• Welcome to all New Sikh Philosophy Network Forums!
    Explore Sikh Sikhi Sikhism...
    Sign up Log in

Sikhs Declining As A Percentage Of India's Population

ashdoc

Movie Critic
SPNer
Jul 19, 2011
391
219
49
2011 census shows that sikhs form 1.7 percent of India's population as compared to 1.9 percent in 2001 census figures .

What must sikhs do to arrest these declining numbers ??

copy/paste


A sharp decline in Sikh population has left the community leaders worried. The Sikh population share which was 1.9 per cent in 2001 fell to 1.7 per cent in 2011.

Referring to the fall in growth rate of Sikh population in India by 0.2 percent, President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) Manjit Singh GK has called upon the Sikhs living in India and world over to watch their count and be careful as Sikhs are already in a microscopic minority and fall in the growth rate could be of serious consequences in the days to come for future generations.

He said that Sikhs are a martial community and they don't need any introduction as they are famous worldwide for their achievements in all the fields, be it - sports, army, industry, entrepreneur, business, information technology and they constitute a strong skilled work force world over, which is despite a very less number," he said.



He further adds, "I am sure Sikhs would continue to do well in all the fields but when the head count matters in today's world we must not come down from what we are now." He called up on the Sikhs families to identify their potential and properly manage the means of upbringing their children.

He also called upon the Sikhs to give good education to their children so as to make them good citizens who contribute to the development of the society and country they live in.

Akal Takht chief Gyani Gurbachan Singh had recently created a stir after he asked the Sikhs to produce more children as their population is declining in the country.

He has announced that Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) will launch an awareness campaign to educate Sikhs about their falling numbers.




Decline in Sikh population worries religious leaders
 

Dalvinder Singh Grewal

Writer
Historian
SPNer
Jan 3, 2010
1,245
421
78
2011 census shows that sikhs form 1.7 percent of India's population as compared to 1.9 percent in 2001 census figures .

What must sikhs do to arrest these declining numbers ??

copy/paste


A sharp decline in Sikh population has left the community leaders worried. The Sikh population share which was 1.9 per cent in 2001 fell to 1.7 per cent in 2011.

Referring to the fall in growth rate of Sikh population in India by 0.2 percent, President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) Manjit Singh GK has called upon the Sikhs living in India and world over to watch their count and be careful as Sikhs are already in a microscopic minority and fall in the growth rate could be of serious consequences in the days to come for future generations.

He said that Sikhs are a martial community and they don't need any introduction as they are famous worldwide for their achievements in all the fields, be it - sports, army, industry, entrepreneur, business, information technology and they constitute a strong skilled work force world over, which is despite a very less number," he said.

He further adds, "I am sure Sikhs would continue to do well in all the fields but when the head count matters in today's world we must not come down from what we are now." He called up on the Sikhs families to identify their potential and properly manage the means of upbringing their children.

He also called upon the Sikhs to give good education to their children so as to make them good citizens who contribute to the development of the society and country they live in.

Akal Takht chief Gyani Gurbachan Singh had recently created a stir after he asked the Sikhs to produce more children as their population is declining in the country.

He has announced that Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) will launch an awareness campaign to educate Sikhs about their falling numbers.




Decline in Sikh population worries religious leaders
If Sikhs are declining in numbers, it is the Sikhs themselves to blame. there is a set of people who for the purpose of maintaining their domination have adopted the policy of exclusion. In an earlier study published in Sikh review the number of Sikhs was around 14 crores. This included Sikligars, Banjaras, Satnamis, Johris, Sindhis, Nirankaris, Udasis, Bijnauris, Assamese, lama Sikhs, Bihari Sikh, tarai sikhs and the like. But the so called special type have not been considering them Sikhs and in population surveys only around 2 crores came out to declare themselves as Sikhs. Now another set of exclusions are non keshadharis through a govt notification. This 2 crores has come down to some 40 lakhs. So now the number is 30 times the actual number. Old records say that in 17th-18th century half of Bihar declared themselves as Sikhs. Now only a few come forward to account themselves Hence a limited set of Sikhs has been regularly excluding all others to maintain their domination. With this attitude, time is not far when Sikhism will no more be seen in Punjab as Buddhism vanished from Nepal. This situation can be saved if all Sikhs who believe in 11 Guru (10+ SGGS) as per the accepted definition are considered as Sikhs and no other restrictions are forced upon.
Dr Dalvinder Singh Grewal
 

Harkiran Kaur

Leader

Writer
SPNer
Jul 20, 2012
1,393
1,921
There are a few reasons I see looking in from outside: Female foeticide is still being practiced (selective abortions) because male babies are preferred. (I'll leave it to you as to the reasons why males are preferred, but it comes down to devaluation of women which is linked to a greater problem) This causes an imbalance in population and now you have more adult males than females. Who will these males marry? Many are finding love outside of India, and if someone has the chance to marry a citizen from USA / Canada / UK etc, do you think they will remain in India given the chance? Not just for marriage, but many parents are saving for their child's education away from India - again in the west. And many of these students having completed University in that country and now eligible for work and permanent residence there. So you can say that migration is likely a big cause in addition to the above.
 

Dalvinder Singh Grewal

Writer
Historian
SPNer
Jan 3, 2010
1,245
421
78
There are a few reasons I see looking in from outside: Female foeticide is still being practiced (selective abortions) because male babies are preferred. (I'll leave it to you as to the reasons why males are preferred, but it comes down to devaluation of women which is linked to a greater problem) This causes an imbalance in population and now you have more adult males than females. Who will these males marry? Many are finding love outside of India, and if someone has the chance to marry a citizen from USA / Canada / UK etc, do you think they will remain in India given the chance? Not just for marriage, but many parents are saving for their child's education away from India - again in the west. And many of these students having completed University in that country and now eligible for work and permanent residence there. So you can say that migration is likely a big cause in addition to the above.

As I have studied on ground, neither female foeticide nor migration are major causes now as most of the parents in rural Punjab have started preferring girl child reason being the farmers are not left with much property to give in inheritance. There is also now a general feeling that sons get into drugs while girls do not and girls look after parents better than sons. Preference for migration is also declining due to continuous bad news about those who tried to migrate. Major problem remains the callous attitude of the religious bosses and the movement started by RSS and deras (like Nirankaris, Beasias) where large number is breaking away from Sikhism. The hawkish attitude of certain Sikh groups in forcing Satkar of SGGS has even resulted in unabated desecration of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. This surely is going to affect the faith in general. Why do not the Sikhs follow the teachings of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and the dress code given by Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji remains a matter of serious concern.
Dr Dalvinder Singh Grewal
 

❤️ CLICK HERE TO JOIN SPN MOBILE PLATFORM

❤️ CLICK HERE TO JOIN SPN MOBILE PLATFORM

📌 For all latest updates, follow the Official Sikh Philosophy Network Whatsapp Channel:
Top