estimate, Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus comprised 10 to 15% of all ranks in the Indian Army. The Indian government does not release religious or ethnic origins of a military personnel, but a 1991 report by Tim McGirk estimated that 20% of Indian Army officers were Sikhs.[195] Together with the Gurkhas recruited from Nepal, the Maratha Light Infantry from Maharashtra and the Jat Regiment, the Sikhs are one of the few communities to have exclusive regiments in the Indian Army.[195] The Sikh Regiment is one of the most-decorated regiments in the army, with 73 Battle Honours, 14 Victoria Crosses,[196] 21 first-class Indian Orders of Merit (equivalent to the Victoria Cross),[197] 15 Theatre Honours, 5 COAS Unit Citations, two Param Vir Chakras, 14 Maha Vir Chakras, 5 Kirti Chakras, 67 Vir Chakras, and 1,596 other awards. The highest-ranking general in the history of the Indian Air Force is a Punjabi Sikh, Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh.[198] Plans by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence for a Sikh infantry regiment were scrapped in June 2007.[199] Sikhs supported the British during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.[200] By the beginning of World War I, Sikhs in the British Indian Army totaled over 100,000 (20 per cent of the force). Until 1945, fourteen Victoria Crosses (VC) were awarded to Sikhs, a per-capita regimental record.[196] In 2002, the names of all Sikh VC and George Cross recipients were inscribed on the monument of the Memorial Gates[201] on Constitution Hill, next to Buckingham Palace.[202] Chanan Singh Dhillon was instrumental in campaigning for the memorial. During World War I, Sikh battalions fought in Egypt, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Gallipoli and France. Six battalions of the Sikh Regiment were raised during World War II, serving in the Second Battle of El Alamein, the Burma and Italian campaigns and in Iraq, receiving 27 battle honours. Around the world, Sikhs are commemorated in Commonwealth cemeteries.[203] Sikhs in the First World War, marching with their scripture, Guru Granth Sahib Sikhs in the First World War, marching with their scripture, Guru Granth Sahib   Postcard of marching Sikhs with rifles French postcard depicting the arrival of the 15th Sikh Regiment in France during World War I; the bilingual postcard reads, "Gentlemen of India marching to chasten the German hooligans"   Indian Sikh soldiers in the Italian campaign Indian Sikh soldiers in the Italian campaign   Sikh soldier with captured Swastika flag of Nazi Germany Sikh soldier with captured Swastika flag of Nazi Germany   See caption Japanese soldiers shooting blindfolded Sikh prisoners in World War II Khalistan movement Sikhs in London protesting against Indian government actions The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement, which seeks to create a separate country called Khalistān ("The Land of the Khalsa") in the Punjab region of South Asia to serve as a homeland for Sikhs.[204] The territorial definition of the proposed country Khalistan consists of both the Punjab, India, along with Punjab, Pakistan, and includes parts of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Rajasthan.[205][206][207] Khalistan movement began as an expatriate venture.[208] In 1971, the first explicit call for Khalistan was made in an advertisement published in the New York Times by an expat (Jagjit Singh Chohan).[209] By proclaiming the formation of Khalistan, he was able to collect millions of dollars from the Sikh diaspora.[210] On 12 April 1980, he declared the formation of the "National Council of Khalistan", at Anandpur Sahib.[211] He declared himself as the President of the council, and named Balbir Singh Sandhu as its Secretary General. In May 1980, Chohan traveled to London and announced the formation of Khalistan. A similar announcement was made by Balbir Singh Sandhu in Amritsar, where he began releasing stamps and currency of Khalistan. The inaction of the authorities in Amritsar and elsewhere was decried as a political stunt by the Congress(I) party of Indira Gandhi by the Akali Dal, headed by the Sikh leader Harchand Singh Longowal.[212] The movement flourished in the Indian state of Punjab following Operation Blue Star and the Anti-Sikh Pogroms. As proponents were able to generate funding from a grieving diaspora. In June 1985, Air India Flight 182 was bombed by Babbar Khalsa, a pro-Khalistani terrorist organization.[213] In January 1986, the Golden Temple was occupied by militants belonging to All India Sikh Students Federation and Damdami Taksal.[214] On 26 January 1986, a gathering known as the Sarbat Khalsa (a de facto parliament) passed a resolution (gurmattā) favouring the creation of Khalistan. Subsequently, a number of rebel militant groups in favour of Khalistan waged a major insurgency against the government of India. Indian security forces suppressed the insurgency in the early 1990s, but Sikh political groups such as the Khalsa Raj Party and SAD (A) continued to pursue an independent Khalistan through non-violent means.[215][216][217] Pro-Khalistan organisations such as Dal Khalsa (International) are also active outside India, supported by a section of the Sikh diaspora.[218] In the 1990s, the insurgency abated,[219] and the movement failed to reach its objective due to multiple reasons including a heavy police crackdown on separatists, divisions among the Sikhs and loss of support from the Sikh population.[220] However, various pro-Khalistan groups, both political and militant, remain committed to the separatist movement. There are claims of funding from Sikhs outside India to attract young people into militant groups.[221] There have also been multiple claims that the movement is motivated and supported by the Pakistan's external intelligence agency, the ISI.[222][223] Art and culture Main articles: Sikh art and culture and Punjabi culture Intricate design Opaque watercolour-on-paper Nakashi art; about 1880, by an unknown artist from Lahore or Amritsar, and used to decorate the walls of Harmandir Sahib Large building on the water Darbar Sahib, circa 1870 Sikh art and culture are nearly synonymous with that of Punjab, and Sikhs are easily recognised by their distinctive turban (Dastar). Punjab has been called India's melting pot, due to the confluence of invading cultures from the rivers from which the region gets its name. Sikh culture is therefore a synthesis of cultures. Sikhism has forged a unique architecture, which S. S. Bhatti described as "inspired by Guru Nanak's creative mysticism" and "is a mute harbinger of holistic humanism based on pragmatic spirituality".