In 1708, Guru Gobind Singh vested spiritual authority in the Guru Granth Sahib ( the Sikh scriptures ) as the eternal Guru and hence Sikh Dharma acknowledges the end of human Guruship.

To a Sikh, birth and death are closely associated, because they are both part of the cycle of human life of " coming and going " ( ਆਵਣ ੁ ਜ ਾ ਣ ਾ, Aana Jaana ) which is seen as transient stage towards Liberation ( ਮ ੋ ਖ ੁ ਦ ੁ ਆਰ ੁ, Mokh Du-aar ), complete unity with God.

According to Article I of the " Rehat Maryada " ( the Sikh code of conduct and conventions ), a Sikh is defined as " any human being who faithfully believes in One Immortal Being ; ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Dev to Sri Guru Gobind Singh ; Sri Guru Granth Sahib ; the teachings of the ten Gurus and the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru ; and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion ".

Sikh history is built on examples of brave men and women who defended an ideology built on the fundamentals of human rights and equality of all human beings.

The Sikh religion also teaches that human life is very precious, described as more precious than a diamond, which comes after great spiritual deeds and merits are done, and Sikh teachings are filled with guidance on how one should conduct one's self in order to find peace in this life and unite with God.

* Positive Human Qualities-The Sikh Gurus taught the Sikhs to develop and harness positive human qualities which lead the soul closer to God and away from evil.

There were serious charges leveled by human rights activists against Indian Security forces ( Headed by KPS Gill-himself a Sikh ) that thousands of suspects were killed in staged shootouts and thousands of bodies were cremated / disposed without proper identification or post-mortem.

In response, the World Sikh Organization of Canada ( WSO ), a Canadian Sikh human rights group that opposes violence and extremism, sued the CBC for " defamation, slander and libel ", alleging that Milewski linked it to terrorism and damaged the reputation of the WSO within the Sikh community.

Instead, he appointed the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, as his successor as Guru instead of a possibly fallible human ; and due to the faith's belief in complete equality, women can participate in any religious function and / or perform any Sikh ceremony and / or lead the congregation in prayer.

Preta, प ् र े त ( Sanskrit ) or Peta ( Pāli ) or ཡ ི་ ད ྭ གས ་ Yidak in ( Tibetan ) ) is the name for a type of ( arguably supernatural ) being described in Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, and Jain texts that undergoes more than human suffering, particularly an extreme degree of hunger and thirst.

* To promote respect, observance and commitment for human rights as enshrined in the Sikh faith as well in various international arrangements.

Scholars William M. Reynolds and Julie A. Webber have written that Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh faith tradition, was a " fighter for women's rights " that was " in no way misogynistic " in contrast to some of his contemporaries.

Protecting the religious and political rights of all people and preventing discrimination is an integral part of the Sikh faith.

During the 1980s Sikh struggle for civil rights in Punjab, Yogi Bhajan strove for peace and attempted to mediate between the Sikh leadership in Punjab and the Indian government under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The outcome of the gathering was an agreement on a series of objectives including an international investigation of the disaster, free media access to Punjab, proper medical care to the wounded, the return of Sikh temples to Sikh control, the release of Sikh prisoners, withdrawal of the army, police and paramilitaries from Punjab, and restoration of civil rights to Sikhs throughout India.

A Sikh must also have the courage to defend the rights of all who are wrongfully oppressed or persecuted irrespective of their colour, caste or creed.

Bhagat Singh Thind ( October 3, 1892 – September 15, 1967 ) was an Indian American Sikh writer and lecturer on spirituality who was involved in an important legal battle over the rights of Indians to obtain U. S. citizenship.

Sikh soldiers brought Bhai Kanhaiya before Guru Gobind Singh Ji, and complained of his action that they considered counterproductive to their struggle on the battlefield.

The publisher of the " Indo-Canadian Times ," a Canadian Sikh and once-vocal advocate of the armed struggle for Khalistan, he had criticized the bombing of Air India flight 182, and was to testify about a conversation he overheard concerning the bombing.

Terry Milewski reported in a 2006 documentary for the CBC that a minority within Canada's Sikh community was gaining political influence even while publicly supporting terrorist acts in the struggle for an independent Sikh state.

In the year 1755, the acclaimed Mughal viceroy of Punjab, Muin-ul-Mulk died his widow Mughlam Begum desperately sought the assistance of Ahmad Shah Durrani to halt any succession struggle and to quell the Sikh rebels in the eastern regions.

It brought the necessary awakening among the Sikh masses and prepared them to undertake the struggle for reform.

With the direct and indirect support of the Central Sikh League, the Indian National Congress and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the Shiromani Akali Dal started a non-violent struggle against the government for the control of the Gurdwaras.

Guru Har Gobind's successor, Guru Har Rai maintained the guruship in these hills by defeating local attempts to seize Sikh land and taking a neutral role in the power struggle between two of the sons of Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh, for control of the ruling Timurid dynasty of the Mughal Empire.

The power struggle between the various Sikh factions was continuing and some were secretly negotiating with the British East India Company forces amassing on the border.

Bedi was one of three children born into a family that had devoted itself to India's fight for independence from British colonial rule. His father, Baba Pyare Lal Bedi, a Punjabi Sikh, was an author and philosopher.

* Those in the Sikh faith adopt a new last name upon baptism into the Khalsa.

In 1970s India, they were blamed for bringing unwanted Christian and Islamic influences into traditionally Sikh and Hindu areas.

The Sikh Confederacy of the Punjab region in India had annexed Ladakh into the state of Jammu in 1834.

The major part of Kabir's work as a bhagat was collected by the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan Dev, and incorporated into the Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib.

A true Sikh of the Gurus has the Guru himself manifest and take that person into sach khand.

The Sikh guru Nanak gathered many such bhajans into the Guru Granth Sahib.

The very first thing which he did was to abduct all the Pathan and Uzbak women and infamously sold them into Hira Mandi a very popular market in Lahore ( Sikh Empire Capital ).

Bagri defended hijackers who had forced the ' hated ' Indian government into negotiations with the Sikh leadership, and was critical of Gandhian non-violence.

Harbhajan was born into a middle class Punjabi Sikh family.

Khabra was born into a well-off Sikh farming family

Rangit Singh was born to Maha Singh and Raj Kaur on 13 November 1780, in Gujranwala, Punjab, into a Sikh family.

According to some historians, he was born into a Jatt Sikh family.

while others claim that he was born into a Sansi Sikh family

The Guru Granth Sahib is divided into fourteen hundred and thirty pages known as Angs ( limbs ) in Sikh tradition.

The total number of ragas in the Sikh system is thirty one, divided into fourteen ragas and seventeen raginis ( less important or less definite ragas ).

A Sikh who has been initiated into the Khalsa is titled Singh ( males )/ Kaur ( females ) and commonly referred to as " Amritdhari ".

Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, was born into a kshatriya family, as were many of his first disciples.

The kingdom had then fallen into disorder, with court factions and the Khalsa ( the Sikh army ) contending for power at the Lahore Durbar ( court ).

This Bani is one of 5 Banis that a Sikh must recite everyday and is recited by the Panj Pyare while preparing Amrit on the occasion of Amrit Sanchar ( initiation ), a ceremony held to admit initiates into the Khalsa Brotherhood.

Sukhmani Sahib is the name given to the set of hymns divided into 24 sections which appear in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Scriptures on page 262.

The Sikhs claimed they were only moving into Sikh possessions ( specifically the village of Moran, whose ownership was disputed ) on the east side of the river, but the move was regarded by the British as clearly hostile and they declared war.