| dbo:abstract
|
- Nanakpanthi (Gurmukhi: ਨਾਨਕਪੰਥੀ; nānakapathī) is a follower of the teachings of Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the foundational guru of a spiritual community natively known as Nanakpanth while known world-wide as Sikhism. Nanakpanth is an open frontier that references strongly an early Sikh community. Nanakpanthi signifies any person, regardless of any religious affiliation, who follows Guru Nanak and believes in his teachings. Today a large fraction of the Sindhi Hindus and Muslims, consider themselves not simply as Sikhs, but more precisely as Nanakpanthi, both in Pakistan and in India. Strands of Nanakpanthi culture exists in Pakistan and Afghanistan including Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and remote areas of Punjab province. They generally do not sport beards or wear a turban unlike Amritdhari Sikhs. Even in the 1881 and 1891 Indian censuses, the Sindhi Hindu community could not decide to collectively identify as Hindu or Sikh. In the later 1911 Census Report, Shahpur District (Punjab) reported that 12,539 Hindus (being 20 percent of the total Hindu population) identified as Nanakpanthi along with 9,016 Sikhs (being 22 percent of the total Sikh population). There is no data for the specific number of Nanakpanthis. Karnail Singh Panjoli, member, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, says that there are several communities within the term ‘Nanakpanthis’ too. There are groups like Sikhligarh, Vanjaarey, Nirmaley, Lubaney, Johri, Satnamiye, Udaasiyas, Punjabi Hindus, Punjabi Muslims, etc who call themselves Nanakpanthis. They along with their religious affiliated books, follow and incorporate the teachings of Guru Nanak. Within India, some Nanakpanthis are also spread across states like Assam, Tripura, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana.” Worldwide there are estimated 30 million Khalsa Sikhs who solely identify their religious affiliation as "Sikh". However, there are in addition many millions of people around the world who also venerate the 10 Sikh Gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib. Various number of tribes/sects in India follow the teachings of Guru Nanak and visit gurudwaras along with worshipping Hindu deities at mandirs. The Indian government considers them as Hindus in the official census. (en)
|