[224] The American non-profit organization United Sikhs has fought to have Sikh included on the U.S. census as well, arguing that Sikhs "self-identify as an ethnic minority" and believe "that they are more than just a religion".[225] During the Mughal and Afghan persecution of the Sikhs during the 17th and 18th centuries,[226] the latter were concerned with preserving their religion and gave little thought to art and culture. With the rise of Ranjit Singh and the Sikh Raj in Lahore and Delhi, there was a change in the landscape of art and culture in Punjab; Hindus and Sikhs could build decorated shrines without the fear of destruction or looting.[227] The Sikh Confederacy was the catalyst for a uniquely Sikh form of expression, with Ranjit Singh commissioning forts, palaces, bungas (residential places), and colleges in a Sikh style. Sikh architecture is characterised by gilded fluted domes, cupolas, kiosks, stone lanterns, ornate balusters, and square roofs. A pinnacle of Sikh style is Harmandir Sahib (also known as the Golden Temple) in Amritsar. Sikh culture is influenced by militaristic motifs (with the Khanda the most obvious), and most Sikh artifacts—except for the relics of the Gurus—have a military theme. This theme is evident in the Sikh festivals of Hola Mohalla and Vaisakhi, which feature marching and displays of valor. Although the art and culture of the Sikh diaspora have merged with that of other Indo-immigrant groups into categories like "British Asian", "Indo-Canadian" and "Desi-Culture", a minor cultural phenomenon that can be described as "political Sikh" has arisen.[228] The art of diaspora Sikhs like Amarjeet Kaur Nandhra, and Amrit and Rabindra Kaur Singh (The Singh Twins)[229] is influenced by their Sikhism and current affairs in Punjab. Bhangra and Giddha are two forms of Punjabi folk dancing which have been adapted and pioneered by Sikhs. Punjabi Sikhs have championed these forms of expression worldwide, resulting in Sikh culture becoming linked to Bhangra (although "Bhangra is not a Sikh institution but a Punjabi one").[230] Painting Painting of Guru Nanak with companions, Bhai Mardana and Bhai Bala, in debate with the Siddhs Sikh painting is a direct offshoot of the Kangra school of painting. In 1810, Ranjeet Singh (1780–1839) occupied Kangra Fort and appointed Sardar Desa Singh Majithia his governor of the Punjab hills. In 1813, the Sikh army occupied Guler State, and Raja Bhup Singh became a vassal of the Sikhs. With the Sikh kingdom of Lahore becoming the paramount power, some of the Pahari painters from Guler migrated to Lahore for the patronage of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh and his Sardars. The Sikh school adapted Kangra painting to Sikh needs and ideals. Its main subjects are the ten Sikh gurus and stories from Guru Nanak's Janamsakhis. The tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, left a deep impression on the followers of the new faith because of his courage and sacrifices. Hunting scenes and portraits are also common in Sikh painting. Shrines There is an old Sikh shrine called 'Prachin Guru Nanak Math', which lies at a small hill, just next to Bishnumati bridge at Balaju. Guru Nanak is said to have visited Nepal during his third Udasi while returning from Mount Kailash in Tibet. Nanak is said to have stayed at Balaju and Thapathali in Kathmandu. The Nanak Math shrine at Balaju is managed by the Guru-Ji and the Udasin Akardha, a sect developed by Guru Nanak's son, Sri Chandra.[231][232] See also History of Punjab Ganga Sagar (urn) Jat Sikh List of British Sikhs Mazhabi Sikh Sects of Sikhism Sikhism by country Sikhism in India Turban training centre Indian Sikhs number approximately 21 million people and account for 1.7% of India's population as of 2011, forming the country's fourth-largest religious group. The majority of the nation's Sikhs live in the northern state of Punjab, which is the only Sikh-majority administrative division in the world. India is home to the majority of the global Sikh population, and also has the second-largest Sikh proportion in the world, behind Canada. History Main article: History of Sikhism Partition Sikh organizations, including the Chief Khalsa Dewan and Shiromani Akali Dal led by Master Tara Singh, strongly opposed the partition of India, viewing the possibility of the creation of Pakistan as inviting persecution.[4] Demography The Gurdwara Bangla Sahib Population India's Sikh population stands at 20.8 million, which is only 1.72% of the country's total population. Out of approximately 25-30 million Sikhs in the world, the majority of them, 20.8-22 million, live in India that is about (83.2%-84.1%) of the world's Sikh population.[5][6] Sikhs have a fertility rate of 1.6 in India, which is the lowest in the nation as per as according to year 2019-21 estimation.[7] Half a million Sikhs have made Canada their home, and though they constitute 1.4% of the total population, they have had a notable impact on Canadian society and national politics.[8] Out of the total Sikhs in India, 77% are concentrated in state of Punjab. Sikhism is the dominant religion in Punjab, India, where it is followed by 16 million constituting 57.7% of the population, the only Indian state where Sikhism is the majority faith. By 2050, according to Pew research center based on growth rate of current Sikh population between (2001-2011), India will have 30,012,386 Sikhs by half-century which will be more than that of any country including the west.[9] National and ethnic origins Although Punjabi Sikhs form the majority of the Sikh population, the Sikh community is varied and includes people who speak the Pashto language, the Brahui language, the Telugu language, Marathi language, Assamese language, Hindi language, Sindhi language, Bengali language and many more. The many communities following Sikhism is detailed below. Afghan Sikhs Main article: Sikhism in Afghanistan The Sikhs of Afghanistan are primarily Punjabi merchants and immigrants.[10][11] They speak the Punjabi language within themselves but are usually fluent in Dari and occasionally Pashto as well.[12] Bengali Sikhs Sikhism in the Bengal region dates back to 1504 but has declined after the partition.[13] Sikhism first emerged in Bengal when Guru Nanak visited Bengal in 1504 and established a number of Gurdwaras.[14] By the early 18th century, there were a few Sikhs living in the region of Bengal.[15] One famous Sikh who lived during this time period was Omichand, a local Khatri Sikh banker and landlord who participate in the conspiracy against Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah with the East India Company.