Punjabi Sikhs

Punjabi Sikhs
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਸਿੱਖ  · پنجابی سکھ
Panjābī Sikh
A painting of a Punjabi Sikh family, circa late 19th century
Total population
c.25-28 million approx.
(Worldwide)
Regions with significant populations
Punjab, India16,004,754 (2011 census)
Haryana1,243,752 (2011)
Rajasthan872,930 (2011)
Uttar Pradesh643,500 (2011)
Delhi570,581 (2011)
Uttarakhand236,340 (2011)
Maharashtra223,247 (2011)
Madhya Pradesh151,412 (2011)
Chandigarh138,329 (2011)
Himachal Pradesh79,896 (2011)
Languages
Sacred language
Sant Bhasha

Ethnic language
Punjabi and its dialects
Code language
Khalsa bole

Other languages
Hindi, English
Religion
Sikhism
Related ethnic groups

Punjabi Sikhs are an ethnoreligious group of Punjabis who adhere to Sikhism. They are the second-largest religious group amongst Punjabis after the Punjabi Muslims, who predominantly inhabit Pakistani Punjab. Punjabi Sikhs form the largest religious community in the Indian state of Punjab. Sikhism is an indigenous religion that originated in the Punjab region of South Asia during the 15th century. The global Sikh population is primarily composed of Punjabis.

Punjabi Sikhs primarily inhabit the Indian state of Punjab, the only Sikh-majority administrative division on Earth. Punjabi Sikhs make up 57.69% of the state’s population. Many have ancestry from the greater Punjab region, an area that was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947. In the contemporary era, apart from Indian Punjab, Punjabi Sikhs are found in large numbers across the Indian states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Large numbers are also found in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain, due to various immigration waves over the centuries.