Total population | |
---|---|
~600–7,000 | |
Founder | |
Guru Nanak | |
Languages | |
Punjabi • Nepali |
Part of a series on |
Sikhism |
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Nepali Sikhs first entered Nepal in the 18th century. Today, there is a small community of Sikhs living in Nepal, with varying claims of their numbers totaling around 609 according to the 2011 census of Nepal whilst others have asserted the true number is in the area of 7,000 people. [1] [2]
Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, spent more than a year meditating on a site now known as Nanak Math, located in Balaju, Kathmandu. [3] It is believed that Guru Nanak visited the math in 1516. [4] Guru Nanak is traditionally locally known as Nanak Rishi in Nepal. [5] [6]
Following conflict with the British East India Company, Maharani Jind Kaur, the youngest wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, managed to escape from the Punjab disguised as a servant girl and came to Nepal via Nepalgunj on 29 April, 1849. The Nepalese government gave her shelter. Later, she went to London, but those Sikhs who remained in Nepal started their livelihood there. A few Nepalgunj territories near the Indian border are still called Shikhhanpurwa, Jamunaha and Bankatwa. [7]
Generation after generation, their population grew and there is now a substantial population of Nepali Sikhs—over 7,000 residents, according to the 2011 Census.
Religion(s): There are ten religious categories reported in the census 2011. Hindu is followed by 81.3 percent (21,551,492) of the population followed by Buddhism (9%; 2,396,099), Islam (4.4%; 1,162,370), Kirat (3.1%; 807,169), Christianity (1.4%; 375,699), Prakriti (0.5%; 121,982), Bon (13,006), Jainism (3,214), Bahai (1,283) and Sikhism (609).
Rare is a saint who has travelled and preached as widely as Guru Nanak Dev. He was known as Nanakachraya in Sri Lanka, Nanak Lama in Tibet, Guru Rimpochea in Sikkim, Nanak Rishi in Nepal, Nanak Peer in Baghdad, Wali Hind in Mecca, Nanak Vali in Misar, Nanak Kadamdar in Russia, Baba Nanak in Iraq, Peer Balagdaan in Mazahar Sharif and Baba Foosa in China, said Dr S S Sibia, director of Sibia Medical Centre.