[15][16] The Flemish artist Frans Baltazard Solvyns arrived in Calcutta in 1791 and observed many Sikhs, whom one could differentiate from the rest of the land's inhabitants by their garbs and traditions.[15] He etched depictions of a Khalsa Sikh and a Nanakpanthi, which was published in 1799.[15] Gurdwara Nanak Shahi is the principal Sikh Gurdwara (prayer hall) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is located at the campus of the University of Dhaka and considered to be the biggest of the 7 Gurdwaras in the country. After the Partition of India, the Sikh community left for India.[14] After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and Bangladesh Liberation War, Indian Sikh soldiers helped renovate the Gurdwaras left in Bangladesh.[citation needed] Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur ji visited Dhaka. There is another Sikh temple known as the Gurudwara Sangat Tola. Many Sikhs also used to visit a well at the ruins of Jafarabad which they believed has waters with curative powers.[17] There was a presence of Sikhism in Sylhet Division after Guru Nanak's visit in 1508. Kahn Singh Nabha has stated that in memory of Nanak's visit, Gurdwara Sahib Sylhet was established.[citation needed] This Gurdwara was visited twice by Tegh Bahadur and many hukamnamas were issued to this temple by Guru Gobind Singh. In 1897, the gurdwara fell down after the earthquake. Nearly all the Sikhs of Sylhet in the early 18th century were found in North Cachar where they used to work for the Assam Bengal Railway.[18] There are around 1 lakh Bengali people who follow Sikhism as their religion in both West Bengal and Bangladesh.[19] Assamese Sikhs The presence of Sikhism has been existing in Assam[20] for over 200 years. The community traces its origins to the times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who took his army to Assam and put some influence of the religion towards the locals. According to the 2001 census, there were 22,519 Sikhs in Assam,[21] out of which 4,000 are Assamese Sikhs.[19] Assamese Sikhs follow the Sikh religion and celebrate Sikh festivals as they also celebrate cultural festivals such as Magh Bihu and wear traditional Assamese dress. Their language is the Assamese language.[19][22] Agrahari Sikhs Agrahari Sikh is a Sikh community found in Bihar and Jharkhand. Agrahari Sikhs, also known as Bihari Sikhs, have existed for centuries in Bihar and Jharkhand.[23] Bihari Sikhs share their culture with the local Bihari community. The men generally wear the local dhoti and women wear the Sari. They also celebrate Hindu festivals such as the Chath festival.[24] Dakhni Sikhs Dakhni Sikhs are from the Deccan Plateau in India located within the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.[25] The traditional dress of women is the sari. The native language of Dakhni Sikhs is the Telugu language.[26] Kashmiri Sikhs Ethnic Kashmiri Sikhs speak the Kashmiri language and observe Kashmiri culture. They trace their religious heritage to the influence of Sikh soldiers who settled in Kashmir under the Maharaja Ranjit Singh rule in 1819. However, the soldiers permanently settled in Kashmir.[27] Punjabi Sikhs Punjabi Sikhs are the native Sikhs of undivided Punjab region who speaks the Punjabi language as their mother tongue and practice Punjabi culture. Their traditional dress includes the Punjabi Salwar Suit, Punjabi Tamba and Kurta, Punjabi juti and Patiala salwar. In addition to the Sikh festivals using the Nanakshahi calendar, Punjabi Sikhs observe traditional Punjabi festivals using the Punjabi calendar. Sindhi Sikhs Main article: Sindhis in India See also: Sikhism in Pakistan In addition to celebrating Sikh festivals, Sindhi Sikhs celebrate cultural festivals such as Cheti Chand, the Sindhi new year. Sindhi Sikhs speak the Sindhi language. Most of the Sindhi Hindus are Nanak Panthis who believe in 10 Sikh Gurus and regularly go to guru dwara and most of the Marriage also takes place in Gurudwara.[28] South Indian Sikhs There are Sikh communities in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra who converted to Sikhism centuries ago. The Sikhs comprise Banjara and Satnami. The process of blending the religion into southern India for the Sikligars began at the time of 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, who came to the Deccan and died in 1708 at Nanded (Maharashtra). It all came by the Sikligars as they came to southern India as expert arms-making camp followers of the tenth Guru. Sikligar is a compound of the Persian words `saiqal` and `gar` meaning a polisher of metal.[25] The traditional occupation of the Sikligars is crafting kitchen implements. Banjaras are a nomadic tribe who traditionally travelled with merchandise and are found across a large swathe of northern India, as well as in the south. Sikh Banjaras too travelled with armies of the past supplying them with provisions.[25] Geographical distribution Sikhs as percentage of total population in different districts of India, 2011 Census Indian Sikhs by state and union territory  State/U.T. 2011 Indian Census[29] Pop. %  Punjab 16,004,754 57.69%  Haryana 1,243,752 4.91%  Rajasthan 872,930 1.27%  Uttar Pradesh 643,500 0.32%  Delhi 570,581 3.4% Uttarakhand 236,340 2.34%  Jammu and Kashmir 232,585 1.9%  Maharashtra 223,247 0.2%  Madhya Pradesh 151,412 0.21% Chandigarh 138,329 13.11% Himachal Pradesh 79,896 1.16%  Jharkhand 71,422 0.22%  Chhattisgarh 70,036 0.27%  West Bengal 63,523 0.07%  Gujarat 58,246 0.1%  Telangana 30,340 0.09%  Karnataka 28,773 0.05%  Bihar 23,779 0.02%  Odisha 21,991 0.05%  Assam 20,672 0.07%  Tamil Nadu 14,601 0.02% Andhra Pradesh 9,904 0.02%  Kerala 3,814 0.01% Arunachal Pradesh 3,287 0.24%  Meghalaya 3,045 0.1%  Ladakh 2,263 0.83%  Nagaland 1,890 0.1%  Sikkim 1,868 0.31% Manipur 1,527 0.05% Goa 1,473 0.1%  Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1,286 0.34%  Tripura 1,070 0.03%  Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu 389 0.07%  Puducherry 297 0.02%  Mizoram 286 0.03%  Lakshadweep 8 0.01%  India 20,833,116 1.72% Notable Indian Sikhs Main article: List of Sikhs Though Sikhs are a minority in India, the community occupies a significant place in the country. The former Chief Justice of India, Jagdish Singh Khehar, and the former Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh[30] are Sikh, as is former President of India Gyani Zail Singh. Almost every council of ministers in India has included Sikh representatives. Sikhs are also conspicuous in the Indian army, primarily because of their history as defenders of righteousness, they formed the sword arm of the British empire. The Late Indian officer with a 5 star rank, Arjan Singh, is a Sikh. Sikhs have also led the Indian army through JJ Singh and the Indian Air Force was led by Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh. Sikhs have been prominent in Indian sports, with the Indian individual gold medalist in Olympics, Abhinav Bindra, being a Sikh. Similarly they occupy important official positions, like Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia;[31] governor Surjit Singh Barnala. Sikhs are also known for entrepreneurial business in India. Milkha Singh, also known as The Flying Sikh, is a former Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. One reason for visibility of Sikhs in the Indian spectrum is the disproportionate role played by the Sikh community during the Indian freedom struggle, with Bhagat Singh remaining a youth icon to Indian youth.[32] See also flag India portal List of famous Sikhs Religion in India Cochin Sikhs Sikhism Sikhism in Pakistan Sikh culture The Sikhs are adherents to Sikhism, the fifth largest organized religion in the world, with around 25 million adherents.[1] Sikh History is around 500 years and in that time the Sikhs have developed unique expressions of art and culture which are influenced by their faith and synthesize traditions from many other cultures depending on the locality of the adherents of the religion. Sikhism is the only religion that originated in the Punjab region with all other religions coming from outside Punjab (with the possible exception of Punjabi Hinduism since the oldest Hindu scripture – the Rig Veda – was composed in the Punjab region. Some other religions, like Jainism, may also claim to have originated in Punjab since Jain symbolism has been found among artifacts of the Indus Valley Civilization). All the Sikh gurus, many saints, and many of the martyrs in Sikh history were from Punjab and from the Punjabi people (as well as other parts of the Indian Subcontinent). Punjabi culture and Sikhism are mistakenly considered inseparably intertwined. "Sikh" properly refers to adherents of Sikhism as a religion, strictly not an ethnic group. However, because Sikhism has seldom sought converts, most Sikhs share strong ethno-religious ties, therefore it is a common stereotype that all Sikhs share the same ethnicity. Many countries, such as the U.K., therefore misconcievingly recognize Sikh as a designated ethnicity on their censuses.[2] The American non-profit organization United Sikhs has fought to have Sikhs included on the U.S. census as well, arguing that Sikhs "self-identify as an 'ethnic minority'" and believe "that they are more than just a religion".[3] Cultural societies of the Sikhs True-colour photograph - ‘Group of Tibetans at the “Golden Temple” of the Sikhs’, 15 January 1914 There is a common misconception that all Sikhs belong to the Punjab region. The religion's birthplace of Punjab itself has been called "India’s melting pot",[4] and many other parts of Northern India due to the heavy influence of invading cultures, such as Mughal and Persian, that mirrors the confluence of rivers from which the region gets its name(from Persian, "panj" پنج meaning "five" and "-āb" آب meaning water thus meaning land of the five waters). Thus, Sikh culture is to a large extent a result of groups of various cultures uniting together, thus forming a unique one. Sikhism has forged a unique form of architecture which Bhatti describes as being "inspired by Guru Nanak’s creative mysticism" such that Sikh architecture "is a mute harbinger of holistic humanism based on pragmatic spirituality".[5] The keynote of Sikh architecture is the Gurdwara which is the personification of the "melting pot" of Indian cultures, full of Mughal, Aryan and Persian influences. The reign of the Sikh Empire was the single biggest catalyst in the creation of a uniquely Sikh form of expression, with Maharajah Ranjit Singh patronising the building of forts, palaces, bungs (residential places), colleges, etc. that can be said to be of the Sikh Style. The "jewel in the crown" of the Sikh Style is the Harmandir Sahib. Sikh culture and identity are heavily influenced by militaristic motifs, with Khanda being the most obvious; thus it is no surprise that the majority of Sikh artifacts, independent of the relics of the Gurus, have a military theme. This motif is again evident in the Sikh festivals of Hola Mohalla and Vasakhi which feature marching and practicing displays of valor, respectively. The art, culture, identity, and society of the Sikhs have been merged with the different localities and ethnicities of different Sikhs into categories such as 'Agrahari Sikhs', 'Dakhni Sikhs' and 'Assamese Sikhs'; however there has emerged a niche cultural phenomenon that can be described as 'Political Sikh'. The art of prominent diaspora Sikhs such as Amarjeet Kaur Nandhra,[6] and Amrit and Rabindra Kaur Singh (The Singh Twins),[7] is partly informed by their Sikh spirituality and influence. Culture of Sikh communities Dusenbery (2014) states that Punjabi Sikhs form the majority of the Sikh population. He notes that "some Sindhis and other South Asians have been affiliated at the margins as Nanakpanthis (‘followers of Nanak’s path’) or Sehajdhari (‘slow adopter’) Sikhs" but in the main, "the Sikh Panth has remained largely a Punjabi affair".[8] However, the Sikh community is varied and includes people who speak the Pashto language, the Sindhi language, the Telugu language and many more. The many communities following Sikhism are detailed below. Afghani Sikhs Main article: Sikhism in Afghanistan The Sikhs of Afghanistan have a unique culture which has elements of the culture of Afghanistan. Tatla (2014) states that there were 3,000 Sikhs in Afghanistan in his book The Sikh Diaspora which was published in 2014.[9] American Sikhs Main article: Sikhism in the United States Yogi Bhajan is credited with raising awareness of Sikhism amongst the non-Asian community of the United States of America. This community is known as the white Sikh community which practices Sikhism and maintains a distinct culture.[10] Assamese Sikhs See also: Sikhism_in_India § Assamese_Sikhs The presence of Sikhism has existed in Assam[11] for over 200 years. The community traces its origins to the times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who took his army to Assam and put some influence of the religion towards the locals. According to the 2001 census, there were 22,519 Sikhs in Assam,[12] out of which 4,000 are Assamese Sikhs.[13] Assamese Sikhs follow the Sikh religion and celebrate Sikh festivals. They also celebrate cultural festivals such as Magh Bihu and wear traditional Assamese dress. Their language is the Assamese language.[13][14] Agrahari Sikhs Main article: Agrahari Sikh Agrahari Sikh is a Sikh community found in eastern India including the states of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. Agrahari Sikhs, also known as Bihari Sikhs, have existed for centuries in Bihar and Jharkhand.[15] Bihari Sikhs share their culture with the local Bihari community. The men generally wear the local dhoti and women wear the sari. They also celebrate cultural festivals such as the Chath festival.[16] Dakhni Sikhs See also: Sikhism_in_India § South_Indian_Sikhs Painting depicting the wedding of Guru Nanak from a 19th century illustrated manuscript of the Janamsakhi from Maharashtra Dakhni Sikhs are from the Deccan Plateau in India located within the states of Maharashtra, Telegana and Andhra Pradesh.[17] The traditional dress of women is the sari. The native languages of Dakhni Sikhs include Marathi and Telugu.[18] Kashmiri Sikhs Ethnic Kashmiri Sikhs speak the Kashmiri language and observe Kashmiri culture. They trace their religious heritage to the influence of Sikh soldiers who settled in Kashmir under Maharaja Ranjit Singh's rule in 1819. However, the soldiers permanently settled in Kashmir.[19] Punjabi Sikhs Main article: Punjabi Sikhs See also: Punjabis, Sikhism in Pakistan, and Religion in Punjab Punjabi Sikhs follow the Punjabi culture. Their traditional dress includes the Punjabi Salwar Suit, Punjabi Tamba and Kurta, Punjabi juti and Patiala salwar. In addition to the Sikh festivals using the Nanakshahi calendar, Punjabi Sikhs observe traditional Punjabi festivals using the Punjabi calendar. Sindhi Sikhs Main article: Sindhis in India See also: Sikhism in Pakistan In addition to celebrating Sikh festivals, Sindhi Sikhs celebrate cultural festivals such as Cheti Chand, the Sindhi new year. Sindhi Sikhs speak the Sindhi language. Khalsa Sikhs historically had a stronghold in Kandhra, Khairpur during the reign of the Talpur Mirs (1775–1955).[20] However, most Sikhs in Sindh are followers of the Udasi, Sewapanthi, and Nanakpanthi sects.[21][22] Only around 8,000–10,000 people in present-day Sindh are mainstream, orthodox Khalsa Sikh. The vast majority belong to the aforementioned sects whom may practice varying degrees of religious kinship and syncretism with Hinduism and Sufism.[23][24][25][26] Udasis are generally concentrated in northern Sindh whilst Nanakpanthis can be found throughout the region except in areas of the Rajasthani cultural sphere (Dhatki-speaking areas) who practice a more mainstream, non-syncretic, and differentiated form of Hinduism.[27] Nanakpanth and Udasipanth are different sects of Sikhism, with a major difference being that Udasis adopt a life-hood of celibacy whilst Nanakpanthis freely marry and bear children.[22] Another Sikh sect, the Jagiasi, who claim to have been founded by the younger son of Guru Nanak named Lakhmi Das, were also historically prevalent in Sindh, especially during the period of Baba Gurupat, who was a descendant of Guru Nanak.[28][29][30][31] Baba Gurupat conducted missionary works in Sindh and founded many Jagiasu tikanas (seats; a term for a place of worship in many Sikh sects) in the region, specifically in Khairpur, Hyderabad, Halani, and Kandyaro.[28][29][30][31] Sindhis may have been converting to Sikhism ever since the time of Guru Nanak, who traveled to the region.[32] Janamsakhi literature narrate that Guru Nanak traveled to Shikarpur, possibly as far as Sukkur.[32] Sindhi women learnt the Gurmukhi script in-order to understand the Guru Granth Sahib.[32] A lot of converts to Sikhism came from the Amil caste.[32] The Chief Khalsa Diwan sent out orthodox Sikh missionaries to Sindh in the 1930s to preach towards Sehajdharis (literally "slow adopters"), which dominated the landscape of Sikhism in Sindh.[32] The result was the number of Keshdhari (those who keep uncut hair) Sikhs recorded increasing from 1,000 in the 1901 census to over 39,000 in the 1941 census.[32] Sant Thahriya Singh was a prominent Sindhi Sikh saint of the 20th century, and many gurdwaras are constructed in his name in the region.[32] South Indian Sikhs See also: Sikhism_in_India § South_Indian_Sikhs Tanjore-style painting of a Sikh couple from South India, circa 1805 There are Sikh communities in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra who converted to Sikhism centuries ago. The Sikhs comprise Banjara and Satnami. The process of blending the religion into southern India for the Sikligars began at the time of the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, who came to the Deccan and died in 1708 at Nanded (Maharashtra). It all came by the Sikligars as they came to southern India as expert arms-making camp followers of the tenth Guru. Sikligar is a compound of the Persian words `saiqal` and `gar` meaning a polisher of metal.[17] The traditional occupation of the Sikligars is crafting kitchen implements. Banjaras are a nomadic tribe who traditionally travelled with merchandise and are found across a large swathe of northern India, as well as in the south. Sikh Banjaras too travelled with armies of the past supplying them with provisions.[17] Gallery A frontispiece to the Dasam Granth. A frontispiece to the Dasam Granth.   The Bardari of Ranjit Singh, built in the Hazuri Bagh. The Bardari of Ranjit Singh, built in the Hazuri Bagh.   Gateway of the Ram Bagh, North-East of Amritsar; built by Maharajah Ranjit Singh. Gateway of the Ram Bagh, North-East of Amritsar; built by Maharajah Ranjit Singh.   A Sikh helmet from the late 18th century. Note the adaptation on the helmet's crown to allow for a Sikh's uncut hair. A Sikh helmet from the late 18th century. Note the adaptation on the helmet's crown to allow for a Sikh's uncut hair.   One of the gates at the Sikh temple called Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, in Delhi. One of the gates at the Sikh temple called Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, in Delhi.   Illuminated Adi Granth folio with nisan (autograph or signature) of Guru Gobind Singh. Illuminated Adi Granth folio with nisan (autograph or signature) of Guru Gobind Singh.   Detail from Gurdwara Baba Atal. Detail from Gurdwara Baba Atal.   A Opaque Watercolour on paper copy of Nakashi 1880c A Opaque Watercolour on paper copy of Nakashi 1880c   Harmandir Sahib or the Golden Temple, Amritsar, India. Harmandir Sahib or the Golden Temple, Amritsar, India.   Interior of the Akal Takht. Interior of the Akal Takht.   Painting of the durbar of Maharaja Dalip Singh Sukerchakia. Painting of the durbar of Maharaja Dalip Singh Sukerchakia.   Painting of Ranjit Singh and Hira Singh of Nabha. Painting of Ranjit Singh and Hira Singh of Nabha.   The Sikh Order of Merit with a Portrait of Ranjit Singh, directly inspired by the French Légion d'honneur The Sikh Order of Merit with a Portrait of Ranjit Singh, directly inspired by the French Légion d'honneur   Ceiling fresco of female figures from an abandoned Gurdwara located in Mangat village in Pakistan Ceiling fresco of female figures from an abandoned Gurdwara located in Mangat village in Pakistan   Guru Granth Sahib manuscript housed at Sri Keshgarh Sahib, Anandpur and dated to 1803 B.S. (1746 C.E.) beautifully decorated with gold and floral arabesques Guru Granth Sahib manuscript housed at Sri Keshgarh Sahib, Anandpur and dated to 1803 B.S. (1746 C.E.) beautifully decorated with gold and floral arabesques   Equestrian portrait of Guru Gobind Singh attended upon by a Nihang, circa 1850 Equestrian portrait of Guru Gobind Singh attended upon by a Nihang, circa 1850   Guru Nanak engaged in an interfaith dialogue, Janamsakhi painting Guru Nanak engaged in an interfaith dialogue, Janamsakhi painting   Holy men visiting Guru Nanak in a mountainous forest, Mewar painting Holy men visiting Guru Nanak in a mountainous forest, Mewar painting   Illustrations of female figures on a chola (chogha) robe that is said to have belonged to Guru Nanak which was made by and given as a gift by his sister, Bebe Nanaki Illustrations of female figures on a chola (chogha) robe that is said to have belonged to Guru Nanak which was made by and given as a gift by his sister, Bebe Nanaki See also Sikh art Indian art Turban training centre Sikh architecture Sikh scriptures History of Sikhism Punjabi culture Shastar Vidya Sikh chola Sikh Ajaibghar Mehdiana Sahib Punjabi culture grew out of the settlements along the five rivers (the name Punjab, is derived from two Persian words, Panj meaning "Five" and Âb meaning "Water") which served as an important route to the Near East as early as the ancient Indus Valley civilization, dating back to 3000 BCE.[1] Agriculture has been the major economic feature of the Punjab and has therefore formed the foundation of Punjabi culture, with one's social status being determined by landownership.[1] The Punjab emerged as an important agricultural region, especially following the Green Revolution during the mid-1960's to the mid-1970's, has been described as the "breadbasket of both India and Pakistan".[1] Besides being known for agriculture and trade, the Punjab is also a region that over the centuries has experienced many foreign invasions and consequently has a long-standing history of warfare, as the Punjab is situated on the principal route of invasions through the northwestern frontier of the Indian subcontinent, which promoted to adopt a lifestyle that entailed engaging in warfare to protect the land.[1] Warrior culture typically elevates the value of the community's honour (izzat), which is highly esteemed by Punjabis.[1] Music Main article: Music of Punjab Bhangra is one of the many Punjabi musical art forms that are increasingly listened to in the West and becoming a mainstream favourite.[2] Punjabi music is used by western musicians in many ways, such as mixing with other compositions to produce award-winning music. Sufi music and Qawali, commonly practiced in Pakistani Punjab; are other important genres in the Punjab region.[3][4] Dance See also: Punjabi dance Punjabi dances are performed either by men or by women. The dances range from solo to group dances and also sometimes dances are done along with traditional musical instruments. Bhangra is one of the most famous dances originating in the Punjab by farmers during the harvesting season. It was mainly performed while farmers did agricultural chores. As they did each farming activity they would perform bhangra moves on the spot.[5] This allowed them to finish their job in a pleasurable way. For many years, farmers performed bhangra to showcase a sense of accomplishment and to welcome the new harvesting season.[6] Traditional bhangra is performed in a circle[7] and is performed using traditional dance steps. Traditional bhangra is now also performed on occasions other than during the harvest season.[8][9] Ghidda is also a famous dance from Punjab. This dance is for women and originates thousands of years ago, it resembles femininity and beauty.[citation needed] Art Painting in the Punjab developed during the reign of Iltutmish of the Khilji dynasty, who had patronized it.[10] A historical reference to this was made in the Tarikh-I-Ferozeshi.[10] Sikh art, including Sikh painting, is mostly derived from Punjab's art traditions.[10] B.N. Goswamy argues that painting in the Punjab goes back to the 16th century and became influenced by the Mughal school in the early half of the 18th century.[11] Punjabi Sikh forays into painting were mostly limited to wall paintings decorating the walls of religious sites up until the early 19th century.[12] Miniature painting depicting Hindu religious scenes and themes was popular in the Punjab Hills amongst the various Pahari Rajput states.[12] Between 1810–1830, the Sikhs began to commission these Pahari artists to paint Sikh subjects and settings, mostly Sikh royalty and nobility.[12] After Sikhs began to progressively come into more and more contact with Europeans after 1830, the main influence on Punjabi Sikh art shifted from Pahari styles and methods to European ones.[12] The Punjabi form and localization of Company paintings would be born out of this increased interaction between European and Punjabi artists.[12] Thus, Pahari-influenced traditional miniature paintings began to be surmounted by European-influenced Company school paintings.[12] Lahori and Amritsari artists increasingly abandoned using the traditional Indic medium of gouache for watercolour techniques.[12] In 1838–39, a British visitor hired local Punjabi artists to produce pictures covering the various kinds of inhabitants of northern India using British-supplied paper and bound into an album.[12] Images of the Sikh royals and military were documented in these British-patronized local paintings.[12] Many Europeans were employed by the Lahore Durbar, such as the Frenchman Jean-François Allard, and were sponsors of the local arts.[12] A few European artists who visited the Sikh court of Lahore and left a deep impact on the local art were: G. T. Vigne (visited in 1837), William G. Osborne (visited in 1838), Emily Eden (visited in 1838 alongside her brother), and August Schoefft (arrived in 1841).[12] Eden had a large impact, as her published work Portraits of the Princes and People of India (which included lithographic depictions of Sikhs and Punjabis) was a big success and many copies of the work made their way to Punjab where they ended up giving further shape to the emerging Punjabi Company School.[12] Schoefft spent over a year in Punjab painting various local scenes and subjects.[12] During the Anglo-Sikh Wars, many of the British officials and soldiers who made their way to Punjab were artists.[12] An example is Henry Lawrence, who painted local residents of various walks of life.[12] Many Indian artists who followed the Company school were hired to paint Punjabi subjects and settings.[12] When the Sikh Empire was annexed in 1849, local Punjabi artists working in the Company style created works based upon stock sets for the purpose of selling them to European tourists in the local bazaars.[12] These Punjabi paintings geared towards a European audience depicted "Sikh rulers, heroes, occupations, and costumes".[12] Wall paintings Murals (including frescoes) feature prominently in Punjab and showcase various themes.[13] Punjabi murals differ from Punjabi miniature paintings in that the wall paintings were far more readily accessible and viewable by the general masses rather than being mostly an affair restricted to the privileged classes of the society, as in the case of miniatures.[13] Since murals could be seen by all walks of society, the things depicted in them were commonly understood subjects that required no specialized knowledge.[13] Punjabi murals can depict religious or secular settings.[13] Religious themes Mural depicting a scene from Indic mythology, located within the Samadh of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore, ca.1840's. The mythological scene depicted is likely a Vaishnavist scene from the Mahabharata or Ramayana epics. Religious-themed murals are often found at religious shrines, such as Hindu and Sikh temples.[13] Scenes from Indic mythology, such as the Mahabharata, are commonly found, an example being the unveiling of Draupadi.[13] Religious murals depicting female figuratives were often Shaktist in-nature.[13] A prevailing theme of the divine (the Shakti) incarnating in feminine form (these unique forms are given various names, such as Kali) to battle with negative forces (that are hostile to the deities and mankind), including demons (such as Mahishasura) and giants (such as Shumbha and Nishumbha), is a commonly witnessed scene of Punjabi murals.[13] The scenes depicted by this category of wall paintings are seemingly drawn from the Markandeya Purana, which promotes the reverence of Shakti as the divine-mother figure.[13] Other scenes found in Punjabi wall paintings seem to stem from the stories of the Bhagavata Purana.[13] An example of a type of mural scene derived from it is Radha being surrounded by youthful gopis.[13] Krishna is also commonly depicted alongside gopis in this sort of mural.[13] Krishna is sometimes shown playing his flute whilst the gopis perform the ras-lila around him or he is shown stealing clothes from the gopis, an episode known as chira-harana.[13] Aside from Hindu themes, there are also depictions based upon Sikh history and themes, such as Sikh gurus, martyrs (shaheeds), and religious figures (an example being bhagats).[13] Secular themes Fresco depicting a hunting scene from a Punjabi Muslim khangah (Khangah Dargani Shah at Dhun Dhaewal) located on the right bank of the Beas River near Chola Sahib, Tarn Taran district Amid the murals based on profane subjects, depictions of scenes from traditional Punjabi folklore are commonplace, such as Heer Ranjha, Mirza Sahiban, Sohni Mahiwal, Sassi Pannu, Laila Majnun, Raja Rasalu, and more.[13] A lot of the depicted stories are ultimately based upon bardic literature, such as the legends of Shah Behram and Husan Banu.[13] There are also paintings based upon traditional folk ballads, such as Puran Bhagat.[13] Additionally, there are paintings of various Nayika themes, including the Ashta-nayika (eight heroines).[13] There also exists wall paintings based upon the Sat Sai of Bihari.[13] There are further depictions of various royal figures, such as Rani Jindan.[13] Many Punjabi wall paintings depict women and girls in the process of a variety of actions, such as feeding parrots, peacocks, or bucks.[13] Women are also depicted fondling pets or writing love letters in these wall paintings.[13] Fresco depicting a dalliance scene from Jandwal temple in Hoshiarpur district Usually displayed less conspicuously, there were also wall painting depicting sexual or erotic themes.[13] It was a common practice to decorate the walls of Islamic and Hindu palaces with erotic scenes.[13] The Sikh royality and nobality during the reign of the Sikh Empire had their residences embellished with these erotic wall paintings. General Paolo Avitabile had his private residence quarters decorated with figures of scantily clad dancing girls and Indic deities in the act of making love.[13] At the Rani Mahal of erstwhile Nabha State, there are wall paintings of couples having sex in various positions, settings, and emotions based upon the Koka Shastra treatise.[13] However, it is important to note that these erotic-based murals were limited mostly to the areas frequented by the upper-classes of the Punjabi society at the time.[13] Weddings See also: Punjabi wedding traditions Punjabi wedding traditions and ceremonies are traditionally conducted in Punjabi and are a strong reflection of Punjabi culture. While the actual religious marriage ceremony among Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Christians may be conducted in Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Hindi or Pali by the Qazi, Pundit, Granthi or Priest, there are commonalities in ritual, song, dance, food, and dress. The Punjabi wedding has many rituals and ceremonies that have evolved since traditional times and itself have evolved in Pakistani Punjab and Indian Punjab. Cuisine See also: Punjabi cuisine Tandoori chicken is a popular dish in Punjabi cuisine. The local cuisine of Punjab is heavily influenced by the agriculture and farming lifestyle prevalent from the times of the ancient Indus Valley civilization. Dishes similar to tandoori chicken may have existed during the Harappan civilization during the Bronze Age of India. According to the archeologist Professor Vasant Shinde, the earliest evidence for a dish similar to tandoori chicken can be found in the Harappan civilization and dates back to 3000 BC. His team has found ancient ovens at Harappan sites which are similar to the tandoors that are used in the state of Punjab. Physical remains of chicken bones with char marks have also been unearthed.[14][15][16] Harappan houses had keyhole ovens with central pillars which was used for roasting meats and baking breads.[17] Sushruta Samhita records meat being cooked in an oven (kandu) after marinating it in spices like black mustard (rai) powder and fragrant spices.[18] According to Ahmed (2014), Harappan oven structures may have operated in a similar manner to the modern tandoors of the Punjab.[19] Basmati rice is the indigenous variety of Punjab, and various meat- and vegetable-based rice dishes have been developed using it.[20][21][22] Language and literature Main articles: Punjabi language and Punjabi literature Baba Farid, considered the first major Punjabi poet.[23] The Punjabi language is written with the Gurmukhi alphabet in India and with the Shahmukhi alphabet in Pakistan. Approximately 130 million people speak the Punjabi language.[24] The earliest writings in Punjabi belong to Nath Yogi era from 9th to 14th century.[25] They referred to God with various names such as "Alakh Nirajan" which are still prevalent in Punjabi vernacular.[25] The Punjabi literary tradition is popularly seen to commence with Fariduddin Ganjshakar (1173–1266).[23] Roughly from the 12th century to the 19th century, Punjabi Sufi poetry developed under Shah Hussain (1538–1599), Sultan Bahu (1628–1691), Shah Sharaf (1640–1724), Ali Haider (1690–1785), Bulleh Shah (1680–1757), Saleh Muhammad Safoori (1747–1826), Mian Muhammad Baksh (1830–1907) and Khwaja Ghulam Farid (1845–1901). In contrast to Persian poets, who had preferred the ghazal for poetic expression, Punjabi Sufi poets tended to compose in the Kafi.[26] Punjabi Sufi poetry also influenced other Punjabi literary traditions particularly the Punjabi Qissa, a genre of romantic tragedy which also derived inspiration from Indic, Persian and Quranic sources. The Qissa of Heer Ranjha by Waris Shah (1706–1798) is among the most popular of Punjabi qisse. Other popular stories include Sohni Mahiwal by Fazal Shah, Mirza Sahiba by Hafiz Barkhudar (1658–1707), Sassi Punnun by Hashim Shah (1735?–1843?), and Qissa Puran Bhagat by Qadaryar (1802–1892). Dress Main article: Punjabi clothing Dastar Main article: Dastar A Dastar is an proud of headgear associated with Sikhism and is an important part of the Punjabi and Sikh culture. Among the Sikhs, the dastār is an article of faith that represents equality, honour, self-respect, courage, spirituality, and piety. The Khalsa Sikh men and women, who keep the Five Ks, wear the turban to cover their long, uncut hair (kesh). The Sikhs regard the dastār as an important part of the unique Sikh identity. After the ninth Sikh Guru, Tegh Bahadur, was sentenced to death by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru created the Khalsa and gave five articles of faith, one of which is unshorn hair, which the dastār covers.[27] Prior to Sikhi, only kings, royalty, and those of high stature wore turbans, but Sikh Gurus adopted the practice to assert equality and sovereignty among people.[28] Punjabi suit Main article: Shalwar kameez Punjabi traditional dress in India A Punjabi suit that features two items - a qameez (top), salwar (bottom) is the traditional attire of the Punjabi people.[29][30][31] Shalwars are trousers which are atypically wide at the waist but which narrow to a cuffed bottom. They are held up by a drawstring or elastic belt, which causes them to become pleated around the waist.[32] The trousers can be wide and baggy, or they can be cut quite narrow, on the bias. The kameez is a long shirt or tunic.[33] The side seams are left open below the waist-line (the opening known as the chaak[note 1]), which gives the wearer greater freedom of movement. The kameez is usually cut straight and flat; older kameez use traditional cuts; modern kameez are more likely to have European-inspired set-in sleeves. The combination garment is sometimes called salwar kurta, salwar suit, or Punjabi suit.[35][36] The shalwar-kameez is a widely-worn,[37][38] and national dress,[39] of Pakistan. When women wear the shalwar-kameez in some regions, they usually wear a long scarf or shawl called a dupatta around the head or neck.[40] The dupatta is also employed as a form of modesty—although it is made of delicate material, it obscures the upper body's contours by passing over the shoulders. For Muslim women, the dupatta is a less stringent alternative to the chador or burqa (see hijab and purdah); for Sikh and Hindu women, the dupatta is useful when the head must be covered, as in a temple or the presence of elders.[41] Everywhere in South Asia, modern versions of the attire have evolved; the shalwars are worn lower down on the waist, the kameez have shorter length, with higher splits, lower necklines and backlines, and with cropped sleeves or without sleeves.[42] Festivals See also: Punjabi festivals, List of Sikh festivals, List of Hindu festivals in Punjab, and Festivals in Lahore The Punjabi Muslims typically observe the Islamic festivals.[43][44] The Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus typically do not observe these, and instead observe Lohri, Basant and Vaisakhi as seasonal festivals.[45] The Punjabi Muslim festivals are set according to the lunar Islamic calendar (Hijri), and the date falls earlier by 10 to 13 days from year to year.[46] The Hindu and Sikh Punjabi seasonal festivals are set on specific dates of the luni-solar Bikrami calendar or Punjabi calendar and the date of the festival also typically varies in the Gregorian calendar but stays within the same two Gregorian months.[47] Some Punjabi Muslims participate in the traditional, seasonal festivals of the Punjab region: Baisakhi, Basant and to a minor scale Lohri, but this is controversial. Islamic clerics and some politicians have attempted to ban this participation because of the religious basis of the Punjabi festivals,[48] and they being declared haram (forbidden in Islam).[49] Preservation of Punjabi Culture In recent years, efforts have been made to preserve and promote Punjabi culture and heritage. One notable example is the Panjab Digital Library (PDL), founded by Davinder Pal Singh. The library's mission is to digitize and preserve historical manuscripts, books, and other materials related to Punjabi language, history, and culture. This initiative has helped to safeguard and promote Punjabi culture for future generations.[50] See also image Punjab portal icon Society portal Punjabi Culture Day Punjabi calendar Punjabi festivals Folk practices in Punjab Punjab Punjabi people British Punjabis Punjabi Americans Punjabi Australians Punjabi Canadians Punjabi diaspora Punjab (India) Punjab (Pakistan) Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago List of Punjabi language poets Livestock show Vaisakhi Sikh art and culture
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • Author: BHAGAT SINGH THIND
  • Topic: Asian
  • Subject: Cooking

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